General Mills Takes Climate Change Seriously Because You Can’t Make Wheaties Without Wheat

On Monday, General Mills — the sixth-largest food company in the world — announced plans to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent by 2025.

The announcement comes at a time when a growing number of major food companies are pledging to take more steps to encourage sustainability throughout their businesses.  But General Mills’ plan is slightly unique because it seeks to reduce carbon emissions throughout the company’s entire supply chain, from farm to landfill — a first for major food companies.

“Climate plays a significant role in the long-term viability of our business,” Jerry Lynch, vice president and chief sustainability officer at General Mills, said in an interview posted to the company’s official blog Monday.  “As a global food company, we recognize the need to mitigate the risks climate change present to humanity, our environment and our livelihoods long term.”

Lynch called the decision to aim for a 28 percent reduction by 2025 “science-based,” taking into account what climate science says must be done to avoid the worst impacts from climate change.  Post-2025, Lynch said, the company will work to reduce emissions by 50 to 70 percent — a goal that’s in line with what’s necessary to keep the world under 2°C of global warming, something that would threaten the company’s ability to reliable source crops and produce food.
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Within its own operations, General Mills announced it would invest more than $100 million towards clean energy and energy efficiency in its manufacturing plants and throughout its transportation system.  General Mills will also work to reduce emissions within its operations by using less cardboard and plastic in its packaging.  The company has been working to curb its own greenhouse gas emissions since 2005 and has managed to decrease levels over the past decade by 13 percent.

But it also acknowledged that much of the greenhouse gas emissions related to its supply chain comes from places outside of its factories — from the farms where its raw materials are sourced.  In 2013, General Mills committed to sourcing its 10 priority ingredients from sustainable sources by 2020.  Under its new climate plan, the company promised to source products from an additional 250,000 acres of organic production by 2020.

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