THE BOOK “IMPRESE SOCIALI FERRERO” - WAS PRESENTED AT THE CIRCOLO DELLA STAMPA IN TURIN
Caterina Ginzburg presented, at the Circolo dalla Stampa in Turin, “Imprese Sociali Ferrero” - a collection of photographs and first-hand accounts, describing an innovative example of corporate social responsibility: the initiatives undertaken by the Ferrero Group in India, Cameroon and South Africa within the framework of a project known as “Ferrero Social Enterprises,” a project which was strongly supported by Michele Ferrero and his sons, Giovanni, the CEO of the Group, and the late lamented Pietro.
“The Ferrero Group has always had, since its foundation, a strong sense of social responsibility, which is ingrained in its DNA and is based on two pillars: the Ferrero Foundation and the Ferrero Social Enterprises” – pointed out Ambassador Francesco Paolo Fulci, Vice President of Ferrero International and President of Ferrero Social Enterprises, who went on to say, “The Social Enterprises of the Group are veritable enterprises, not just charitable activities. One of their distinctive traits is the fact that financial resources commensurate with the quantities produced are allocated, on a three-annual basis, to the realisation of projects designed to promote the health and the educational growth of young people in the local communities.”
The book edited by Caterina Ginzburg describes the initiatives through images and testimonials by the managers and the employees, most of them women, working at the production plants of the Social Enterprises (ca 1600 people in India, 300 in South Africa and 200 in Cameroon).
The meeting was moderated by journalist and TV presenter Licia Colò, who has always paid special attention to socially minded initiatives. It was attended by the Chairman of the Ferrero Foundation, Maria Franca, and the Minister of Education, Francesco Profumo. Among the numerous guests we should mention journalist and author Massimo Gramellini, a keen observer of the different political-economic realities in Italy and the world over, who spoke about the “concrete capitalism” that “produces things with people in mind.” Also present was Louis Taylor, head of the Department of Basic Education of the South African Republic, who monitored a project for the total remodelling of the Japie Greyling school, not far from a Ferrero Social Enterprise: the factory in Walkerville, South Africa.
