The project is located in a rural setting, in modified habitat not containing significant biodiversity value and there is no known historical or cultural heritage, therefore PS6 and PS8 do not apply. The land was leased for 30 years in 2001, and did not affect any livelihood, thus PS 5 is not applicable.  No Indigenous People will be impacted by the project, therefore PS7 is not applicable.

Projects of this nature have issues related to assessment and management of environmental and social risks and impacts, labor and working conditions, resource efficiency and pollution prevention, community health, safety and security, and, therefore, IFC’s Performance Standards (PS) 1 to 4 are relevant. This proposed investment is an Environmental and Social (E&S) Category B project according to IFC’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability, because potential adverse environmental or social risks and/or impacts are limited, few in numbers, site-specific, largely reversible and readily addressed through mitigating measures.

Key risks and impacts associated with this project relate to the Company’s capacity to: i) undertake adequate social and environmental assessment and maintain management measures commensurate with the impacts of the Company’s expansion plan and operation of warehouse and beverage processing plant; ii) ensure that the design and construction of all facilities comply with recognized building codes and life and fire safety standards; iii) maintain fair, safe and healthy working conditions during expansion and operations of facilities for direct employees as well as for contract workers; iv) establish and implement food safety systems in line with recognized international standards (e.g. HACCP) in preparation, storage, and delivery of products, including water, juice and milk.

Environmental and Social Assessment and Management System

During the first investment period, Kirene has developed an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), and some elements of a food safety management system covering issues like microbiological and physico-chemical controls. Quality control procedures are in place to assess raw milk at the farm where a Kirene Quality Assurance Technician is stationed and at the plant for finished products. A satisfactory environmental, occupational health and safety management system was developed and implemented. Going forward, as set forth in the ESAP (action #1), Kirene will develop and implement food safety management system, including policies, plans, manuals and procedures – consistent with ISO 22000.

Policy

Kirene adopted a Social and Environmental Responsibility Charter. It contains provisions related to responsible supply chains, commitment to environment protection, awareness raising of staff about environmental and occupational health and safety (OHS) issues, energy and resources efficiency, waste management, community engagement with regards to environment protection, recruitment, training, OHS and Life & Fire Safety committee, etc. Most issues covered in the Charter are operationalized, except those related to energy and resources efficiency, and waste management.

Identification of E&S risks and impacts

An Environmental Assessment of the impact of water extraction on ground water reserves was conducted by Kirene in connection with the first investment #33844 in 2014. Recommendations regarding the optimal location for a third borehole were suggested by the consultant and implemented by Kirene. It is expected that a fourth borehole will be made for this project. Because of the sensitivity of ground water in the sahelian context of Senegal, Kirene will assess the impact of this fourth borehole on groundwater reserves and on other users (ESAP action #2a).

At the time of the appraisal, the contractor for warehouse expansion had been selected but specific Environment Health and Safety (EHS) procedures had not been developed. As outlined in the ESAP (action #2b), an EHS Management Plan will be developed for construction. Prior to commencement of works, the contractor will provide a detailed plan identifying all the environmental, health and safety risks associated with specific works and will define all measures proposed to address the issues. The contractor will retain a copy of the EHS Management Plan for inspection by the client and his representatives for the duration of the contract.

Human Resources (HR) Policies and Procedures

Kirene currently has 276 employees (37 of whom are female) of which 49 are based in Dakar and the others are at the Diass factory. There is also a pool of 179 daily workers coming from surrounding communities and about 25 are hired daily as cleaning staff and as dockers. All contracted workers are eligible to coverage by the National Bureau of Social Security (‘’Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale’’) and by the Provident Society (‘’Institut de prévoyance maladie). The lowest salary is about 50% above the minimum wage in Senegal. Most workers have open-ended contracts. Two shifts of 8 hours over 5 days are scheduled at the plant.

