General Mills shareholders call for less plastic, more truth in recycling

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PORTLAND, Ore. – A noteworthy 40% of General Mills shareholders voted last week in favor of a proposal urging the food company to assess how it can increase the scale, pace and rigor of its sustainability efforts, including by reducing plastic packaging. The proposal also urged General Mills to ensure its recycling labels don’t mislead consumers.

“With last week’s vote, General Mills’ shareholders have displayed their awareness of the growing environmental threat of plastic pollution and the insufficiency of recycling as a solution,” said Environment America’s Beyond Plastic Campaign Director Celeste Meiffren-Swango. “In order to address this problem at the scale it requires, companies need to focus on reducing their use of single-use plastics, and General Mills has an opportunity to be a leader in this space with the knowledge that a large percentage of its owners are behind it.”

The ocean ingests enough plastic every minute to fill a garbage truck, and global plastic consumption is on track to double by 2040. Though industry often elevates recycling as the solution to global plastic pollution, experts say reducing plastic use is key.

Green Century°, Environment America and PIRG’s affiliated mutual fund partner, filed a similar proposal two years ago asking General Mills to assess how it could cut its plastic use. That 2022 resolution received 56% of shareholder votes cast – one of the few majority votes on environmental issues in the 2022-2023 U.S. proxy season. Although General Mills has since enhanced some plastics-related disclosures, it neither issued the requested report nor disclosed substantive approaches, targets or plans to reduce its plastic packaging. Instead, the company doubled down on its goal to design 100% of packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2030 — even though most plastic is not feasibly recyclable.

Recycling labels for plastic have come under scrutiny in recent years. A September 2023 article by Bloomberg showed that General Mills’ Nature Valley Granola Bar wrappers are not being recycled through “store drop-off” but are instead being landfilled, incinerated or exported. An ABC investigation in May 2023 highlighted the failure of store drop-off systems to recycle plastic bags and films. Other large food companies such as Mondelez have recognized these risks and committed to removing “store drop-off” and “check locally” recycling logos by 2025. General Mills’ competitors including Kellanova, Unilever and Procter & Gamble have made public commitments to reduce plastic packaging by 2025. 

General Mills’ competitors have figured out that its current emphasis on plastic recyclability over plastic reduction is shortsighted, misleading and ineffective, said Annie Sanders, Green Century’s director of shareholder advocacy. “At the end of the day, General Mills needs to do right by its shareholders and the world around them. And the message from shareholders is clear: It’s time to reduce plastic pollution.”

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About Green Century 

°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (The Funds). The Green Century Funds are one of the first families of fossil fuel-free, environmentally responsible mutual funds. Green Century hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations. 

*As of 6.30.2024, General Mills, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.14%, and 0.00% of the Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century International Index Fund, respectively. As of the same date, other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.  

You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please visit www.greencentury.com, email [email protected], or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing. 

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This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 235 W Galena Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. UMB Distribution Services, LLC is not an affiliate of Green Century or any of its affiliates. October 2024. 

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