General Mills

Food retailer General Mills commissioned Trucost to quantify natural capital risks across its value chain including agriculture, ingredient production, packaging supply chain, product production, distribution and consumer use.

Trucost identified ‘hotspots’ of greenhouse gas emissions and water use in the supply chain, with agriculture being the dominant source. The research helped refine and enhance General Mills’ strategy by informing a new goal to sustainably source 100% of its ten priority ingredients by 2020.

“In 2005, we began as most companies do – working within our own four walls. So, we established targets to reduce the environmental footprint within our own factories, working on water, energy, waste, and greenhouse gas, and have made great progress there. Being a farm kid from Minnesota, the game is ‘fish where the fish are.’ Really, the sustainability game is upstream from us. Two-thirds of our total product carbon footprint resides upstream with our suppliers, primarily within agriculture. Ninety-nine percent of our water footprint resides there. That’s why our focus in the next couple of years is around supplier sustainability and sustainable sourcing.”

Insights

Growing Business Value in an Environmentally Challenged Economy (publication)