The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), the leading global measure of company performance on farm animal welfare, has today awarded Premier Foods with Tier 1 status, in recognition of its continued efforts to improve animal welfare standards within its supply chain.
Premier Foods, one of the UK’s largest food manufacturers and home to some of the UK’s most recognisable food brands including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Bisto and OXO, is one of just four companies to be named in Tier 1, and one of only five companies to have achieved a ‘B’ impact rating in the BBFAW’s tenth annual report [1], the highest rating awarded this year.
The BBFAW measured 150 companies against a set of rigorous benchmarks including animal welfare management, policy commitment, performance and disclosure – areas where Premier Foods scored particularly highly.
The recognition is testament to the company’s ongoing commitment to animal welfare, which includes collaborating with NGOs like Compassion in World Farming, Humane League and Four Paws, and working closely with its suppliers to establish targets and encourage best practice for the treatment of animals within their supply chains.
Aligning with programmes like the Better Chicken Commitment[2], which Premier Foods has now adopted, is just one example of how it plans to continue making positive strides towards improved animal welfare.
Mark Hughes, Procurement & Central Operations Director said: “To be recognised as Tier 1 by the BBFAW is an incredible achievement and is testament to the hard work of all involved. We have made significant progress over the last few years, which wouldn’t be possible without the commitment of our suppliers and farmers, who work tirelessly to uphold the high animal welfare standards that we, along with our customers and consumers, rightly expect.
“We remain confident that through our Enriching Life Plan and continued engagement with colleagues, suppliers and peers, we can continue to deliver on our commitment to operate responsibly and build meaningful relationships that champion a sustainable and ethical food system.”
BBFAW Executive Director and Managing Director of Chronos, Nicky Amos, adds: “Premier Foods should be congratulated on achieving a Tier 1 ranking in the 2021 BBFAW Benchmark and on receiving a ‘B’ Impact Rating, which is the highest rating achieved by any company this year. The tier ranking and impact rating demonstrate that Premier Foods has taken a leadership position on farm animal welfare and has declared improved welfare impacts for a reasonable proportion of animals in its supply chain. These achievements recognise the significant efforts being made by the company to drive welfare improvements and are particularly remarkable given the substantial tightening of the BBFAW methodology and scoring this year.”
Ethical business policy and practices including standards centred around sourcing with care, underpin Premier Food’s new Enriching Life Plan, which lays out a set of ambitious ESG targets aimed at doing business responsibly and includes building meaningful relationships that champion a sustainable and ethical food system.[3]
For more information on Premier Food’s Enriching Life Plan and animal welfare policy, visit www.premierfoods.co.uk
Notes to Editors
- To view the BBFAW annual report, visit www.bbfaw.com/.
- As part of its commitment to improving animal welfare standards, Premier Foods has voluntarily included a 6th freedom to the Farm Animal Welfare Committees’ (FAWC) stated ‘Five Freedoms’.
- The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is the globally recognised investor framework for assessing the quality of companies’ practices, processes and performance on farm animal welfare.
- The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare, founded in 2012, is supported by its founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and its supporting partner, FOUR PAWS.
- BBFAW provides an annual, independent assessment of farm animal welfare management and performance in global food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare. More information on the programme can be found at www.bbfaw.com
- Through the annual benchmark, extensive engagement programmes with investors and with companies, and the production of guidance and other materials for companies and investors, BBFAW has driven higher farm animal welfare standards across the world’s leading food businesses.
- BBFAW 2021 is the tenth annual report from the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare. It analyses the farm animal welfare management and performance of 150 of the world’s largest food companies, across 37 distinct, objective criteria. As such, it is the most authoritative and comprehensive global account of corporate practice on farm animal welfare.
- The 2021 Benchmark covers 150 global food companies across 24 countries:
53 Retailers and Wholesalers, 63 Producers and Manufacturers, and 34 Restaurants and Bars. The list includes listed and non-listed companies.
About Premier Foods
As one of Britain's largest food producers, we’re passionate about food and believe each and every day we have the opportunity to enrich life for everyone. Premier Foods employs over 4,000 people operating from 16 sites across the country, supplying a range of retail, wholesale, foodservice and other customers with our iconic brands which feature in millions of homes every day.
Through some of the nation’s best-loved brands, including Ambrosia, Batchelors, Bisto, Loyd Grossman, Mr. Kipling, Oxo and Sharwood’s, we’re creating great tasting products that contribute to healthy and balanced diets, while committing to nurturing our people and our local communities, and going further in the pursuit of a healthier planet, in line with our Purpose of ‘Enriching Life Through Food’.
[1] Out of 150 companies that were measured over a 12-month period.
[2] The better chicken commitment is the leading set of standards for broiler welfare
[3] E.g. Adaptation to climate change, management of water stress and biodiversity loss.