HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Hershey Co. has announced that it has been selected to both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the North America Index.
Hershey is one of only 13 companies from the food, beverage and tobacco industry in the World Index and ranked in the 93rd percentile overall. This is the third year in a row Hershey has been included in the North America Index and the second year Hershey has been named to the World Index.
Hershey's selection to the World Index reflects the company's substantial progress in its global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. Over the course of the last few years, Hershey has made significant strides in its environmental sustainability and sustainable sourcing efforts, completing many of its long-range goals and phased commitments ahead of schedule.
The company's environmental achievements, outlined in Hershey's third CSR report, include the following notable improvements:
- 72% water reduction
- 38% waste reduction
- 23% greenhouse gas emissions reduction
- Corporate-wide recycling rate of 87%
- A total of 12 zero waste to landfill (ZWL) facilities--including seven manufacturing facilities; 97% of Hershey's U.S. production takes place at ZWL facilities.
In sustainable sourcing, Hershey's Cocoalink program was found to have "significantly improved the livelihoods" of Ghanaian cocoa farmers. Approximately 45,000 Ghanaian cocoa farmers are enrolled in the mobile technology program, and farmers in Cocoalink communities increased their yields by 45.6% in three years. After the success of the Cocoalink in Ghana, Hershey has plans to expand the program to cocoa-growing regions in Côte d'Ivoire.
Hershey also committed to purchasing 100% traceable and sustainably sourced palm oil late last year after announcing it had achieved 100% mass balanced RSPO-certified palm oil one year ahead of schedule.
"Hershey's inclusion in the North America and World Index builds on our positive momentum since announcing in May that we have completed 60% of our long-range CSR goals. It is clear validation that our accomplishments in a wide range of CSR areas, from environmental sustainability to ethical sourcing, are recognized within the sustainability community," said Terry O'Day, senior vice president chief supply chain officer. "We are pleased that we continue to push ourselves to deliver improvements across a broad range of meaningful sustainability objectives."
The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) are determined by SAM (Sustainable Asset Management), in partnership with the S&P and Dow Jones Indices. They are the first global sustainability benchmarks that track the financial performance and sustainable business practices of the world's leading companies using economic, environmental and social criteria.
The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index was launched in Sept. 1999 and tracks the performance of the top 10% of the 2,500 largest companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index that lead the field in terms of sustainability. DJSI North America launched in Sept. 2005 and represents the top 20% of the 600 largest companies in the North America Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market.
The Hershey Co., based in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader with more than 80 brands around the world that drive more than $7.1 billion in annual revenues, including Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers.
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