Sustainability Leadership Perspective: Food & BeverageDownload a PDF version of this report or return to Mapping the Future of Green Innovation
Food & Beverage Can your next drink or snack really change the world? Maybe not, but the company that makes it certainly could. With tremendous distribution networks, packaging needs and consumer demand, these companies have a large climate footprint as a baseline and a lot of room to improve. According to the MapChange Study, General Mills has a perceived sustainability score of 82 — but the brand’s actual score is 49. We think that’s a pretty big difference. Currently, that gap doesn’t seem to be hurting their numbers — or the numbers of other industry-leading brands. For example, General Mills was named a top corporate citizen by Corporate Responsibility Magazine in seven responsibility categories with a lower-weighted emphasis on green. However, the short-lived advantage of a strong, but shallow green perception, alone, will likely only last so long. We believe it is not what large companies stand to gain — but what they stand to lose that’s important. Some brands in this sector are setting new standards for business as a whole, while others seem lost in the supermarket. All of them make products known for casual times with friends and family; as a whole, we think the sector needs work to avoid being known for being too relaxed about green innovation leadership.
Data Source Climate Counts / Angus Reid Public Opinion |
