Kellogg's to reduce carbon footprint, source responsibly

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The Kellogg Company announced Wednesday it will reduce its carbon footprint by sourcing responsibly and encouraging suppliers and farmers to mitigate climate change.

The cereal brand's push to go green comes two weeks after competitor General Mills made a similar announcement. The two companies were ranked eighth and tenth out of 10 in Oxfam International's Behind the Brands campaign that provides information about how food and beverage companies run their operations.

Other companies ranked included Nestle, Pepsi and Unilever. The campaign looked to empower consumers to call on their favorite brands to do more for the environment.

"This is what we pushed the company to do," said Irit Tamir, special adviser in Oxfam America's private sector department. "Obviously, we think this is a great move."

Kellogg said it would push to get better results from itself and suppliers, when it comes to mitigating their effect on the environment. By 2020, it planned to have its top 10 ingredients, which include corn, wheat and sugar, sourced responsibly and will also work with suppliers, millers and farmers to reduce their carbon emissions.

"We know that our consumers really care about these issues; they care about where their foods come from and they care about how their foods are made," said Diane Holdorf, Kellogg's chief sustainability officer and vice president of environmental stewardship, health and safety.

This is not the first time Kellogg's has laid out goals and commitments to reduce its effect on the environment. In 2008, the company made pledges, such as reducing energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and water use, which it planned to complete by 2015.

Kellogg's to date has met its water use commitments and twice exceeded its target for reducing the waste it sends to landfills, but could face challenges completing its energy use and greenhouse gas emissions goals, according to Holdorf.