Greggs : Announced as a leader in Farm Animal Welfare

Greggs has been acknowledged for its leadership on farm animal welfare in a report published on 23rd January 2017.

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) evaluates the world's leading food producers, retailers and service companies on their management and reporting on farm animal welfare. At the report's launch in New York, it was announced that Greggs had attained impressive marks, earning its place in Tier 2 of the industry rankings.

Thirteen companies occupy leadership positions in the Benchmark's top two tiers. They include the Coop Group (Switzerland), Cranswick, Marks & Spencer, Migros, Noble Foods and Waitrose in Tier 1, and BRF, Cargill, Co-op (UK), Greggs, McDonald's, Tesco and Unilever in Tier 2. These companies have strong commitments to farm animal welfare, well developed management systems and processes, and a clear focus on farm animal welfare outcomes.

Malcolm Copland, Commercial Director at Greggs commented: 'We are delighted to have been acknowledged for our leadership on farm animal welfare in BBFAWs 2016 Report and are proud to have moved our rating from Tier 5 to Tier 2 over the last three years.

As with other environmental and social issues, we have found that progress in farm animal welfare requires a continuous process of monitoring, improvement and investment. While there are no quick wins we have proved that it is possible to offer customers high quality, ethically sourced food, at affordable prices.

We remain committed to driving positive change across our supply chain by measuring our progress against the world's leading benchmark on farm animal welfare, and call on others in the industry to do the same.'

The 2016 Benchmark report reveals that companies are paying increased attention to farm animal welfare, with 73% of the 99 companies assessed now having published farm animal welfare policies in place and 65% of companies having published objectives and targets for farm animal welfare. This is a remarkable improvement on the first Benchmark report in 2012, which found that only 46% of companies had published policies and just 26% had published related objectives and targets. Notwithstanding this progress, the average score of 34% indicates that there is much to be done before animal welfare is given the same business attention as other corporate responsibility issues.

Reflecting on these findings, BBFAW Executive Director, Nicky Amos, said: 'We congratulate companies in Tiers 1 and 2 for their leadership on farm animal welfare management and disclosure. We hope that their efforts will inspire more companies to strengthen their commitments to animal welfare and improve their transparency on this important issue.'

The BBFAW is supported by leading animal welfare organisations, Compassion in World Farming and World Animal Protection, and investment firm, Coller Capital.

For more information on the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare and to read the full report, visit www.bbfaw.com