TreeHouse Foods

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the environment measurement area.

Food safety
TreeHouse Foods commits to ensuring safe food for its consumers and demonstrates that its food safety platform is regularly audited against food safety standards recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). Moreover, the company reports on non-compliance in its operations annually and demonstrates that 98% of its suppliers are certified to a GFSI-recognised food safety scheme. However, the company can improve the clarity of its disclosure by demonstrating GFSI-recognised food safety certification for each location in its operations.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion measurement area.

Sustainable development strategy
TreeHouse Foods has set 2025 sustainability targets and discloses these were developed based on the outcomes of a materiality assessment with key stakeholders. While reporting on the new targets, which were set in 2020, has not yet started, the company demonstrated reporting against its previous sustainability targets that focussed on environment topics. TreeHouse Foods currently has targets under the topics environmental, social and governance (ESG). No targets or objectives relating to nutrition were found.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
TreeHouse Foods has an ESG Executive Steering Committee, led by its chief executive officer, which is responsible for the implementation of its sustainability strategy. This committee includes members of the board, and the company demonstrates that oversight of its sustainability strategy lies with the board as the highest governance body. In its 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report, the company indicates it is evaluating how to tie executive compensation to progress against ESG goals. At this time, no indication that compensation for the board or executives is tied to sustainability objectives was found.

Stakeholder engagement
TreeHouse Foods cites stakeholder engagement and collaboration as key to achieving its ESG goals. However, the company does not provide a list of stakeholder groups nor disclose the outcomes of its stakeholder engagement activities and their integration into the sustainability strategy.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions
TreeHouse Foods has set a target to reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 5% by 2025 against a 2020 baseline and reports on progress. However, no indication that this target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found. Regarding scope 3 emissions, the company has not yet set a reduction target but does disclose a target to work with suppliers to complete scope 3 assessment and set a reduction goal by the end of 2025.

Plastic use and packaging waste
TreeHouse Foods is committed to the development of sustainable packaging options that are recyclable, recycled and compostable and further intends to conduct a sustainable packaging assessment by the end of 2021. However, the company does not disclose any time-bound target to reduce plastic use nor provide quantitative information on plastic and packaging use in its operations.

Food loss and waste
TreeHouse Foods recognises that reducing food loss and waste and diverting contributions to landfills is an opportunity to reduce its carbon footprint, reduce costs and be a responsible neighbour to the communities in which it operates. The company has set a target to reduce food loss and waste from its operations by 50% by 2030, but no reporting against this target was found. There is an opportunity for TreeHouse Foods to disclose quantitative information on food loss and waste volumes in its operations as well as evidence of collaboration with value chain partners on the issue.

Animal welfare, antibiotics use and growth-promoting substances
While the company mentions animal welfare certifications for egg procurement in its ESG report, it does not provide quantitative information on the percentage of its supply chain that is certified to such standards. Moreover, the company does not disclose policies guiding its approach to animal welfare and the use of antibiotics and growth-promoting substances.

Clear and transparent labelling
TreeHouse Foods demonstrates compliance with national regulations regarding labelling and indicates it works with suppliers to ensure accurate and transparent labelling. However, there is an opportunity for the company to make nutrition information more visible to consumers through the adoption of front-of-pack labels and/or any other consumer-facing nutrition label.

Availability of healthy foods
While TreeHouse Foods discloses that it offers customers ‘better-for-you’ and organic alternatives in 26 out of 29 product categories, no details on the nutritional composition of these products were found in the public domain. In addition, no description of how the company defines ‘better-for-you’ was found. The company can improve disclosure on this topic by demonstrating that it is improving the nutritional quality of its products, such as through reducing salt, sugar and fat or increasing the share of fruits, vegetables, nuts and wholegrains in its products.

Responsible marketing
The company does not demonstrate commitment to responsible marketing or disclose guidelines for marketing to children specifically.

Child labour
While TreeHouse Foods prohibits the use of child labour in both its operations and supply chain, it does not demonstrate that it requires its suppliers to have an age-verification mechanism in place. Moreover, no evidence of a monitoring system that covers child labour for the company’s own operations and supply chain was found.

Forced labour
TreeHouse Foods requires its suppliers to refrain from using forced labour. While the company addresses prohibited employment practices and human trafficking in its code of ethics for its own operations, it does not disclose a firm commitment to eliminating forced labour. Moreover, the company does not demonstrate that it prohibits the retention of workers’ personal documents and restriction of workers’ freedom of movement in its supply chain.

Living wage
TreeHouse Foods indicates that it follows national legislation for the payment of wages. However, it does not demonstrate that it pays its workers a living wage nor that it requires its suppliers to do so. Moreover, the company has not set time-bound targets to pay a living wage across its operations and supply chain.

Health and safety of vulnerable groups
TreeHouse Foods does not disclose that it specifically recognises the health and safety risks to vulnerable groups, such as migrant and temporary labourers, women and young farmers.

TreeHouse Foods commits to respecting the human rights of its workers. While the company addresses some of the ILO core labour rights in its code of ethics, it does not commit to respecting the right to collective bargaining in its operations and supply chain. TreeHouse Foods provides grievance mechanisms for its workers, although it remains unclear whether these are also accessible to third parties. Moreover, no evidence of a human rights due diligence process that includes the identification, assessment and integration of salient human rights risks was found in the public domain.

TreeHouse Foods commits to respecting the health and safety of its workers, places health and safety expectations on its suppliers and monitors their performance. However, it lacks quantitative disclosure on, for example, fatalities and the main types of injuries in the workplace. Under workforce diversity, the company reports on gender metrics but does not report on other markers of diversity such as age and ethnicity. No policies or commitments on the other decent work topics – living wage, working hours, collective bargaining and gender equality – were found in the public domain.

TreeHouse Foods commits to protecting personal data and prohibits bribery and corruption in its operations and supply chain. However, the company does not provide a statement on the access to personal data and does not describe its process for identifying bribery and corruption risks. While TreeHouse Foods sets out its lobbying and political engagement approach in a policy statement, it does not disclose how it ensures third parties adhere to the same standard nor its expenditures. TreeHouse Foods discloses little information on tax, and no tax policy was found in the public domain.