Kellogg: How it makes Carbon Informed Supplier Choices

Kellogg’s is the world’s largest supplier of breakfast cereals, and has a network of 20,000 suppliers and procurement partners across the globe. This results in an international and complicated value chain that causes a challenge in capturing Scope 3 emissions statistics.  

The company is following a sustainability strategy called the  Kellogg’s Better Days Promise, that requires the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  To achieve this, the company needs to be able to make carbon-informed decisions within their procurement processes. To  decarbonise its value chain, Kellogg has been following a strategy to measure its footprint. This will help the company track their success in driving emissions down and identify areas of improvement.

Kellogg’s collaboration with the Carbon Trust 

The company partnered with the Carbon Trust to deliver the strategy, by using an emission calculation tool. To execute the plan, a Scope 3 emissions inventory from 2015 to 2021 was carried out to establish a baseline of emissions.  A bespoke Scope 3 calculation tool was then designed to let Kellogg quantify their footprint and identify hotspots for emissions.  The process was completed with staff training, so they could use the technology, communicate what they learn and then make carbon-informed decisions with suppliers in procurement decisions.  

“Working with the Carbon Trust has enabled us to detangle the complexity of our supply chain,” says Janelle Meyers, former Chief Sustainability Officer at Kellogg Company and now Chief Sustainability Officer at Kellanova. “Thanks to their scalable model, we now have a much more detailed picture of where we are in meeting Kellogg’s Better Days Promise environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy climate ambitions. The team's training sessions were especially helpful. We now have a better understanding on where to reduce our supply chain emissions and can factor our calculations into future procurement decisions.”

How to make carbon informed supplier choices 

The Carbon Trust calculation tool designed for Kellogg allows procurement and sustainability teams to go beyond simply measuring carbon footprints, as it allows the creation of a plan of action, and helps inform both climate and procurement strategies.  

The solution identified Kellogg’s inventory showed most of its value chain emissions come from product ingredients and packaging. 

The technology gives Kellogg the ability to integrate carbon accounting into its procurement and sourcing processes, spot areas to strengthen its data accuracy, and dissect the environmental impact of their global supply chain and support the wider company sustainability strategy. .  

"Kellogg's Better Days Promise is well entrenched in our business and culture and is central to our company's growth. It demonstrates to our employees, consumers, customers, investors and others that Kellogg cares about the communities in which we live and operate," said former Kellogg Company Chairman and CEO Steve Cahillane. He is now Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer at sister company Kellanova.  "The commitment to doing good will carry on as we take the next bold steps in our journey as a company. Whether at Kellanova or WK Kellogg Co, we will continue building on the powerful legacy of Mr. Kellogg and creating a place at the table for everyone."

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