{"id":14029,"date":"2016-11-04T17:58:48","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-environmental-impact-behind-a-cereal-box-how-general-mills-is-addressing-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T17:59:16","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:59:16","slug":"the-environmental-impact-behind-a-cereal-box-how-general-mills-is-addressing-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-environmental-impact-behind-a-cereal-box-how-general-mills-is-addressing-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"The environmental impact behind a cereal box: How General Mills is addressing climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"f2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

General Mills is the manufacturer of a wide portfolio of products, such as baking mixes, breakfast cereals, yogurt and ice-cream, and has very popular brands such as Cheerios, Yoplait and Haagen Dazs.<\/p>\n

During the last few years, General Mills has been expressing its concern about sustainability and climate change, and in 2015, announced a formal commitment with quantitative targets and action plan.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why is General Mills concerned about climate change?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It may seem that General Mills\u2019 business is not related or would not be affected by climate change. However, there are some important reasons that support why the company is addressing this problem.<\/p>\n

First, many General Mill\u2019s products depend on agriculture, using cocoa, corn and wheat as main raw materials. Climate change and the emission of GHG has negatively impacted the availability of these supplies, becoming a risk for business.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Second, the use of clean energy can help reduce costs, thus improve products profitability. The company stated that they are using clean energy from oat hulls in their oat mill in Fridley \u201creducing the mill\u2019s carbon footprint by 21 percent and saving more than $350 million in natural gas costs. In Guangzhou, China, General Mills reduced emissions by more than 25 percent after switching from oil to natural gas.\u201d The company forecast that \u201cthis will save about $1 million yearly at the Guangzhou site alone.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Third, activists are generating a lot of pressure to big companies, demanding sustainable policies and tracing their implementation[4]<\/a>. On one hand, sustainability and environmental concern can be part of a company\u2019s strategy and can become a competitive advantage because generates goodwill in consumers. On the other hand, not being sustainable can lead to bad publicity and can destroy a company\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A commitment with the future<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2015 General Mills announced a series goals[5]<\/a> to address climate change problems. It\u2019s important to point out that the company\u2019s efforts will impact the whole supply chain, from agriculture to the retails. In the corporate web page, the CEO of the company stated: \u201cWe know our greatest impact is outside our four walls \u2013 particularly in agriculture, ingredients and packaging. To reduce emission levels, we must work across our value chain with growers, suppliers, customers and industry partners. Together, we will identify new solutions and promote sustainable agriculture practices that drive emission reductions.\u201d6<\/sup><\/p>\n

General Mills found that most of the GHG emissions and water consumption comes from its raw materials, particularly, from agriculture6<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

\"aaa\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For this reason, the company stated its commitment to sustainably source 100% of its 10 priority ingredients by 2020. These ingredients represent more than 50% of the annual raw material purchases. To accomplish the target, the company is building partnerships with suppliers to accelerate adoption of more sustainable agriculture practices that build climate-resilient, healthy soils.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition, the company its changing its internal operations to reduce GHG emissions, energy consumption, transportation fuel, water consumption, and solid waste.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"f4\"<\/a>\"f5\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Is that enough?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though General Mills\u2019 policy regarding climate change is a great step to fight greenhouse emissions and climate change, there is still space to generate improvements, such as:<\/p>\n