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General Mills says sustainability goals “imperative”

General Mills says its sustainability goals – launched four years ago – started as a “business imperative” for the 150-year-old food company.

Jerry Lynch, vice president and sustainability chief, tells Brownfield progress is being made with their suppliers and farmers. He says General Mills’ continuous improvement measurement is applied to large commodity crops in North America which are ingredients in many of their food products, “Things like wheat and oats and corn and sugar beets.”

Suppliers work directly with farmers of those crops using the Fieldprint Calculator by Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. Lynch says the goal is to get more crops with fewer inputs and less environmental impact, while providing nutritious foods for consumers.

By General Mills’ own measurements, 30 to 50% of those major crop ingredients were from sustainable sources in Fiscal Year 2016.  The company’s goal is to source 100% of 10 priority ingredients by 2020.