Company shares decarbonization strategies in first Climate Transition Action Plan, sets no deforestation commitment, highlights community impact and progress across commitments
MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–General Mills (NYSE: GIS) today released its 2024 Global Responsibility Report, detailing progress the company made across three priority areas – Planet, People and Food – during its 2023 fiscal year, June 1, 2022, through May 28, 2023. The report marks General Mills’ 54th year of reporting on its environmental and social impact, reinforces the company’s commitment to transparency, and features how General Mills is Standing for Good, a pillar of its Accelerate business strategy.
“General Mills has a nearly 160-year legacy of standing for good, and we’re proud of the impact we’ve had and committed to continuing that journey,” said Jeff Harmening, chairman and CEO, General Mills. “When it comes to the products we make, it’s never just a box – it’s a promise that care has been taken in all aspects of making it. That promise extends beyond nutrition and great taste to our efforts to improve farmland soil health, be a responsible employer and contribute meaningfully to our communities.”
Standing for Planet
As a global food company, General Mills recognizes the risks that climate change presents to people, planet, and its business. To drive collective action and continued progress toward the company’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its value chain by 30 percent by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, General Mills is releasing its first Climate Transition Action Plan.
The plan details the company’s integrated approach and evolved decarbonization strategies across four key climate levers – agriculture and ingredients, energy and manufacturing, transportation, and packaging.
General Mills is advancing work to reduce its climate impacts. The company surpassed its 2030 Scope 1 and Scope 2 SBTi goals in 2022 and is driving further reductions across its owned operations. Nearly half of the company’s GHG emissions occur upstream of its direct operations, in agriculture, ingredients and packaging. Through 2023, General Mills reduced total value chain emissions by seven percent and further reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 12 percent compared to last year, and 51 percent compared to its 2020 baseline.
“The health of our planet and our ability to make food the world loves are inherently intertwined,” said Mary Jane Melendez, chief sustainability and global impact officer, General Mills. “Our Climate Transition Action Plan and continued progress demonstrate how we are working from the ground up, with partners across our value chain and industry, to help solve today’s food and agriculture challenges and build a resilient future.”
Additional Planet progress in fiscal 2023 includes:
- Advancing regenerative agriculture: More than 500,000 acres engaged in General Mills’ regenerative agriculture programs – more than halfway to the company’s 2030 commitment.
- Committing to no deforestation: General Mills is committing to no deforestation in the supply chains of the palm, cocoa, and fiber it sources by 2025. This new goal builds on work the company has done since 2014 and supports land use change emissions reductions and forest protection.
- Sourcing renewable electricity: Achieved 97 percent of the company’s target to source 100 percent renewable electricity for its global operations by 2030.
- Designing recyclable and reusable packaging: Ninety-three percent of General Mills’ packaging was recyclable or reusable (by weight).
Standing for People
In 2023, General Mills continued to reinforce its newest core value, “Champion Belonging,” underlining its commitment to fostering an inclusive culture where all employees feel supported and can show up as their authentic selves. The company also made strides in its journey to increase workforce diversity. Outside the workplace, General Mills is helping support its hometown communities around the world through charitable giving, volunteerism, and food donations.
“It is incredibly powerful when we come together to make an impact,” said Jacqueline Williams-Roll, chief human resources officer, General Mills. “Whether that is through fostering a culture of belonging at General Mills to leveraging our resources to help communities in need around the world, I am incredibly proud of all the ways Team General Mills comes together to stand for good, put people first, and make a positive difference.”
Additional People progress in fiscal 2023 includes:
- Championing belonging: Ninety percent of employees said that General Mills is a great place to work, and 87 percent of employees said they feel like they belong at General Mills.
- Increasing workforce diversity: General Mills exceeded its target to reach 25 percent minority representation and increased representation of Black managers within its U.S. workforce. For the first time ever, the company reached gender parity at the Director level and increased female representation at the Officer level by four percent since last fiscal year.
- Supporting global hometown communities: Through a combination of food and monetary donations, General Mills contributed $112.5 million in support of its hometown communities. Since 2019, the company and its philanthropic partners have enabled 42.6 billion meals worldwide.
Making Food the World Loves
As a global food company, General Mills embraces the diversity of people’s needs, keeping consumers at the heart of everything they do. With more than 100 brands across 100 countries, General Mills provides consumers with a variety of foods to nourish people and their pets, while keeping people and planet in mind.
Notable Food progress in fiscal 2023 includes:
- Reducing food waste: Since 2017, General Mills has served as a strategic partner and funder of MealConnect, an innovative food recovery platform created by Feeding America that helps rescue and redistribute good food to charitable organizations serving people in need. To date, MealConnect has recovered more than six billion pounds of food and enabled billions of nourishing meals for food-insecure people.
- Providing natural and organic options: The company maintained its leadership as the largest producer of natural and organic packaged food in the U.S., and one in 10 products within the company’s North American portfolio is certified organic or made with organic ingredients.
- Meeting consumer preferences: As consumers’ desires for personalized nutrition expands, General Mills works to provide innovative product offerings to meet their specific nutrition and lifestyle goals. In 2023, General Mills doubled Vitamin D in its Big G cereals. The company also has over 1,200 products labeled as gluten-free and 750 vegan products.
To learn more about General Mills’ progress, visit GeneralMills.com/howwemakeit.
G STANDS FOR GOOD
General Mills stands for good – for the people we serve, the brands you love and the planet we depend on. For nearly 160-years, General Mills has believed doing good and good business go hand-in-hand. The company is putting people first by improving food security and advancing diversity, inclusion, and a culture of belonging, and by creating positive planetary outcomes through actions beyond its walls. Learn more at GeneralMills/gstandsforgood.
ABOUT GENERAL MILLS
General Mills makes food the world loves. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy to drive shareholder value by boldly building its brands, relentlessly innovating, unleashing its scale and standing for good. Its portfolio of beloved brands includes household names such as Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Totino’s, Annie’s, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2023 net sales of U.S. $20.1 billion. In addition, the company’s share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1.0 billion.
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