General Mills Working on ‘Water Stewardship’ Plans
General Mills says 99 percent of its water consumption occurs outside its direct operations, mostly in agriculture, and the giant food processor is working with The Nature Conservancy on a collaborative global water stewardship strategy.
In a recent blog post, the cereal company outlines the steps it’s taking to make its supply chain more sustainable, i.e. more protective of the environment, human rights and animal welfare. Work on water conservation is part of that effort.
“The watersheds we access to meet the needs of our facilities support demands from agriculture, municipalities and other industries, so improving the health of these watersheds requires significant collaboration,” the post by General Mills Chief Sustainability Officer Jerry Lynch says.
The company and TNC already completed a global water risk assessment of all General Mills plants and growing regions, building on its supply chain risk analysis activities with WWF, he said. Collaborating with others, General Mills is developing strategies to improve the health of eight watersheds in the United States, China and Mexico, according to the post.
“Next, we plan to expand these conversations to include a broader mix of private and public entities in each watershed area,” Lynch said. “Our goal is to find the right partners and begin working with others to implement changes in high-risk areas. Ultimately, our goal is to develop a global freshwater stewardship program with public commitments, public education and advocacy, and funding for each watershed.”
General Mills last year committed to sustainably source its 10 “priority ingredients” – representing more than 50 percent of its annual purchases — by 2020.
Lynch will participate in a Twitter chat at 3 p,m, ET on Wednesday, April 23 at #GenMillsSusty.
Sustainability was identified as one of three emerging innovations impacting supply chains in the recently released 2014 MHI Annual Industry Report – Innovations That Drive Supply Chains. Click here to learn more.
