Yum! Brands

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.

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
Yum! Brands conducts materiality assessments regularly, along with enterprise risk management assessments, through which it identifies and prioritises its most relevant topics. The company discloses objectives covering sustainability topics and has established its priority areas: people, food and planet. While Yum! Brands has objectives related to its relevant topics, it could further develop its strategy by setting time-bound targets covering its most relevant issues and the topics addressed in the Food and Agriculture Benchmark.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
Yum! Brands discloses that oversight of environmental, social and governance issues lies with the board of directors, which is briefed via the Audit Committee on strategic and ongoing topics. The company’s sustainable development strategy topics are also led, operationally, by the chief of communications and public affairs, who shapes the Global Citizenship and Sustainability Strategy. Yum! Brands also has cross-functional groups that make strategic decisions. Nevertheless, the company could improve its transparency by disclosing remuneration elements relevant to its sustainable development strategy.

Stakeholder engagement
Yum! Brands discloses the outcomes of its stakeholder engagement and their integration into its sustainability strategy. It also discloses a list of its key stakeholders, which include employees, customers, franchisees, shareholders and communities, covering its entire value chain. The company states that its engagement mechanisms depend on the stakeholders and their needs, and it lays out its different types of engagement as well as the topics discussed, which cover all of the benchmark’s measurement areas. The company could strengthen its disclosure by detailing its process for identifying its most relevant stakeholders.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions
Yum! Brands has kickstarted the process of aligning with a 1.5-degree trajectory by developing science-based GHG emissions reduction targets, which have been put up for approval. This milestone is backed up by the company’s decade-long efforts to reduce its impacts in this area throughout its value chain. The company also discloses progress against its existing targets via its corporate reports and the CDP Climate Change survey. The company is on the right track on this topic and is encouraged to keep working towards setting its science-based targets aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory as well as to keep disclosing progress on its performance.

Protection of terrestrial natural ecosystems
The company has identified four of its most relevant commodities as high-risk and has pledged to minimise its deforestation risks. The company has set some targets for palm oil, although not yet for beef or soy, for which it discloses evidence of efforts related to lower impact sourcing. While the company is taking steps to reduce its impact, it could commit further by setting targets for beef and soya as well as targets that cover all of its operations and commodities. The company is also encouraged to continue to report on its performance.

Food loss and waste
While the company is addressing food loss and waste in its own operations its target to reduce food loss and waste by 2030 that covers some of its locations. However, it has an opportunity to disclose a holistic commitment by setting targets to reduce food loss and waste across its own operations and supply chain and reporting progress against these targets.

Plastic use and packaging waste
Yum! Brands pledges to reduce and use resources more mindfully when it comes to packaging. The company has set different targets via its most relevant subsidiaries, KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, covering different elements of their packaging, in particular use of Styrofoam and expanded polystyrene. The company is yet to report progress against these targets.

Animal welfare, and antibiotics use and growth-promoting substances
While Yum! Brands has a commitment to address animal welfare and reduce prophylactic antibiotics, this commitment does not apply to all key species, geographies or products that are relevant to the company.

Availability of healthy foods
The company shows a commitment towards improving the availability of healthy foods by establishing nutrition criteria to limit the number of calories across its food offerings. However, it can go a step further by disclosing clear criteria regarding reducing sugar, salt and fat and increasing fruits and vegetables in its portfolio. The company discloses some quantitative evidence regarding sodium and partially hydrogenated oils. While it has set some targets and reports progress against them, the company can strengthen its commitment by setting targets covering all of its operations and reporting progress against them.

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.

Clear and transparent labelling
While the company discloses a commitment of compliance with national regulations regarding labelling and commits to making nutritional information available for all consumers, it has an opportunity to make nutritional information more visible to consumers through the adoption of front-of-pack labels and/or any other consumer-facing nutrition label.

Responsible marketing
While the company has a commitment to market its products responsibly, particularly to children, it has an opportunity to disclose qualitative or quantitative evidence reflecting this commitment.

Food safety
While the company discloses compliance with national regulations and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) practices, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by disclosing the percentages of its own operations that are certified to a food safety scheme/certification programme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative.

Child labour
While the company 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.

Forced labour
While the company commits to prohibiting forced labour in its own operations and supply chain, it has an opportunity to disclose a requirement that prohibits its suppliers from retaining workers’ personal documents and restricting workers’ freedom of movement.

Living wage
The company does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage or requires its suppliers to do the same. Neither has it set targets to do so in the future.

Farmer and fisher productivity and resilience
The company does not disclose a commitment or examples of activities to support the resilience, productivity and access to markets for farmers, fishers and/or small-scale producers in its supply chain.

Yum! Brands commits to respecting human rights and the ILO core labour rights. Although the company provides grievance mechanisms for workers, no grievance mechanism is available for external individuals. While the company has risk mapping and assessment processes, there is no strong evidence of a human rights due diligence process, nor engagement with stakeholders that are or could be affected by the company. Yum! Brands can strengthen its score by disclosing an ad hoc human rights due diligence mechanism and by further extending its policies to its supply chain.

Yum! Brands is committed to a healthy, secure and safe workplace for its workers and supply chain. The company also discloses information on some of the metrics relevant to workforce diversity and gender equality, along with a commitment to the latter. However, no evidence of policies or commitments related to living wages, working hours or collective bargaining was found in the public domain. As such, Yum! Brands does not sufficiently demonstrate that it provides a secure, safe and healthy workplace, where workers are fairly remunerated and have a meaningful say in decision-making.

Yum! Brands discloses policies or statements on personal data protection and bribery and corruption, but there remains an opportunity for these to be strengthened as well as for increased disclosure. Regarding tax, Yum! Brands discloses little information, and no publicly available tax strategy was found. In addition, the company does not demonstrate a sufficient commitment to responsible lobbying and political engagement, nor does it report on key metrics under this topic.