Kellogg Company Joins BICEP Coalition

September 19, 2014 /3BL Media/ - Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP) announced today that the American icon and inventor of Corn Flakes, Kellogg Company, has joined the BICEP coalition to advocate for innovative climate and clean energy policies.  

BICEP, a project of Ceres, was launched in 2008 with a core group of five companies, including Starbucks, Nike, and Timberland. It has since expanded to 32 leading companies, such as eBay Inc., Symantec and Jones Lang LaSalle, which represent a broad spectrum of business sectors. BICEP members have been vocal proponents of renewable energy, greener transportation, and stricter pollution controls on power plants.

Kellogg Company, with worldwide sales over $14 billion, produces and markets more than 1,600 foods, from Special K cereal to Morningstar Farms. Kellogg Company’s first commitment to sustainability dates back more than 100 years when it began using recycled materials for its cereal boxes. Last month, Kellogg’s renewed its environmental and social commitments.  Some of the goals include 1) responsibly sourcing 100 percent of its top 10 ingredients by 2020; 2) continuing to reduce its energy use, water use, waste to landfill and packaging materials building on goals set in 2008; and 3) providing support to growers, especially women and smallholders, to adapt to climate change, optimize their inputs and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

“As a global food company, Kellogg understands the issues of climate change and food security, making us mindful of the risks and opportunities our growers, their communities and our business face as a result,” said Diane Holdorf, Chief Sustainability Officer, Kellogg Company. “Solutions to complex challenges, like climate change, require multi-stakeholder collaboration, and we value continued engagement with stakeholders such as BICEP on this important issue.”

Like other food and beverage companies, upstream agriculture emissions are the largest source of carbon emissions in Kellogg’s value chain. As a result, Kellogg is focused on improving the sustainability of agricultural production and helping improve livelihoods and climate resiliency for growers around the world. The company will announce a new pledge in support of this work at next week’s UN Climate Summit. These efforts will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through agriculture practices and support prevention of deforestation, which accounts for an estimated 15 percent of global GHG emissions.

Additional climate and energy commitments from Kellogg Company include:

• Development of a climate policy as part of its new social and environmental sustainability goals announced in August 2014. The climate policy includes a commitment to establish a climate change adaptation strategy that incorporates the needs of smallholders in its supply chain by December 2015, among other pledges.
• Signing on to President Obama’s Climate Data Initiative. Together with the University of Minnesota’s Global Landscapes Initiative, Kellogg committed to openly share data and maps that illustrate how climate change affects risks to major crops within the global food system. Kellogg is also a new member of Global Open Data for Agriculture & Nutrition (GODAN) which supports global efforts to make agricultural and nutritionally relevant data available worldwide.
• Expanding plans for zero net deforestation pledge to include other ingredients and materials at high-risk for deforestation within its supply chain, including packaging fiber, soy, and sugar cane, with a goal of achieving zero net deforestation in high-risk supply chains by 2020. This builds on the company’s commitments announced earlier this year to source sustainable palm oil and sustainable rice.
• Increasing the use of low-carbon energy sources and water reuse in plans by 2020, along with goals to reduce water and energy use.

By joining BICEP, Kellogg Company has committed to expanding its global sustainability efforts by working with businesses and policymakers to enact meaningful energy and climate policies. Kellogg is also a signatory to Ceres Climate Declaration, now signed by more than 1,000 companies.

“Kellogg Company is stepping up to the plate on climate change and we warmly welcome the company as our newest member of BICEP,” said Anne Kelly, Director of Policy at Ceres. “With its global commitment to sustainable sourcing and its work to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation - one of the single greatest contributors to climate change - we are pleased that Kellogg has joined the fold of companies advocating for climate policy.”

More information on Kellogg Company’s sustainability efforts is available at www.KelloggCorporateResponsibility.com.

About Ceres
Ceres is an advocate for sustainability leadership. Ceres mobilizes a powerful coalition of investors, companies and public interest groups to accelerate and expand the adoption of sustainable business practices and solutions to build a healthy global economy. Ceres directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of over 100 institutional investors with collective assets totaling more than $13 trillion. Ceres also directs Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), an advocacy coalition of more than 30 businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation. For more information, visit www.ceres.org or follow on Twitter @CeresNews.

About Kellogg Company
Kellogg Company (NYSE: K) is the world's leading cereal company; second largest producer of cookies, crackers and savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company. Our brands – Kellogg's®, Keebler®, Special K®, Pringles®, Frosted Flakes®, Pop-Tarts®, Corn Flakes®, Rice Krispies®, Kashi®, Cheez-It®, Eggo®, Mini-Wheats® and more – nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. Through our Breakfasts for Better Days™ initiative, we're providing 1 billion servings of cereal and snacks – more than half of which are breakfasts – to children and families in need around the world by the end of 2016. To learn more about Kellogg, visit www.kelloggcompany.com or follow us on Twitter @KelloggCompany.