ABSTRACT
Chiquita has dedicated considerable effort and resources to implementing a coherent corporate responsibility program. Chiquita Brands International was formerly called the United Fruit Company. Chiquita is still a banana farmer of substance, employing some 17,000 men and women in banana production. David McLaughlin, then the general manager of Chiquita's Costa Rican operations (now with WWF), had the vision and courage not to reject this notion out of hand, but instead to evaluate the Rainforest Alliance concept. The advertising campaign that announced this change introduced millions of European consumers for the first time to the concept of sustainability certification and the Rainforest Alliance. A corporate responsibility steering committee was formed to develop the framework and advise the CEO and his senior management team. The new Chiquita Code of Conduct, published in 2000, included guidance on the meaning of ethical conduct, reference to legal and ethical requirements, and a significant additional chapter on human rights in the workplace.
