Products and Areas of Production

Dolefil produces fresh pineapples and transforms them into the following products:  slices, chunks, tidbits, crushed, juice and juice concentrate. Dolefil also produces tropical fruit salads, Fruit Bowls, juice in pouches, nata de coco and tomato sauce.

Dolefil’s base plantation is approximately 9,700 hectares, with independent grower farms accounting for an additional 4,249 hectares. Dolefil has over 12,500 full-time and seasonal or hourly-paid employees.

Independent Growers

Dolefil sources its pineapples, papayas and nata de coco from over 1,500 independent growers.

Dolefil’s independent growers are included in Dolefil’s environmental management system. In addition, Dolefil supplies its own Crop Protection Products to its independent growers and provides them with training on how to handle and apply these products in a safe and appropriate manner.

In addition, Dolefil has a “growership” program in place. This program provides Dolefil growers with access to low-cost financing, markets, tested technology, reliable supply of information, training and higher earnings. The program also helps provide employment to family members and neighbors of growers.

Environmental Practices

Dolefil has been ISO 14001 certified since 1999.

In addition to the priorities highlighted in Dole’s environmental policy, Dolefil’s environmental programs also concentrate on the following objectives:

• Reduction in the use of Crop Protection Products by:
  • Requiring low dosage in farming protocols
  • Seeking to eliminate the use of registered Crop Protection Products in its base plantation
  • Eliminating, in 2002, the use of post-harvest fungicides
  • Intensifying research on organic farming
• Soil conservation by:
  • Developing interactive contour farming practices, gradient slopes and drop structures
  • Retaining walls for gully banks
  • Encouraging sub-soiling practices for enhanced soil absorption
  • Keeping indigenous grass in waterways and planting deep-rooted grasses in unploughed strips
• Waste recycling by contracting a third-party to recycle tinplate trimmings, cans and end rejects, 55-gallon steel drums, plastic cups, fiber cartons, copper wire and scrap iron.
• Contribution, for more than 15 years, to major environmental programs, including:
  • Sarangani Bay Marine and Inland Resource Conservation
  • Mt. Matutum reforestation and soil conservation program, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • The Gully Tree Planting Project, whose objective is to reforest the gullies within the Dolefil plantation
  • Projects aimed at reducing waste pond loads and biochemical oxygen demand
  • Programs aimed at implementing community livelihood projects for protected landscape

Labor Conditions

Dolefil has earned a solid reputation of being a preferred employer in the province in which it operates. Its compensation and benefit packages are superior to those being offered by other employers in the local region and are comparable to the better employers countrywide.

While Philippine law has specific provisions which regulate the employment of children under the age of 18, it is Dolefil’s policy not to hire workers under 18 years of age.

Dolefil has been SA 8000 certified since 2001.

Training

Dolefil conducts year-round training and educational programs to stimulate awareness, increase knowledge and improve people skills so that employees can work effectively and safely as individuals and teams.

• Technical and Skills Training
  • Machine operations
  • Process orientation
• Management Development Program
  • Teambuilding
  • On-the-job training
  • Leadership skills training
• Values - Building positive attitudes (zero defect attitude, mutual respect, transparency, discipline and Filipino pride of doing an excellent job)
  • Dole values
  • Life after Dole (retirement program)
  • Managing personal finances workshop
  • Labor / Management cooperation
• Environmental Practices
  • Worker safety, first aid, hearing protection and emergency procedures
  • Reduction in chemical usage
  • Chemical handling
  • Good Agricultural Practices
  • Raw water clarification training
• Good Manufacturing Practices / Safety / Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points training
• Environmental and Labor Management Systems Refresher Course (ISO/SA)
  • Compliance with applicable laws
  • Dole policies
  • Review of Dolefil’s environmental and labor objectives for continuous improvement

Social Benefits

The social benefits enjoyed by Dolefil employees combine both legally mandated and Dolefil fringe benefits.

• Mandated Benefits include:
  • Social Security System: replacement income for workers in times of disability, sickness, maternity leave, old age or death
  • Employee compensation: assist workers who suffer in times of disability, sickness or injury
• Fringe Benefits include:
  • Family education allowance, maternity assistance, transportation and travel allowance, group life insurance, vacation leave with pay, sick leave with pay, paternity leave, medical benefits, retirement plan, service awards and bonuses

Community Programs

Foundation

Mahintana Foundation, Inc.: Dolefil consistently supports the independent Mahintana Foundation. Mahintana implements a range of corporate social responsibility programs. Dolefil provides Mahintana with funds, monitors projects and programs, and assists Mahintana with its efforts to develop a broad-based sourcing of development funds from private and government funding organizations in the region and around the world.

