General Mills can do more to reduce its plastic footprint

At its annual meeting on September 27, General Mills’ shareholders will have the chance to steer the company toward a cleaner future — moving beyond plastics. For the sake of our oceans, lakes and streams, and all the wildlife harmed by plastic waste, we hope shareholders seize this opportunity. 

General Mills, the parent company of Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Nature Valley and more, already has a vision for a world less sullied by plastic. Its website says:  “Our packaging ambition is that all General Mills brands will design 100% of packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2030.” 

It’s a good start, but the missing word is “reduce.” 

Shareholders are asking the company to do more. A resolution (p. 83) requests “that General Mills issue a report…[assessing]…how the company can increase the scale, pace, and rigor of its sustainable packaging efforts by reducing its absolute plastic packaging use.”

It’s our hope that General Mills shareholders choose wildlife over waste by voting “Yes” on this resolution. Something we use for a few minutes shouldn’t pollute our environment for hundreds of years.