What is Snacks Giant Mondelēz Doing to Hit ESG Targets?

Global sweets and snacks giant Mondelēz has outlined progress in a number of key areas in its first annual ESG report.

According to the introduction, the Snacking Made Right Report “showcases the meaningful annual progress” made against its priorities.

It adds: ““The report demonstrates our continuing efforts to build a more sustainable snacking company, focused on offering the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way.

“This year’s report is part of our ongoing effort to provide our stakeholders with transparent, measurable information on our ESG goals, policies, initiatives and programmes.”

Highlights reel

Some of the progress picked out in the report includes:

• 48% of electricity at manufacturing sites came from renewable sources in 2023, up from 40% in 2022
• 225,000 farmers trained in good agricultural practices
• Food waste from distribution down 69% against 2018 baseline
• 96% of packaging designed to be recycled
• 42% of global management roles held by women
• 62% of net revenue delivered through ‘mindful portions’ (up 17% on baseline)
• Distributed almost 8.6 million trees to Cocoa Life communities
• 3.7% greenhouse gas emissions reduction across value chain against 2018

Making strides to a more sustainable future

SVP and Chief Impact & Sustainability Officer at Mondelēz International Christine Montenegro McGrath said: “I’m genuinely inspired by the progress #TeamMDLZ has made over the past year to drive progress toward both our near-term and long-term sustainability goals.

“We’ve been hard at work reducing our climate impact – including delivering a detailed, SBTi-validated roadmap for net zero carbon emissions, scaling regenerative ag practices and reducing carbon emissions at scale across our owned operations – while championing mindful snacking and continuing to invest in the communities where we live and work.”

Christine added: “We're making strides towards a more sustainable future, working in partnership with our suppliers, NGOs and industry collaborations.”

Clear message from the top

Mondelēz owns many of the world’s best-known brands, including Cadbury’s, Cote D'or, Prince and Oreo, and operates in approximately 160 countries, generating an annual revenue of about US$26bn.

In a letter at the start of the report, Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and CEO, said: “We have prioritised industry and sector-wide collaboration, partnerships and advocacy as essential to deliver against our long term ambitions.

“As such, we work in partnership with suppliers and across our value chain, and we play a leadership role in industry coalitions, including the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), which I Co-Chair, and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), which my Chief Sustainability & Impact Officer Chairs.”

He added: “I am incredibly proud of our work in 2023 to continue meeting evolving consumer preferences and delivering strong results while making meaningful progress against our ESG priorities.

“We made this progress despite ongoing global inflation and economic uncertainty, a testament not only to the power of our iconic brands, but also to our focused and strategic approach to sustainable growth and the passion of our amazing 91,000 colleagues around the world.”

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