In 2007 the third Michele Ferrero Entrepreneurial Project was born

Ferrero in India

The third and latest Michele Ferrero Entrepreneurial Project was created in India in 2007, in the State of Maharashtra.

In 2011, the production plant in Baramati (Maharashtra) was then opened. It is one of the largest in the Group, located in a region which, by Indian standards, has a low population density.

The Group’s current commercial offices in the country are based in Pune, the second largest city, according to population, in the State of Maharashtra.

The Ferrero plant produces mainly for the domestic market, but exports also to other countries in Asia and Africa.

Ferrero India’s plant is located at Baramati, a city in central rural area of Maharashtra state, within the Pune district. It is about two-hour drive from Pune. With its about 70,000 people, it is considered a small city, by local standards. Yet, it is an important settlement within a vast agricultural sub-district area (producing sugar, wheat, grapes, and other cultures) populated by over 355.000 people living in 116 small rural villages.

Last Social Activities

Mothers in rural areas are particularly affected by the urban-rural divide in India. In fact, inequalities in socio‐economic status and place of residence are particularly evident, for instance, for access and use of mother-and-child care services, which favor the rich and urban populations.

To address some of such unbalances, the Indian Government launched the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), one of the world’s largest government-led program for early childhood development, that is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It provides a wide range of maternal and child health services including preschool non-formal education, supplementary nutrition, health-related awareness, immunization, health check-up and referral services. These are provided through a network of so-called Anganwadi.

Anganwadi literally mean "courtyard shelters". They are small multi-purpose infrastructures which are managed, at local level, by village authorities.

With a view to extend its support to the rural communities where most of our female workers live, the Michele Ferrero Entrepreneurial Project in India decided to build eight new Anganwadi, between 2019-2022, in villages around the Ferrero’s plant at Baramati.

To this purpose, on 22 February, 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ferrero India and the Pune District Council (Zilla Parishad) which will be responsible for the maintenance and management of such Anganwadi. The MOU details commitments and responsibilities of both parties as well as the criteria for the identification of the locations where the Ferrero-sponsored Anganwadi will be built.

The main construction works of the first three Anganwadi were finalized in 2020, in close collaboration with local public administrative authorities.

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, their inauguration was postponed to 2021,while completion of the remaining 5 Anganwadi is underway.

The Ferrero Anganwadi Social Project

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Past Social Activities

Financial support was provided to the Don Bosco Shelter - which accommodates street children in Mumbai and offers them vocational training - and the “A roof in Mumbai” project which provides education to young girls living in one of Mumbai’s biggest shanty towns.

Ferrero India has always kept a special eye on the needs of its plant’s workers coming from surrounding rural villages, especially female workers. These can commute to the factory, in fact, utilizing a bus service set up by the company.

In 2014, the Michele Ferrero Entrepreneurial Project in India launched its “Pietro Ferrero Kindergarden” at Baramati. This modern educational facility, with a covered surface of about 1000 square meters, hosts at present about 100 children aged below six years. Two third of them are sons and daughters of female employees working at the Ferrero Baramati plant; the remaining one third, instead, are children of disadvantaged families of surrounding rural villages. Ferrero India provides also to them, free of charge, safe transport to/from the Kindergarten, as well as a wide range of quality educational, nutritional and medical services.

PIETRO FERRERO KINDERGARDEN

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Pietro Ferrero Kindergarten CSR project awarded at the 10th India
Leadership CSR Summit held in Bangalore

The India CSR Leadership Summit is India CSR’s flagship annual event and the Country’s most prominent get-together of corporates and civil society. It is the largest CSR forum in India bringing together companies, CSR foundations, government agencies, non-profits, social businesses, and advisory firms to network, collaborate, and scale-up initiatives in the development and impact sector.

The India CSR Leadership Summit Awards seeks to recognize the organizations that have positively impacted both business and society by taking a strategic approach to CSR through collaborative program. The Awards has many categories and it is open to all companies registered in India.

Participating organizations must present a case study, in their respective category, before a jury and pass the scrutiny of the CSR management team.

As a case study, Ferrero India presented the Pietro Ferrero Kindergarten project at its Baramati plant in the Maharashtra state.

At the 10th India Leadership CSR Summit held in Bangalore on Friday 10th December 2021, Ferrero India was awarded the ‘winner’ in the category of Community Development for 'Adding Value to local Communities".

The award was presented by Hon. Chief Minister of Karnataka Mr Basavraj Bommai, Hon'ble CM of Karnataka, Mr Rajeev Kumar, Vice - President-Planning Commission of India and Mrs. Kiran Mujumdar-Shaw- Hon Board Member- Biocon, Chairman, Niti Aayog, Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon and Ms. Shalini Rajneesh, Govt of Karnataka