Mondelez Enjoys Sustainability Victories

Mondelez International has made significant progress toward its 2020 sustainable agriculture and environmental footprint goals, the Deerfield, Ill.-based snack manufacturer heralds in its 2016 Impact for Growth Progress Report released this week.

The report highlights how Mondelez met several of its well-being targets ahead of schedule.

"Our future is rooted in helping people snack in a balanced way and enjoy life with products that are safely and sustainably sourced, produced and delivered," said Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO. "That's why we focus our efforts on delivering positive change for people and the planet while driving business growth. I'm proud of our strong progress overall and particularly in well-being snacks where we were able to reach many of our targets ahead of schedule. Building on this foundation, we'll continue to lead with authenticity, integrity and transparency."

Mondelez focuses its efforts on four areas: sustainability, well-being snacks, communities and safety. Highlights of the company's 2016 progress include the following:

Sustainability

• Reduced absolute CO² emissions from manufacturing by 7 percent.
• Reduced water use by 18 percent at priority locations where water is most scarce.
• Eliminated 46,300 metric tonnes of packaging, achieving two-thirds of its 2020 goal.
• Increased the reach of Cocoa Life, the company's sustainable cocoa sourcing program, by 20 percent, reaching 92,000 cocoa farmers in over 861 communities.
• Maintained 100 percent RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) palm oil goal; with 96 percent of its palm oil traceable back to the mill.
• 15 percent of eggs used in products in the U.S., Canada and the European Union were cage-free; on target to use 100 percent cage-free eggs in the U.S. and Canada by 2020 and in the EU by 2025.

Well-Being Snacks

• Exceeded the goal ahead of schedule to increase the number of individually wrapped portion-control options by achieving 39 percent growth vs. the 25 percent goal.
• Delivered, ahead of time, Better Choice options representing more than 25 percent of revenue.
• Achieved goal to have front-of-pack calorie labeling globally.
• Improved nutrition profile of overall global portfolio, achieving the 25 percent increase of whole grain ahead of schedule, and reducing saturated fat by 6 percent and sodium by 5 percent.

Safety

• Reduced total recordable Incidents by 30 percent and Total Incident Rate by 21 percent for all employees; on track for continued world-class safety performance.
• 84 percent of external manufacturers and 96 percent of suppliers are certified against a Global Food Safety Initiative scheme.

Communities

• Allocated more than $42 million to healthy lifestyle community partnerships across 14 countries. Programs delivered positive public health impact across key metrics: 12 percent increase in participants' nutrition knowledge; 6 percent increase in participants' physical activity; and 11 percent more participants eating fresh fruit and vegetables daily.

Looking Ahead to 2020

Going forward, the company is focusing its efforts in three growth areas: growing 10 existing well-being brands at twice the rate of the base portfolio; improving the nutrition and ingredient profile of its Power Brands; and delivering 15 percent of revenue from individually wrapped, portion-control snack options that are under 200 calories.

Mondelez International Inc. markets biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages under brands such as Oreo, BelVita, Cadbury, Milka and Trident.