Diversity & Inclusion
(Andrea Polzer-Lenius, Corporate HR Director, AGRANA)
Originally founded to produce sugar for the Austrian market, AGRANA is today an international group of companies with sites in more than 25 countries and a product range extending far beyond sugar. Spanning more than 13 time zones, 20 different languages, a multi-generational workforce with wide-ranging nationalities and perspectives, diversity is an essential element of working life at AGRANA. We have firmly anchored diversity and inclusion as integral components of our fundamental principles since our aim is to maintain and promote this diversity among our, in the meantime, more than 9,000 employees and to extend and further strengthen their equal participation in the company.
Our D&I initiative and a global network of D&I officers form the cornerstones of our efforts to promote a diverse and inclusive corporate culture for all our employees around the world and contribute on a daily basis to creating a working environment which is free of constraints and discrimination.
In the following, you’ll find some of our Diversity & Inclusion initiatives at AGRANA:
Starting in our Fruit division, we put a special focus on unconscious bias trainings. These trainings are aimed to raise awareness and help tackle our own underlying assumptions about people without noticing them. In these trainings, different bias types are addressed, and tips and tricks are shared how to mitigate and manage biases in certain situations. A huge thanks goes out to our employees’ contributions and positive attitude throughout the trainings.
At AGRANA, we welcome everyone regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, disability, etc. as a part of the company! Our Brazilian branch implemented the Better Age Program which aims to value the experience and diversity of generation with an openness to hiring professionals over 50 years of age.
Our affiliate in Gleisdorf, Austria tackled the growth of diversity by emphasizing on employing people with disabilities and people who have been unemployed for a long-time.
Being diverse and inclusive not only brings you valuable perspectives, but also a lot of opportunities to celebrate. We value the different festivities around the globe by for example offering special lunch in our canteens or sharing interesting facts about our locations in our D&I location factsheets.