General Mills Recognized As Global Leader In Corporate Sustainability

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, General Mills announced it has been recognized as a global leader in corporate sustainability by environmental impact non-profit CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) achieving a place on the CDP 'A List' for both climate change and water security - two out of three environmental themes covered by CDP scores. General Mills is one of only two companies in the food sector around the globe to receive a score of "A" in both Climate Change and Water Security.

CDP assesses companies on the comprehensiveness of their disclosure, their awareness and management of environmental risks and their demonstration of best practices associated with environmental leadership, such as setting ambitious and meaningful targets.

General Mills has been recognized for its actions to respond to climate change and manage water resources more sustainably, based on its 2018 disclosure to CDP. In 2017, the company was named to CDPs Climate A-List, Supplier Engagement Leader Board, Supplier Climate A-List. The latest results mark the inception of General Mills recognition for progress in both water security and climate change.

"Being a leading global food company means being responsible stewards of natural resources. If we want to be around for another 150 years, we must reduce our environmental impact from field to fork to end of life. This begins by being aware of environmental risks and managing them with incredible care and consideration," said Jerry Lynch, chief sustainability officer at General Mills. "Through our commitments and ambitions, we've already seen great transformation across our value chain and, while there is always more work to do, we're thrilled to be recognized for our progress."

General Mills' sustainability mission centers on promoting environmentally and socially responsible practices across the company's value chain to protect the resources and people upon which the company's business depends. To achieve this mission, General Mills is focused on climate change, water stewardship, sustainable sourcing and improving the health of ecosystems.

"Congratulations to General Mills for being named to CDP's A List this year. The CDP's A List is a group of companies that are positioning themselves to provide solutions as it is clear that the business world is an essential player in this transition to a more sustainable economy," said Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP. "We need to urgently scale up environmental action at all levels and the A List companies are set to make a substantial contribution to those goals."

Every year thousands of companies disclose data about their environmental impacts, risks and opportunities to CDP for independent assessment against its scoring methodology. In 2018, companies were requested to do so by over 650 investors with over $87 trillion in assets and/or 115 major purchasing organizations with $3.3 trillion in purchasing power. Companies then receive scores of A to D- for how effectively they are tackling climate change, deforestation and water security, while those that don't disclose or provide insufficient information are marked with an F.

The full list of companies that made this year's CDP Climate Change and Water Security A Lists are available here, along with all other public company scores: https://www.cdp.net/en/scores. 

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, Häagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, Blue and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2018 proforma net sales of U.S. $17.0 billion, including $1.3 billion from Blue Buffalo. In addition, General Mills' share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1.1 billion.

About CDP

CDP is an international non-profit that drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Voted number one climate research provider by investors and working with institutional investors with assets of US$87 trillion, we leverage investor and buyer power to motivate companies to disclose and manage their environmental impacts. Over 7,000 companies with over 50% of global market capitalization disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2018. This is in addition to the over 750 cities, states and regions who disclosed, making CDP's platform one of the richest sources of information globally on how companies and governments are driving environmental change. CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project, is a founding member of the We Mean Business Coalition. Visit www.CDP.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.

The full methodology and criteria for the Climate Change and Water Security A Lists are available on CDP's website at: https://www.cdp.net/en/guidance/guidance-for-companies under 'CDP scoring methodologies 2018.'

The 2018 CDP A List includes the CDP Supplier A List, which in previous years was released separately.