Twinings & Co
OVERALL |
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Owned |
UK |
Rating |
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Powdered food products manufacturing
Australia's #2 hot beverages company. Like George Weston Foods, this company is owned by European food and beverages giant, AB Foods.
Company Ownership
AB Food & Beverages Australia Pty Ltd | AUS | website | ||||
Associated British Foods PLC ![]() owns 100% of AB Food & Beverages Australia Pty Ltd |
UK | website | ||||
Food manufacturer Diversified international food, ingredients and retail group operating in 47 countries. 54.5% owned by Wittington Investments, a company controlled by the founding Weston family. | ||||||
Wittington Investments Ltd ![]() owns 55% of Associated British Foods PLC |
UK | website | ||||
Holding company Wittington Investments is controlled by the Weston Family, and is the ultimate holding company of Associated British Foods plc (ABF), one of Europe's largest food companies and owners of George Weston Foods in Australia. | ||||||
» Garfield Weston Foundation ![]() owns 79% of Wittington Investments Ltd |
UK | website | ||||
Grant-giving charity Founded 1958. The Weston family controls a string of businesses through this charitable trust, including Associated British Foods, Primark and Fortnum & Mason. Owns nearly 80% of Wittington Investments, its main source of income. |
Company Assessment
PRAISE | CRITICISM | INFORMATION | ||
AB Food & Beverages Australia Pty Ltd | ||||
Winner of the Environment Victoria's Golden KEEP Award, and the Going Forwards award, for Jarrah instant coffee. Jarrah improved their packaging by changing it to a fully recyclable single plastic jar. Glass jars have a far higher environmental impact.
[Source 2009][More on Packaging]
Brands owned by this company were rated 'green' in Greenpeace's 2011 Truefood Guide, signifying a clear policy on excluding GM-derived ingredients, including oils derived from GM crops, and animal products from animals fed on GM crops.
[Source 2011][More on Genetic Engineering] |
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Associated British Foods PLC | ||||
This company received a score of 9 out of a possible total of 9 in the WWF Palm Oil Buyers' Scorecard 2016, which rates companies on what they are - and aren't - doing to prevent the negative environmental and social impacts of palm oil production.
[Source 2016][More on Palm Oil] |
A 2015 investigation by the BBC has found workers on Indian tea plantations who pick tea for this company are paid less than £2 per day and live in inhuman conditions. Living and working conditions are so bad, and wages so low, that tea workers and their families are left malnourished and vulnerable to fatal illnesses. There was also a disregard for health and safety, with workers spraying chemicals without protection, and on some estates, child labour being used.
[Source 2015][More on Workers Rights]
This company received a score of 34.2/100 in the Newsweek Green Rankings 2016, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
[Source 2016][More on Sustainability Reporting]
In 2016 Rank a Brand assessed 37 major cotton-using companies on their commitment and performance with regard to sustainable cotton by looking at each company's cotton sourcing policies, use of sustainable cotton, and traceability. This company scored 2/19.5, making it one of the weaker performing companies.
[Source 2016][More on Human Rights]
In 2016 KnowTheChain benchmarked 60 large global companies in the ICT, Food & Beverage, and Apparel & Footwear sectors on their efforts to address forced labour and human trafficking in their supply chains. This company received a score of 30/100.
[Source 2016][More on Workers Rights]
The 2017 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessed 98 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world from the Agricultural Products, Apparel and Extractives sectors on 100 human rights indicators. This company's score was in the 20-29 band range. The overall average score was 28.7%.
[Source 2017][More on Human Rights]
The 2017 Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) report ranks global food companies on how they are managing and reporting their farm animal welfare policies and practices. This company appeared in tier 5, "On the Business Agenda but Limited Evidence of Implementation", with tier 1 being the best, and tier 6 the worst.
[Source 2018][More on Animal Rights]
In Feb 2013 ActionAid (UK) released a report revealing that this company is dodging its tax bill in Zambia, one of the world's poorest countries. ActionAid claims ABF has avoided an estimated US$27 million in taxes in Zambia since 2007, where the company operates a sugar company. ABF denies the allegations (http://bit.ly/1j7m8l6).
[Source 2013][More on Finance]
Oxfam's 2016 Behind the Brands Scorecard assesses the agricultural sourcing policies of the world's 10 largest food and beverage companies. It exclusively focuses on publicly available information that relates to the policies of these companies on their sourcing of agricultural commodities from developing countries. This company ranked equal last with a score of 36%.
[Source 2016][More on Governance]
This company scores Ethical Consumer's worst rating for the likely use of tax avoidance strategies, and has at least two high risk subsidiaries in tax havens.
[Source 2018][More on Finance] |
Primark is an Irish clothing retailer operating 271 stores throughout western Europe, and a subsidiary of Associated British Foods. Primark has been criticised for worker exploitation.
[Source 2014][More on Workers Rights]
Friends of the Earth's 2014 report "Tiny Ingredients, Big Risks" names this company as one of over 200 transnational food companies engaged in nanotechnology research and development, and on their way to commercializing products. New studies are adding to a growing body of scientific evidence indicating nanomaterials may be toxic to humans and the environment.
[Source 2014][More on Product Safety]
This company has a number of sustainability claims on its website in the areas of renewable energy, worker safety, packaging reductions and ethical business practices
[Source 2014][More on Sustainability Reporting]
The Forest 500 identifies, ranks, and tracks the governments, companies and financial institutions worldwide that together could virtually eradicate tropical deforestation. Rankings are based on their public policies and commitments and potential impacts on tropical forests in the context of forest risk commodities (palm oil, soya, beef, leather, timber, and pulp and paper). This company received a score of 3/5.
[Source 2016][More on Forests] |
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Wittington Investments Ltd | ||||
Wittington Investments subsidiary Fortnum & Mason has been targeted by PETA for continuing to sell foie gras. Foie gras is made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been force fed grain through a tube for the last 12-18 days of its life under factory farm conditions. More than a dozen countries have prohibited foie gras production due to animal welfare concerns.
[Source 2012][More on Animal Rights] |
UK-based protest group, UK Uncut, targeted Wittington Investments during protests in March 2011 for their tax avoidance policies.
[Source 2011][More on Finance]
Brands in 'bread' category received BOTTOM Rating; with a score of 46 out of a possible score of 100 in the Ethical Company Organisation's 'Good Shopping Guide' (UK), which evaluates brands with regard to their environmental, animal welfare and human rights records.
[Source 2011] |
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Garfield Weston Foundation | ||||
In 2010, the UK Charity Commission found that some of the family members who run the Garfield Weston Foundation allowed an investment company it controlled (Wittington Investments) to make illegal political donations between 1993 and 2007. The Charity Commission also found that the charity's nine trustees breached their duties in January 2006 by voting for a resolution allowing Wittington to make donations without giving proper consideration.
[Source 2010][More on Governance] |
The Garfield Weston Foundation gives grants to UK registered charities, with the exception of animal welfare charities. Organisations with an 'exempt' or 'excepted' status such as churches, hospitals, educational establishments and housing corporations may also apply for grants.
[Source 2012][More on Finance] |
Company Details
Company Structure | Wholly-owned subsidiary |
Aus Manufacturing | Yes |
Contact Details
Address | 35-37 South Corporate Ave, Rowville, VIC, 3178, Australia |
Phone | 03 9764 5111 |
Freecall | 1800 092 889 |
infohelp.aus@twiningsovo.com | |
Website | www.twiningsandco.com.au |
Products / Brands
Twinings & Co
Jarrah Coffee Jarrah Milk Flavouring Ovaltine Milk Flavouring Ovaltines Chocolate Twinings Tea |