In line with the Senegalese Labor Law (‘’Code du travail Loi n°97-17 du 1er décembre 1997’’), in 2011, Kirene has adopted Internal Regulations (‘’Règlement intérieur’’) and procedures covering issues like recruitment, work schedule, leave, health and safety, and disciplinary measures. An audit conducted in 2011 by a Senegalese firm (AKM) to improve Kirene’s management and production strategy found that the recruitment process should be reinforced for selecting potential candidates and that the disciplinary measures are not standardized. During the first investment, Internal Regulations were improved to include the above measures as well as provisions on non-discrimination and equal opportunity, forced and child labor, occupational health and safety, workers representatives, and grievance mechanism. However, workers engaged by third party are not considered in the existing policy. As set forth in the ESAP (action #4), to comply with the requirement of IFC’s PS 2, the Kirene will incorporate in its Internal Regulations workers hired by third parties, and workers in its supply chain.
There is a formal grievance mechanism for workers. Workers are represented by 10 delegates who are part of the Senegalese Workers Union (‘’Confédération nationale des travailleurs du Sénégal’’). The delegates meet the HR department and Kirene’s senior management once a month to discuss and solve employees’ grievances.

Occupational Health and Safety

During the first project #33844, Kirene developed specific procedures for OHS related to personal protective equipment, safety signage, machine safety, handling of chemicals, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits. A plant-level EHS Committee was established to undertake task hazard analysis for each activity. The committee is composed of three workers, the plant manager, the medical doctor and the Health and Safety Manager. About 60 employees are trained in health and safety issues. There are two full time nurses at the infirmary. A medical doctor comes once a week.

Supply Chain

Juice concentrates for all nectar and juice drinks production except for mangoes (orange, apple, pineapple, goyava) come mainly from Dohler which maintains Fair Trade certification promoting decent working conditions as defined in ILO Conventions and environmental sustainability. For mango juice drinks, Kirene is buying mango pulp from Agrofruits. Agrofruits buys raw mangoes from traders and farmers. Traders maintain Global Gap certification. Milk is prepared with a mix of powdered and fresh milk. Powdered milk is supplied by Candia who maintains ISO 9000, FSSC 22000, and Ecocert certification. Candia is also member of the Sodiaal Group which promotes environmental sustainability. Kirene is sourcing raw milk from 5 industrial farms and has developed procedures for controlling product quality from suppliers. It has also set up a comprehensive milk collection scheme to collect good quality raw milk from individual farmers around the city of Thies.

According to a Unicef report, in Senegal 15 % of children of 5 to 14 years old are working for an average of 30 hours a week, mostly in the agriculture sector (including cattle raising). In order to mitigate any incidence of harmful child labor in its milk supply chain, as an IFC requirement of the first project, Kirene adopted a management procedure, which includes the development and implementation of a Supplier’s Code of Conduct which is mainstreamed into its contractual agreements with farmers. This Code of Conduct includes provisions against child and forced labor. Application of this code is monitored regularly by Kirene’s Quality Assurance Technician based at the different collection centers. As outlined in the ESAP (action #5), Kirene will adopt a similar Code of Conduct for its mango suppliers, and mainstream this into agreements with mango farmers.

Resource Efficiency

Energy at the plant is provided by the national grid. There are three backup generators (two 850 kva; one 1000 kva). Steam is produced through a 2.5t boiler. There are two fuel tanks for the generators (30,000 L and 5,000 L), and one furnace oil tank for the boiler (15,000 L) with secondary containment. Although, Kirene does not own delivery trucks, annual fuel consumption for the transport fleet equals to 176,785 L. Annual GHG emissions are estimated at around 2,500 tons CO2 equivalent. LED lamps and tube lights with protective covers are used in the plant.

Water Supply and Consumption

Water is used for bottled water, juice preparation, cleaning, sanitation, and cooling purposes. Sourcing of raw water comes from 3 boreholes (40m3/hour; 15m3/hour; and 55 m3/hour). There are two water tanks for storage (280 m3 and 500 m3). Annual raw water consumption (in liter) used per product is about 70 million for bottled water, 4 million for juice and 1 million for milk. As part of the EHS monitoring and reporting system described above under PS1, expected performance for water usage will be in line with the industry benchmarks for milk (1.0-1.5 L/L) and juice (6.5 m3/ton). Disinfection of water used in bottled water and juice is ensured by filtration through millipore membranes and an ozone generator.

Air Emissions

Main source of air emissions are mostly from the furnace oil fired steam boiler and, in case of power cuts, when back-up diesel generators are used to produce electricity, heat and hot water. The boiler and generators undergo quarterly maintenance inspection to optimize efficiency.

