Perdue Farms

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

Animal welfare
Perdue Farms has an animal welfare policy in place which addresses key welfare issues for its relevant species. The company also discloses a USDA Process Verified Program, a third-party audit-based service that covers its live-production and harvesting operations. Having achieved and exceeded a 2019 target to have windows in 50% of poultry houses, the company has set a new target to have windows in 100% of poultry houses by 2024. Further, the company has set a target to reduce culling by 15% compared to 2019 and reports on progress against all targets. As the company only discloses animal welfare targets for chickens it has an opportunity also to set targets for its other species.

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

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

Sustainable development strategy
Perdue Farms sets sustainability goals covering people, products, planet and profitability yearly. While the company has set targets related to the environment measurement area, its lacks targets related to nutrition and social inclusion. Moreover, the company has an opportunity to disclose its process for identifying and prioritising the sustainability topics where it has the most impact.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
Perdue Farms demonstrates that its board of directors and senior leadership oversee its sustainability efforts and reporting. In addition, the company discloses that progress towards its environmental goals is factored into management compensation. However, there is an opportunity for Perdue Farms also to factor progress on goals related to social inclusion and nutrition into management compensation.

Stakeholder engagement
Perdue Farms does not disclose stakeholder engagement activities, including how it selects the stakeholders, nor an overview of the topics discussed or their outcomes.

Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions
The company has set a 2022 target to reduce scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 30% and reports on progress annually. However, no evidence that this target is aligned with a 1.5-degree scenario was found, highlighting a key opportunity for Perdue Farms to strengthen its commitment.

Protein diversification
While Perdue Farms discloses that it is diversifying its protein portfolio through the introduction of partly plant-based products, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by setting targets to increase the production and/or consumption of alternative proteins.

Water use
Perdue Farms has set a 2023 target to reduce water usage intensity by 25% against a 2018 baseline. The company also reports that while it reduced its water-use intensity by 8.9% in 2020, it has increased its overall water-use intensity by 4.1% compared to its 2015 baseline. Moreover, the company does not provide evidence of dependency on water-stressed areas in its operations and supply chain.

Food loss and waste
Perdue Farms does not demonstrate that it is addressing food loss and waste in its operations. The company has an opportunity to disclose a commitment by demonstrating policies and/or activities that tackle food loss and waste.

Antibiotics use and growth-promoting substances
Perdue Farms prohibits the prophylactic use of antibiotics and use of growth promotors for farm animals. While the company discloses results of third-party audits to verify the implementation of this policy for most of its species, no such evidence was found for the company’s beef and pork products.

Food safety
While Perdue Farms discloses compliance with national regulations regarding food safety, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by disclosing the percentages of its own operations that are certified to a food certification programme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative or other widely recognised certification.

Availability of healthy foods
Perdue Farms provides examples of improving the nutritional value of its products such as through reducing fat and sodium and increasing vitamins and fibre in its Chicken Plus product range. The company has an opportunity to disclose quantitative evidence of the activities it undertakes to improve the nutritional value of its products.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
While the company has several philanthropic activities that address food insecurity, the company discloses no evidence of commercial activities that address the accessibility and affordability of healthy foods for vulnerable groups.

Clear and transparent labelling
While the company states it uses ‘clear and transparent’ labelling on its products, no commitment to adhere to national regulations regarding labelling or to provide nutritional information through back-of-pack labelling was found.

Responsible marketing
Perdue Farms does not disclose a responsible marketing policy, nor guidelines specific to marketing to children.

Child labour
While Perdue Farms commits to prohibiting child labour in its own operations and requires its suppliers to adhere to the same standard, it has an opportunity to disclose a policy requiring its suppliers to have an age-verification system in place.

Living wage
For its operations, Perdue Farm discloses its average hourly pay is above the 2020 Federal Poverty Guidelines for a family of four. However, the company does not demonstrate that it has achieved paying all its workers a living wage that covers basic needs and some discretionary income for a worker and his or her family. Moreover, the company has an opportunity to demonstrate that it is working towards ensuring the payment of a living wage in its supply chain by setting targets or including living wage requirements in its contracts with suppliers.

Land rights
Perdue Farms does not commit to recognising and respecting the legitimate tenure rights related to the ownership and use of land of local communities.

Farmer productivity and resilience
Perdue Farms provides farmers with poultry house contracts which give them year-round farm income while insulating them from the financial risks of volatile markets. The company also makes a ‘you grow it, we will buy it’ promise to local farmers to ensure a competitive local market for crops, with a stance not to turn farmers away. However, the company has an opportunity to demonstrate that it is measuring the impact of its activities on the resilience and productivity of these farmers.

Perdue Farms commits to respecting human rights in its operations and provides grievance mechanisms for workers and third parties. However, no commitment to respect all ILO core labour rights in its operations and supply chain was found. Moreover, the company does not provide evidence of a human rights due diligence process and nor disclose how it engages with affected and potentially affected stakeholders.

Perdue Farms commits to respecting the health and safety of its workers, places health and safety expectations on its suppliers and monitors their performance, but can further improve its quantitative reporting on the issue. The company also demonstrates that over 30% of its board members are women. However, it does not disclose a commitment or target for gender equality and women’s empowerment nor report on its gender pay gap. No commitments or policies regarding living wages, working hours and collective bargaining were found, and the company does not report on key metrics related to workforce diversity.

No policies or commitments related to key ethical business topics – personal data protection, tax, bribery and corruption, and lobbying and political engagement – were found in the public domain. As such, Perdue Farms does not demonstrate how it ensures ethical business conduct throughout its operations and in its relationships with supply chain partners.