Sanderson Farms

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
Sanderson Farms demonstrates that 100% of its processing locations are certified to a food safety scheme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and reports on non-compliance annually. While the company further specifies that 100% of its processed chicken suppliers are certified to a GFSI-recognised safety scheme, none of the poultry-producing facilities are certified to such a scheme, highlighting a key opportunity for Sanderson Farms.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience
Sanderson Farms displays leading practice in supporting farmer productivity and resilience. By providing farmers with the chickens and feed, the company ensures that farmers are insulated from market swings that are characteristic of commodity chicken and grain markets. The company reports on the impact of its activities to support farmers by demonstrating that its farmers have benefitted from a 112% increase in their grower pay within the last decade.

Sustainable development strategy
Sanderson Farms does not disclose a sustainability strategy, which includes sustainable development objectives and targets. Neither does the company disclose an identification and prioritisation process to determine the topics where it has the most impact.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
Sanderson Farms discloses having a corporate responsibility council and teams at every facility that work on setting sustainability goals and tracking progress against them. Moreover, the company indicates that its board of directors oversees its sustainability efforts and reporting. However, the company does not demonstrate that executive or board-level remuneration is linked to sustainability goals.

Stakeholder engagement
Sanderson Farms discloses that it undertakes stakeholder engagement activities through participation in roundtables such as the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance. However, the company does not provide a list of its key stakeholder groups, or an overview of issues raised via stakeholder engagement activities.

Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions
Sanderson Farms has recently begun to report on its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions and discloses it is currently developing a target. As reporting for previous years is not available, the company does not yet demonstrate that it is reducing its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions over time.

Water use
Sanderson Farms set a target to reduce water-use intensity by 3% in 2020 compared to the previous fiscal year and reports it has achieved a 40% reduction in water usage in its operations since 2008. It also reports on the share of its water withdrawals from water-stressed areas. The company monitors water use in its poultry supply chain but does not provide further details on how it engages with suppliers to reduce their water use.

Food loss and waste
While Sanderson Farms is a partner in the 10x20x30 food loss and waste initiative, it does not disclose any quantitative evidence of reducing food loss and waste. There is an opportunity for the company to disclose targets and quantitative reporting on food loss and waste volumes in its operations through its reporting.

Animal welfare
While Sanderson Farms has an animal welfare policy for its suppliers, this policy does not address the main welfare issues for its relevant species nor other internationally recognised animal welfare frameworks such as the Five Freedoms. The company has an opportunity to disclose a commitment on animal welfare that addresses key issues for animal welfare across its relevant species, geographies and products.

Antibiotic use and growth-promoting substances
While Sanderson Farms states it is committed to reducing antibiotic use and phasing out medically important antibiotics, it does not demonstrate that it is reducing the prophylactic use of antibiotics and growth-promoting substances. The company has an opportunity to disclose a commitment on antibiotics that addresses the topic across its relevant species, geographies and products and to set time-bound targets.

Availability of healthy foods
The company does not disclose a commitment to or evidence of activities to increase the availability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
The company does not disclose a commitment to address food insecurity by improving the accessibility and affordability of healthy and nutritious foods.

Workforce nutrition
Sanderson Farms provides evidence of offering nutrition education to its workforce through its wellness training course. However, the company has an opportunity to develop this programme further to include the provision of healthy foods at work, nutrition-focused health checks and breastfeeding support throughout its operations.

Child labour
While Sanderson 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
While Sanderson Farms states that it ensures competitive compensation that is assessed quarterly against the cost of living, the company does not demonstrate that this covers the cost of living and some discretionary income for workers and their families. Neither does the company demonstrate that it pays its workers a living wage nor requires its suppliers to do so. Moreover, the company has not disclosed time-bound targets for paying a living wage across all its operations and/or supply chain.

Land rights
Sanderson Farm does not disclose a commitment to recognise and respect the legitimate tenure rights related to the ownership and use of land of local communities. Neither does it disclose a policy requiring its suppliers to do so.

Sanderson Farms commits to respecting human rights and the ILO core labour rights, and it discloses a policy statement expecting its business relationships to commit to respecting the ILO core labour rights. The company discloses its salient human rights risks and how these are assessed, but it can improve its disclosure on how it identifies and integrates human right risks. While Sanderson Farms provides grievance mechanisms for workers, it is not specified whether there is a mechanism accessible to third parties.

Related to workforce diversity, Sanderson Farms discloses data on gender and ethnicity but lacks disclosure on other markers of workforce diversity such as age. While demonstrating that 46% of board members are women, the company has an opportunity to commit to gender equality and women’s empowerment and set related targets. With regard to collective bargaining, Sanderson Farms reports on the proportion of its workers covered by agreements but does not indicate it supports its business relationships in respecting collective bargaining. No policy commitments to respect the health and safety of workers, pay a living wage and prevent excessive working hours were found in the public domain.

Sanderson Farms has in place a public policy statement prohibiting bribery and corruption, but it does not disclose its process for identifying related risks or whether it includes anti-bribery and corruption clauses in its contracts with business relationships. Moreover, the company sets out its lobbying and political engagement approach but does not specify whether it requires third-party lobbyists to comply with this. No global tax strategy was found in the public domain. Neither does Sanderson Farms provide a statement in relation to the access to all personal data.