{"id":21596,"date":"2017-11-12T18:59:44","date_gmt":"2017-11-12T23:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/sustainability-in-food-how-general-mills-is-combating-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2017-11-12T18:59:44","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T23:59:44","slug":"sustainability-in-food-how-general-mills-is-combating-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/sustainability-in-food-how-general-mills-is-combating-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Sustainability in Food: How General Mills is Combating Climate Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Failure to Act on Climate Change Will Hurt General Mills\u2019 Top and Bottom Lines<\/strong><\/p>\n

General Mills, one of the largest consumer packaged food companies in the world, recently celebrated its 150th<\/sup> birthday in 2017. To ensure continued success over the next 150 years, the company must address the sustainability of its supply chain and the sourcing of raw materials.<\/p>\n

Addressing climate change has significant implications for both General Mills\u2019 bottom-line profitability and top-line revenue streams. As reported in a Nielsen Global Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility, most global consumers are willing to pay a premium to support products and companies that are committed to improving the sustainability of their products [1]. Other studies have found that 84% of consumers seek out responsibly sourced products whenever possible [2]. Millennials, in particular, are cognizant about purchasing brands that support their values, and have repeatedly shown that their loyalty to companies that pledge to fight climate change [2].<\/p>\n

Climate change is no longer a fringe issue for consumers\u2014rather, it is top of mind. As consumers become more and more aware of the importance of addressing climate change, it will look to big players, like General Mills, to make big strides. Failure to address these concerns will cause consumers to oust and expose General Mills\u2019 supply chain for its role in instigating climate change, instead of recognizing General Mills\u2019 efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change.<\/p>\n

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Current Short- and Long-Term Action Steps Undertaken by General Mills to Address Climate Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently, 92% of greenhouse gas emissions linked to the General Mills value chain occur in entities that are not actually controlled by the company [5]. These \u201cScope-3\u201d emissions typically occur before General Mills has sourced the products or after consumers have disposed of the products it sells [4]. Although technically beyond their control, General Mills has maintained its commitment to addressing climate change within the total supply chain.<\/p>\n

What management is doing for the short-term:<\/strong><\/p>\n