Green Rankings 2012: Food, Beverage & Tobacco

Some of the largest companies in the industry are addressing their key impacts by setting long-term quantitative targets and deadlines to reduce carbon emissions and company-wide programs to improve fuel efficiency of their transportation and logistics. Leading companies are also supplementing their own water-reduction programs and targets with water-risk assessments, and participating in the CDP Water Disclosure Project and U.N. CEO Water Mandate.

Volatile commodity prices and changing government regulations are having a significant impact on companies in this industry that are expanding their supply chains into emerging economies where weak environmental standards pose significant risks. Despite some steps to improve the sustainable sourcing of cocoa, soy, sugar, and palm oil, the industry must go further.

Key Industry Impacts

• Water, greenhouse-gas emissions and general waste combined account for more than 90 percent of the industry’s total environmental footprint.

• The Food, Beverage & Tobacco industry accounts for half of total water use of all the companies in the Green Rankings.

• The industry accounts for more than 12 percent of all greenhouse-gas emissions, and 5 percent of the total waste of ranked companies.

• Almost 10 percent of the total environmental impact of companies ranked comes from this industry.

Critical Issue Profile: Water Management

Agriculture accounts for approximately 74 percent of all global freshwater use, according to the World Wildlife Fund. J.P. Morgan estimates that the combined water consumption of Nestlé, Unilever, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Coca-Cola, and Danone is approaching 575 billion liters a day, which is enough to cover the daily basic needs of everyone on the planet. The industry as a whole recognizes the strategic importance of freshwater management, with many companies reducing water use through innovation and technology, community education, and multi-stakeholder engagement. Yet significant strides must be made by the industry as a whole to collaboratively address escalating global water scarcity.

Industry Ranking: How U.S. Food & Beverage Companies Stack Up