Wastes

Wastewater is composed of process water, including dilutions of milk, detergents lubricants, chemicals, boiler blow down and purging, and domestic effluent. Dairy industry wastes are characterized by high biological organic demand (BOD) variable in quantity and composition. Parameters of concern are pH, fats, suspended solids, dissolved solids, BOD and COD. A wastewater treatment plant was constructed on-site in 2005 with a capacity of 45m³/day. It includes a pumping station, an aeration tank, a deaerator, and a clarification tank. Treatment includes screening and grit removal, sedimentation, biological treatment, sludge digestion and disposal. The effluent after treatment is discharged onto land for irrigation. Dried sludge is used as fertilizer. Analysis of treated effluents exceeds both Senegalese and World Bank Group (WBG) guidelines values for COD, BOD and Total Suspended Solids. In the scope of this project, the wastewater treatment plant will be refurbished to sustain the increased production and ensure compliance with WBG guidelines or national standards (ESAP action #6).

Kirene developed a waste management plan that includes the following: review of waste sources, pollution prevention opportunities, characterization of waste by type, quantities, and potential use/disposition. Wastes are collected by Proplast, which has a plastic recycling facility in Dakar.

Hazardous Materials Management

A cleaning in place system is used to minimize the use of chemicals and water. Hazardous waste present in all operations is minimal and characterized by used oils and used reagents from the laboratory’s product analysis. Those are disposed by a government licensed operator. Secondary containment is installed for Hazardous Materials. Material Safety Data Sheets for laboratory reactants and other Hazardous Materials are visible on products used, including the on-site registry, and stored safely in a separate and locked room.

Community Health and Safety

The processing plant is located in a rural area and next to a secondary road. As such, potential adverse impacts from its operations is limited to induced increased traffic which should not represent a significant risk for the local population. However, distribution centers for Kirene products are located in the city of Dakar where traffic is heavy and risks of accidents high. Transport employees and sub-contractors are requested to produce a validated driver license. In 2016, Kirene developed and implemented a safe driver and transport safety training program for third party haulage contractors.

With regards to food safety of Kirene’s products, microbiological testing is conducted hourly for 0,5 and 1,5 L and every three hours for 5 and 10 L. For other products, each stock is tested according to a specific sampling design. All the samples of raw materials and finished products are referenced and kept in a sample bank for 8 months. As mentioned above under PS 1, Kirene will develop and implement a food safety management system consistent with ISO 22000.

Infrastructure and Equipment Design and Safety

In 2015, Kirene obtained certification of structural and fire safety aspects of its facility by a registered fire safety professional.  As mentioned in the ESAP (action #7), recommendations of the corrective action plan presented in the audit report shall be implemented in the course of this project.

Security Personnel

Kirene is outsourcing its security personnel through a security contractor (Siga Vision). Five unarmed guards are found on the premises at any one time. As outlined in the ESAP (action #8), Kirene will make reasonable inquiries to investigate the employment record and other available records, including any criminal record, of individuals or firms and will not employ or use any individuals or companies that have abused or violated human rights in the past. Security personnel should be instructed to exercise restraint and caution, clearly prioritizing prevention of injuries or fatalities and peaceful resolution of disputes. The use of physical force should be reported to and investigated by Kirene.

Before the start of Kirene’s operations in 2001, meetings with local communities have been held to discuss land use and employment opportunities. Kirene has also established a strong relationship with local communities by building boreholes in villages, providing books, health center, supporting vocational trainings, NGOs, etc. Kirene has notably built a maternity clinic in the town of Diass for its employees and surrounding communities; it is still supporting part of the operating expenses of the clinic.  Kirene is involved in religious events like those of Touba, Gamou and Popenguine where they provide water bottles for free. Kirene has also started a program called ‘’Dakar Clean City’’ and has made available garbage cans in the beach areas in collaboration with the City of Dakar. Finally, Kirene has a free milk for school program named “Lait a l’Ecole”, which distributes milk weekly to pupils in 168 schools in Dakar and its suburbs. There are now formalized procedures for customer and worker’s complaints due to E&S requirements of the first IFC investment. However, there is no specific procedure to receive and resolve grievances from the general public and affected communities. As set forth in the ESAP (action #3), Kirene will develop and implement a procedure to (i) receive and register external communications from the general public and potentially affected communities; (ii) screen and assess the issues raised and determine how to address them; (iii) provide, track, and document responses, if any; and (iv) adjust the management program, as appropriate.

Contact Person: Fahima Wazni

Company Name: Siagro

Address: Av. Malick Sy Immeuble Sehran 6e étage à cote Colis Postaux
E Tél. : (221) 33 849 56 66

Fax : (221) 33 849 56 65

email: fwazni@kirene.sn