Kellogg

This company sources palm oil from at least 20 of the 25 dirty palm oil producers identified in the 2018 Greenpeace report "The Final Countdown". In addition to deforestation, the 25 individual cases in the report include evidence of exploitation and social conflicts, illegal deforestation, development without permits, plantation development in areas zoned for protection and forest fires linked to land clearance.
Source: Greenpeace (2018)

In December 2021 Kellogg announced it is permanently replacing 1,400 workers who have been on strike since 5 October, a decision that comes as the majority of its cereal plant workforce rejected a deal that would have provided 3% raises. This followed months of bitter disagreement between the company and the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) International Union. Workers seek significant raises, saying they work 80-hour weeks. They are also protesting planned job cuts and offshoring, and a proposed two-tier system that gives newer workers at the plants less pay and fewer benefits.
Source: The Guardian (Dec 2021)

A 2016 report by Amnesty International found a range of labour rights abuses on the palm oil plantations operated by Wilmar's subsidiaries and suppliers in Indonesia. These abuses include worst forms of child labour, forced labour, discrimination against women workers, people being paid below the minimum wage, and workers suffering injuries from toxic chemicals. The report confirms that Kellogg's has a joint venture with, and sources palm oil from Wilmar.
Source: Amnesty Intl (2016)

In 2019 Rainforest Action Network (RAN) conducted a series of undercover investigations which showed that several major snack food producers, including this company, have been found purchasing palm oil from mills that have continued to source palm oil resulting from the illegal clearing of lowland rainforests within the nationally protected Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve in Indonesia. These mills are located immediately next to areas of illegal encroachment into the Leuser Ecosystem and lack the necessary procedures to trace the location where the palm oil they sell is grown, a key requirement for complying with the No Deforestation, No Peatlands, No Exploitation (NDPE) policy this company has publicly committed to.
Source: RAN (2019)

In 2018 volunteers collected and catalogued more than 187,000 pieces of trash from beach cleanups around the world to find out which corporations are contributing the most to the global plastic pollution problem. While not in the top 10, this company ranked as one of the world's worst plastic polluters.
Source: #breakfreefromplastic (2018)

A 2022 BBC News, Mongabay and the Gecko Project released a joint investigation that looked into a scheme that was intended to help lift millions of Indonesians out of poverty and cut them in on the spoils of the global palm oil boom, but has instead been plagued by allegations of exploitation and illegality. They identified 13 companies, including this one, that have sourced palm oil from producers alleged to have withheld plasma (a portion of large-scale plantations to be shared with local communities), or the profits from plasma, from Indonesian communities over the past eight years. The losses suffered across Indonesia by communities owed plasma could stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Protests by local tribes over plasma are violently suppressed by Indonesian authorities.
Source: Mongabay (2022)

While Mexico has one of the highest obesity rates in the world, certain micronutrient deficiencies, particularly iron deficiency, continue to be a public health concern. In response the Mexican government passed laws for the mandatory fortification of both wheat and maize the early 2000s. Changing Markets' 2019 report, 'Corn Fakes', exposes Kellogg's for reducing or removing two-thirds of essential micronutrients from their most popular breakfast cereal brands in Mexico since 2013. The report estimates that Kellogg's saves US$85 million over five years by removing key micronutrients, whilst the minimum cumulative social cost to Mexico for the removal of just three key nutrients - iron, calcium and folic acid - will be US$250 million over five years. This means for every dollar that Kellogg's saves by de-fortifying cereals it destroys at least three dollars in value to Mexican society.
Source: Changing Markets (2019)

In 2019 this company agreed to pay US$20 million to settle a class action lawsuit that claimed that they falsely advertised their sugar-filled cereals as healthy.
Source: Top Class Actions (2019)

Over the last 60 years farming has become dependent on the intensive use of chemicals. As You Sow's 2021 report, Pesticides in the Pantry, examines the growing risks posed by the use of synthetic pesticides in agricultural supply chains to food manufacturers, and scores companies on their efforts to reduce pesticide use in their supply chains. Scores ranged from 16 to 0, with an average score of 7.5. This company received a score of 10/27.
Source: As You Sow (2021)

In 2021 this company agreed to pay US$13 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged Kellogg violated certain laws by labeling three of its cereals with certain nutritious statements even though plaintiffs alleged the products contained excessive amounts of sugar.
Source: Top Class Actions (2019)

This company received a score of 47.9/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, 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: Newsweek (2017)