General Mills (NYSE: GIS) missed some of its sustainability targets for 2010, but announced its first-ever packaging commitment in its latest corporate social responsibility report.
The company said it plans to improve the packaging of 40% of its global product volume by 2015. Improvements could include recycled content, packaging weight, renewable content, or truck-loading efficiency.
General Mills also said it is "escalating its commitment to environmental sustainability" through actions such as installing solar panels and building the company´s first biomass burner.
The report notes that the company fell far short of goals for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). General Mills set a target of cutting energy consumption and GHGs 15% by 2010, but only achieved 6% and 8% respectively.
It did however exceed targets for reducing solid waste generation and water usage. The company cut its solid waste generation by 33% between 2006 and 2010, out-pacing a 15% reduction target. Over the same time period, General Mills cut water usage by 9%, topping a 5% goal.
New reduction targets for 2015 are:
- 20% for energy consumption
- 20% for GHGs
- 20% for water usage
- 50% for solid waste
- 35% for transportation fuel
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