Milling & Baking News - December 15, 2020 - 14

Business

General Mills and PepsiCo recognized
by Rabobank for industry leadership

Food and ag leadership
PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, NY, was
awarded the Rabobank Award for Excellence in Food & Ag Leadership, which
recognizes a large-scale market leader
that has made lasting impacts in its sector. According to Rabobank, PepsiCo
demonstrated outstanding corporate
citizenship and agility in response to COVID-19 while setting standards of excellence within the industry.
Actions taken by the company during
the year included a pledge of $400 million over the next five years to advancing
racial equality initiatives, a $38.5 million
investment in improving gender equality
in agriculture, a commitment to sourcing 100% of its energy for direct operations from renewable sources, a shift to a
more sustainable packaging supply chain
to substantially reduce its use of plastic,
and the launch of an accelerator to help
advance purpose-driven solutions for the
food and beverage industry.
14 / December 15, 2020

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In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic PepsiCo has provided charitable
donations to more than 60 organizations,
contributed millions of dollars for those
in need of relief, and offered enhanced
paid-time-off benefits for employees to
quarantine or care for sick family members, Rabobank said.
" As one of the world's largest food and
beverage companies, PepsiCo embraces
our responsibility to help build a more sustainable and regenerative global food system, and we want to be a clear leader in improving planetary health, both the health of

RABOBANK

NEW YORK - PepsiCo, Inc., General
Mills, Inc. and Imperfect Foods have been
recognized by Rabobank for their leadership in industry stewardship, sustainability
and innovation. The three companies were
announced as recipients of the annual Rabobank North America Leadership Awards
during the Food & Agribusiness Summit,
which was held virtually last week.
The awards celebrate both large-scale
F&A corporations and fast-growing
emerging companies that are setting examples of industry stewardship, sustainability and innovation across the region.
Rabobank said this year's awards
included an enhanced set of criteria, including companies' responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic and social responsibility criteria focused on employee
and community efforts, as well as
proactivity toward fostering racial
equity. Finalists were reviewed by
a panel of judges across industry,
academia, non-profits, media, and
the investment community.
" The challenges of 2020 showed why
responsible leadership, commitment to
sustainable practices and innovative solutions in the food and agricultural industry are more critical than ever before, "
said Paul Beiboer, chief executive officer
of Rabobank North America. " The companies we're honoring today have made
remarkable progress toward a more resilient and flexible food system while promoting a more inclusive world. "

manufactured and immediately donated
product to Feeding America food banks,
in addition to grants, locally and in key
markets worldwide, to provide communities with relief and mitigate hunger.
" Thank you for recognizing General
Mills' commitment to sustainability - an
area that means so much to me and our
company, " said Mary Jane Melendez, chief
sustainability and social impact officer at
General Mills. " Our business depends on
the earth and its resources. Stressors to
natural resources impact our ability to feed
a growing population. To drive both planetary and business resilience, we are focused
on regenerating the natural resources upon
which we all depend. We are honored to
receive this award and will continue to

the environment and the health of society, "
said Jim Andrew, chief sustainability officer at PepsiCo. " We have to be focused as
a company on caring for the environment
and the people across our supply chain, using our scale as a force for good. We know
there is a lot more to do, and we are committed to taking bold action and making
rapid progress using science as our guide. "
Leadership in sustainability
General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, took
home the 2020 Rabobank Award for
Leadership in Sustainability. The award
recognizes a high-impact organization
that has achieved unique steps toward
business, environmental, social and governance sustainability, and General Mills
was recognized in 2020 for its " bold regenerative agriculture projects, sustainable sourcing, reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions, and commitment to 100%
renewable energy in operations by 2030. "
Rabobank said General Mills further
solidified its position as a leader during 2020 by engaging with its partners,
communities and consumers on the importance of regenerative agriculture. Additionally, General Mills has responded
to the COVID-19 crisis by increasing
and adapting its giving to help equip
charitable organizations with greater financial and food resources. Donations
of more than $14 million during the year
have included a " manufacture to donate "
initiative where General Mills facilities

accelerate our efforts in support of the planet, people and the communities we serve. "
Leadership in innovation
Imperfect Foods, a San Francisco-based
company with a mission to eliminate food
waste and build a better food system for
everyone by delivering " imperfect " produce and grocery items directly to consumers through its e-commerce platform, was
presented the Rabobank Award for Emerging Leadership in Innovation. The award
recognizes a fast-growing young company
that addresses issues in the food and agribusiness space in an innovative way.
Imperfect Foods is an alum of Rabobank's
global startup discovery platform FoodBytes!, which debuted in 2015. According
to Rabobank, Imperfect Foods has demonstrated its commitment to corporate responsibility through the creation of an internal
diversity and inclusion board and charitable
donations to the NAACP and Appetite for
Change, among other initiatives.
Imperfect Foods also awarded 18
grants through its grant program, the
Feeding Change Fund, to help support
emergency food distribution efforts in response to COVID-19 and matched donations to Feeding America.
" In the US alone, 40% of food goes uneaten and $160 billion worth of food is
wasted each year, " said Philip Behn, CEO
at Imperfect Foods. " We are reimagining
grocery delivery for a kinder, less wasteful
world. " MBN
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Milling & Baking News - December 15, 2020

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