Ranking of 150 leading food companies on animal welfare will inform $1.9 trillion investor coalition.
(London, 25 April 2024). Today’s publication of the Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare (BBFAW) reveals that most global food giants (95%) acknowledge the importance of animal welfare and are addressing it with policy commitments and clearer governance.
Few however are reporting successful implementation of these ambitions with 93% given the lowest ratings (‘E’ or ‘F’) for ‘Performance Impact’ i.e. an assessment of the tangible impacts on the lives of farm animals reared for food in corporate supply chains. For example, progress on issues such as the time farm animals spend in live transportation, or in close confinement such as gestation crates, remains disappointingly slow.
A total of 150 global food producers, retailers and food-service companies with combined revenues of more than US$4.9 trillion, including the likes of McDonalds, Tesco and Tyson Foods, were ranked by BBFAW, which this year introduced tougher assessment criteria and an increased focus on ’Performance Impact’, and included new questions on how companies are recognising the need to reduce reliance on animal sourced foods and diversify into alternative proteins. BBFAW was originally launched in 2012 and remains the leading global assessment of companies’ farm animal welfare policies and practices. It is supported by partners Compassion in World Farming and FOUR PAWS and by a coalition of institutional investors, managing over $1.9 trillion in assets who will engage with the companies in the year ahead to drive improvement.
This year’s benchmark found several encouraging signs as it set a new baseline for corporate performance, including:
However, many findings in this year’s benchmark also showed the work that still needs to be done by the food sector:
[1] The 2012 benchmark assessed 68 companies, and hence the 79% figure represents 54 of 68 companies.
“The BBFAW results show that for 95% of food companies protecting farm animal welfare is not about businesses doing good; it’s about good business. The Benchmark’s criteria have been strengthened in 2024, so it’s encouraging that several companies, including the three that achieved ‘Tier 2’ status, are leading by example and showing that high levels of progress are possible. It’s also highly encouraging that 1 in 4 food companies recognise the need to innovate to reduce reliance on animal sourced foods as part of long-term plans to create sustainable food supply chains.
“Today’s analysis shows there’s also a long way to go for the food sector to turn awareness and commitment into demonstrable animal welfare benefits, with large numbers of farmed animals still suffering from inhumane practices such as close confinement or routine mutilations.“
“The Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare continues to be a valuable guide in helping investors analyse management quality in a systematic and consistent manner across the global food industry. Importantly, this data also exists at the intersection between critical issues including animal welfare and antimicrobial resistance, which present material financial risks to companies and shareholder returns. As an investor which regularly engages with companies operating in the global food sector, the BBAW helps to shine a light on those which are making critical progress towards addressing these challenges and enables us to analyse management quality in a systematic and consistent manner.”
“There’s a high cost to poor animal husbandry. It not only harms animals but fuels the climate crisis, drives deforestation, biodiversity loss and - with its massive use of antibiotics - poses a real threat to human health. The Business Benchmark for Farm Animal Welfare continues to play a critical role in driving higher standards in the world’s leading food businesses, showing the benefits of this approach, and providing a vital yardstick to inform investor choices.”
“After a year’s break it is good to see the BBFAW report coming back strongly, as 2024 marks a pivotal year for animals with many elections around the globe highlighting the importance of improved legislation on animal welfare. FOUR PAWS’ vision is a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. More food companies need to work towards the same goal, which is a reduction in produced animals. Progress on this goal helps reduce the enormous suffering billions of farm animals are facing, especially in the Global North. It also helps fight a key driver of the climate crisis as animal agriculture makes up around a sixth of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, FOUR PAWS supports BBFAW’s work to encourage higher animal welfare and an immediate transition towards sustainable and cruelty-free food systems globally. Only together are we able to achieve that.”
The full report is available here
BBFAW is the leading global measure of farm animal welfare management, policy commitment, performance and disclosure in food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare, and it drives – directly and through the efforts of others – corporate improvements in the welfare of animals reared for food. The BBFAW Secretariat maintains the Global Investor Statement on Farm Animal Welfare and convenes the Global Investor Collaboration on Farm Animal Welfare, a collaborative engagement between major institutional investors and food companies on the issue of farm animal welfare. The programme is supported by Compassion in World Farming and FOUR PAWS, who provide technical expertise, guidance, funding and practical resources, alongside supporting the assessed food businesses with training, programmatic expertise and consultancy engagement.
Compassion in World Farming is the leading international farm animal welfare organisation dedicated to ending factory farming and reshaping the food system to benefit the lives of animals, people, and the health of the planet. Through campaigning, lobbying for legislative change, and positive engagement with the global food industry, we seek to influence key decision makers that shape, make and fund the food system. Through our Food Business programme, we work in partnership with leading food companies to drive transformational change for farm animal welfare, reduce the reliance on animal sourced foods and encourage a shift to regenerative farming practices.
FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org
The 12th annual Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) was launched on Thursday 25 April 2024. The Benchmark assesses companies across 50 distinct, objective criteria. As such, it is the most authoritative and comprehensive global account of corporate practice on farm animal welfare.
26th April 2024Today’s publication of the Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare (BBFAW) reveals that most global food giants (95%) acknowledge the importance of animal welfare and are addressing it with policy commitments and clearer governance.
25th April 2024NN Group, a Dutch financial services company, with a strong presence in several European countries and Japan, has become a member of the BBFAW Global Investor Collaboration on Farm Animal Welfare. As a signatory to the Collaboration, NN Group will participate in an annual engagement to improve animal welfare management practices amongst BBFAW’s 150 global companies.
26th February 2024