General Mills Aims to Sustainably Source Top 10 Ingredients by 2020
General Mills, one of the world’s largest food companies, says it intends to sustainably source all of its top 10 ingredients by 2020. These ingredients, including oats, wheat, corn, fiber packaging, cocoa, vanilla, palm oil, sugar cane and sugar beets, comprise half of the company’s total raw material purchases.
The commitment builds on the food giant’s ongoing sustainability mission to conserve the raw materials used in its products, General Mills says in a Sept. 25 press release.
“As a food company, we know that the vitality of our business depends upon access to high-quality ingredients,” General Mills Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Jerry Lynch, says. “We also know where we can have the greatest impact from an environmental standpoint. We believe that through sustainable sourcing, we can create the most long-term economic, environmental and social value.”
The company says nearly two-thirds if its greenhouse gas emissions and 99 percent of water use happen outside its own operations, mostly in agriculture. General Mills says it believes it can have the greatest influence in finding ways to improve in these areas by working with business partners and non-governmental organizations across the supply chain.
General Mills says it’s been working with the World Wildlife Fund since 2010 to integrate sustainability into its supply chain. The company says it also has partnerships with several other groups, including Field to Market – The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and CARE.
General Mills and the other 10 largest food and beverage companies in the world have been targeted in recent months by anti-hunger group Oxfam International’s Behind the Brands campaign, which aims to pressure the businesses to make their supply chains more sustainable.
