On February 26, 2013 Oxfam reported about a new initiative, Behind the Brands, which for the first time analyzes and scores the agricultural sourcing policies of the world’s ten largest food and beverage brands. The brands/companies scored are: Associated British Foods (ABF), Coca Cola, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, Pepsico and Unilever. The Behind the Brands Scorecard assesses each company based on publicly-available information about the company’s policies for sourcing agricultural commodities from developing countries.
According to the press release distributed by Oxfam, “Oxfam rated the companies on their policies on seven topics: how they ensure the rights of the workers and farmers who grow their ingredients, how they protect women’s rights, management of land and water use, climate change and the transparency of their supply chains, policies and operations. It did not review other important policies such as those dealing with nutrition, tax and waste, for example.”
The Behind the Brands Scorecard is the result of 18 months of research. Oxfam engaged with all ten companies, each of which provided data. Oxfam will update the scorecard regularly, although no specific timetable for the updates is disclosed.
The results of the Behind the Brands Scorecard led to the following conclusion, “The social and environmental policies of the world’s ten biggest food and beverage giants are not fit for modern purpose and need a major shake-up.”
Behind the Brands is part of Oxfam’s GROW campaign, which addresses supply chain issues in the global food and beverage industry. The Oxfam internet site explains, “Oxfam’s Behind the Brands campaign aims to provide people who buy and enjoy these products with the information they need to hold the Big 10 to account for what happens in their supply chains.”
The Behind the Brands Scorecard may be found on the Behind the Brands page of the Oxfam internet site.
You may read the press release on the Press room page of the Oxfam internet site.