Medical Programs

Dolefil provides free clinics and immunizations, in partnership with local government health units, to improve the health conditions of people in hard-to-access communities. Services include free check-ups and medicine, immunizations, and training in disease prevention.
In 1968, Dolefil established the Howard Hubbard Memorial Hospital. In addition to medical care, the hospital has provided health activities and programs such as sanitation programs (potable water, waste management, etc.), health education and wellness programs, and food and immunization programs. While the primary users of the hospital are Dolefil employees and their dependents, the hospital also provides medical care to the community at large.

Education Programs

Dolefil aims to help upgrade the quality and standards of education in public elementary schools in the area in which the Company operates. Dolefil’s innovative Adopt-A-School Program includes the training of teachers in modern teaching methods, the provision of supplemental books, the donation of classrooms, chairs and desks to alleviate shortages, as well as the mobilization of parent participation.

Other Programs

Enterprise Development: This program helps improve capabilities and increase the income of target communities through effective utilization and management of available resources. This includes livelihood enhancement and cooperative development.

Charity Programs: Dolefil’s Light-A-Tree, Light-A-Life Program is an employee-initiated project supported by Dolefil that annually raises funds from employees and friends for pre-selected orphanages, schools for special needs children (autistic, deaf, mute, blind, etc.), nursing homes, and indigent families. Dolefil doubles the amount of donations received.

The renovation of South Cotabato Provincial Hospital Female Ward was also funded through this Program. Project planning, implementation, monitoring and funds management are handled by a Dole employee committee.

Dolefil also assists surrounding communities by donating excess materials, such as lumber, tiles and wood pallets, to day-care centers, schools, charitable institutions and other government and private institutions.

Dolefil’s other Community programs include the organization of several activities including:

• Sports and recreational activities
• Anniversary celebrations
• Spiritual activities
• Family welfare programs

Main Certifications

• ISO 9001
  • Dolefil (and its independent growers) for the growing, processing, canning, packaging and shipping of processed and fresh pineapples and other products as well as for the manufacturing of cans and corrugated boxes and for all agricultural, industrial and support services
  • Panabo Plastic Plant for the manufacturing of plastic products
• ISO IEC 17025: Dolefil for meeting the requirements in chemical and microbiological testing
• ISO 14001: Dolefil (and its independent growers) – scope similar to Dolefil’s ISO 9001 certification scope
• SA 8000: Dolefil (and its independent growers) – scope similar to Dolefil’s ISO 9001 certification scope
• Halal and kosher

In addition, Dolefil complies with a series of additional standards, including:

• Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
• Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP)
• Food Processors Association (FPA) Safe Standards for Food Safety
• ISPS Code for the security of ships and port facilities
• European Food Safety Inspection Services (EFSIS) standard
• SGF/IRMA (International Raw Material Assurance)

Awards

• In 2006, Dolefil received a merit award from SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance) Philippines for achieving multiple certifications such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and SA 8000. In the Philippines, only seven companies received this award and only two in Mindanao
• In 2006 and 2002, Dolefil was recognized top employer in the Mindanao province by the Social Security System
• In 2005, Dolefil was recognized as a ‘Hall of Fame’ awarded by the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry for the implementation of successful programs in the areas of Labor Management cooperation, quality and productivity, family welfare and community relations
• In 2005, Dolefil received the Outstanding Employer Award (category ‘large enterprise’) by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
• In 2005, Dolefil received the Top Exporter of the Year award for agro-based products from Banko Sentral ng Philippines
• In 2004, Dolefil received a citation for supporting community classroom projects, supporting family welfare committees from the Department of Labor and Employment
• In 2004, Dolefil received a ‘Todo Unlad’ award from the landbank of the Philippines for countryside development
• In 2001, 2003 and 2004, Dolefil’s energy savings programs won energy efficiency awards from the Philippine Department of Energy
• In 2002, Dolefil received a citation by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) for practices supporting the UN Global Compact Initiative (advocacy on the universal principles of human rights, labor rights and sustainable development)
• In 2002, Dolefil received a citation on best Human Resources / Industrial Relations practices by the University of the Philippines
• In 2002, Dolefil was recognized by the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources for demonstrating initiative in improving environmental management practices and performance for the implementation of an Environmental Management System, certification under ISO 14001 and serving as an example for other companies and organizations to emulate