MINNEAPOLIS, April 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- General Mills
released its 2017 Global Responsibility Report, outlining the
company's approach to creating environmental, social and economic
value in the countries where it operates. General Mills continues
to make significant progress toward nutrition improvements and
sustainable sourcing of their food, as well as climate and
pollinator protection – all key highlights of this year's
report.
"For 150 years, General Mills has been making food people love
while also investing in making the world around us better," said
Ken Powell, chairman and CEO of
General Mills. "We believe that being successful in the marketplace
and being a force for good go hand in hand. We are proud of the
bold actions we have taken to advance sustainability, make
innovative nutritional advances to our food, and provide a positive
impact in our communities for the consumers we serve."
Improving Nutrition
In 2016, General Mills made notable progress in giving consumers
more food choices that align with consumers' changing food
habits.
In the U.S., where progress is measured and tracked against the
company's longstanding Health Metric, 79 percent of the company's
food has been nutritionally improved since 2005.
With 98 percent of American Households purchasing a General
Mills product at some point during the year, this push to improve
the nutrition profile of the company's food has made a meaningful
impact with consumers.
Key to this effort is enhancing positive nutrition such
as:
- More Whole Grain – General Mills whole grain portfolio
includes cereal, whole wheat flour, granola bars made with whole
grain and meal kits with whole grain pasta and rice. In fact, 100
percent of General Mills Big G cereals deliver double-digit whole
grains per serving.
- Less Sugar – General Mills has lowered sugar by five to
30 percent in more than 260 products. Most notably the company has
reduced sugar in Yoplait Original yogurt by 25 percent, and all
General Mills Big G kid cereals are at 10 grams of sugar or less
per serving.
- Reduced Calories & Portion Control Packaging –
Two-thirds of General Mills North
American retail products contain 150 calories or less per
serving.
General Mills has also made investments to address changing
consumer preferences. Today more than half of General Mills' U.S.
retail products are labeled as free from artificial flavors,
artificial preservatives, or colors from artificial sources. The
company also continues to see a growing interest in natural and
organic foods. General Mills is the fourth largest maker of natural
and organic foods in the U.S. One in 10 products sold in
North America are USDA certified
organic or made with organic ingredients including brands like
Annie's, LARABAR and Cascadian
Farm.
For nearly a decade, General Mills has served consumers with
Celiac disease and gluten sensitivities. Since Gluten Free Rice
Chex was launched in 2008, General Mills has grown its portfolio of
gluten-free products to more than 1,000 items. It is now the second
largest provider of gluten-free foods, including seven varieties of
Cheerios, in the U.S. The company has also introduced gluten-free
products in more away-from-home food outlets like restaurants and
schools, and in new regions such as Canada and Europe.
Continuing progress toward sustainable sourcing
In 2013, General Mills made a commitment to sustainably source
100 percent of the company's ten priority ingredients by 2020.
These priority ingredients represent 40 percent of the company's
annual raw material purchases and include cocoa, vanilla, oats,
U.S. wheat, U.S. sugar beets, U.S. corn (dry milled), U.S. dairy
(raw fluid milk), fiber packaging, sugar cane and palm oil.
Four years into the commitment, the company is at 69 percent of
its goal. To date, the most significant progress has been made
toward palm oil (100 percent), fiber packaging (99 percent) as well
as 50 percent or more of sugar beets, sugar cane and oats.
"As a global food company, we depend on nature to help us make
the food people love," said Jerry
Lynch, Chief Sustainability Officer for General Mills. "So
it's vital that we continue to make steady progress toward our
ambitious sourcing, climate and water commitments. We also know
that one company can't do it alone, which is why collaboration is
critical to realizing our goals."
Protecting Natural Resources
The food industry relies on the planet's resources to perform
well. General Mills' progress in 2016 demonstrates the company's
long-term commitment to protect and restore the resources upon
which its business and communities depend, focusing on soil health,
watershed health and climate.
- Soil Health Roadmap – In 2016, General Mills and The
Nature Conservancy unveiled ReThink Soil: A Roadmap to Soil Health.
The roadmap outlines 10 key steps spanning scientific, economic and
policy priorities to achieve widespread adoption on more than 50
percent of U.S. farmland by 2025. These efforts could result in
over $50 billion in social and
environmental benefits annually.
- Refreshed Watershed Health Strategy – General Mills set
a goal to develop water stewardship plans for the company's most
material and at-risk watersheds in its global value chain by 2025.
The company worked in partnership with The Nature Conservancy to
reassess and identify priority locations across worldwide
operations. In addition, every General Mills production facility
has a target to decrease water by 1 percent annually, normalized to
production.
- Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) – In 2016,
the company was recognized as a global climate leader and named to
the CDP Climate A-List. Absolute GHG emission reductions were made
in the value chain areas of shipping, converting, selling and
consuming.
Increasing pollinator habitat
General Mills is committed to improving the health of ecosystems
in its supply chain, which benefits farmers, wildlife, the planet
and the food the company makes. Pollinators are responsible for
enabling one third of the food we eat. For this reason, we focus on
multi-faceted approaches including providing habitat in
agricultural landscapes where crops will benefit from the work of
pollinators.
In 2016, General Mills, the Xerces Society, and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture announced a partnership to restore and
protect pollinator habitat across hundreds of acres of farmland in
North America. The five-year,
$4 million financial commitment
between General Mills and USDA's Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) supports farmers across the U.S. by providing
technical assistance to plant and protect pollinator habitat, such
as native wildflower field edges and flowering hedgerows. Through
2021, this partnership will help to plant more than 100,000 acres
of pollinator habitat. And we continue to collaborate with leading
researchers, conservationists and our suppliers to improve the
health, quantity and effectiveness of pollinators through research
and other efforts.
Supporting communities
In 2016, General Mills Foundation
repositioned its global focus areas to more closely tie to the
company's core business and knowledge of food systems. The new
focus areas include: Increasing Food Security, Advancing
Sustainable Agriculture and Strengthening Hometown Communities.
Throughout the last year, the company and its Foundation donated
more than $147 million to key
initiatives that support communities around the globe, and enabled
57 million meals through General Mills food donations globally.
Other impactful 2016 contributions include:
- 2.2+ billion pounds of food rescued–
General Mills worked with grantees in the U.S. and abroad to rescue
more than 2.2 billion pounds of excess food to feed the hungry
rather than go to landfills.
- $51 million to schools –
Through the Box Tops for Education program, General Mills donated
over $51 million in 2016 to K-8
schools in the U.S. Celebrating its 20th birthday in
2016, the program to date has given more than $800 million to over 80,000 schools.
- 83 percent volunteer – Our employees worldwide give back
to their local communities. With 83 percent reporting that they
volunteer, we provided more than 328,000 hours of community
volunteerism in 2016.
"Our company's philanthropy is aligned with our business goals
now more than ever," said Mary Jane
Melendez, Executive Director of the General Mills Foundation. "This means we can leverage
the global reach and know-how of General Mills to make a positive
impact in communities worldwide."
This marks the 47th year General Mills has reported
back to stakeholders and the community.
Learn more about General Mills' economic, environmental and
social commitments and progress by visiting
GeneralMills.com/Responsibility, to view the full Global
Responsibility Report, interactive report and 3-minute video.
About General Mills
General Mills is a leading global
food company that serves the world by making food people love. Its
brands include Cheerios, Annie's, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Fiber
One, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker,
Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai
Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had
fiscal 2016 worldwide sales of US $17.6
billion, including the company's US $1.0 billion proportionate share of joint-venture
net sales. For more information about General Mills, visit
www.generalmills.com.
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SOURCE General Mills