Transparency

It’s only possible for companies to be held truly accountable if they are honest about the nature and impact of their work. The Behind the Brands Scorecard assesses how committed companies are to disclosing where they source their products and raw materials and under what conditions, as well as examining their lobbying practices, tax disclosure and how they enforce their requirements on suppliers. 


How are the scores formed?

We assessed publicly available information on the policies and commitments of the 'Big 10' food companies towards the sourcing of agricultural commodities from developing countries. The Scorecard looks at seven themes, weighing each theme equally. The index tackles some cutting edge issues that will require rigorous debate and dialogue between companies, civil society and industry experts. Find out more...

What do the scores mean?

  1. 8 - 10Good
  2. 6 - 7Fair
  3. 4 - 5Some progress
  4. 2 - 3Poor
  5. 0 - 1Very poor

  1. Nestlé

    Score
    7

    Nestle is one of the top in Transparency! Nestle reveals where it sources from, how much it sources for key commodities, including some key suppliers. Nestle provides excellent sustainability reporting and is the only company disclosing the ratio of CEO and median employee pay, but it provides very limited information on taxation.

    See how Nestlé score on other issues

  2. Unilever

    Score
    7

    Unilever is the company most transparent about its suppliers and taxation. It is the only company that discloses its policy on taxation. It continued to make improvements in disclosing sources of origin and the compliance of suppliers with its code.

    See how Unilever score on other issues

  3. Mars

    Score
    6

    As the only privately held company in the scorecard, Mars is relatively open about corporate governance, lobbying, the volumes it sources as well as the suppliers and countries from which it sources. It has made the largest improvement out of all companies in Transparency. However, Mars does not provide any disclosure about its tax payments.

    See how Mars score on other issues

  4. Coca Cola

    Score
    5

    Coca Cola is transparent about its corporate lobbying and provides more information than most companies (apart from Unilever) on taxation. Next, it should focus on disclosing additional sourcing volumes, countries and agents.

    See how Coca Cola score on other issues

  5. Danone

    Score
    5

    Danone lists details about sourcing volumes and where it sources. It is the only company who discloses the soy volumes used for its dairy production. It also scores highest (together with Nestle) in disclosing its Audit procedures and results. But it has made no improvements since last year and continues to fail to provide names of suppliers.

    See how Danone score on other issues

  6. General Mills

    Score
    5

    General Mills has been making consistent improvements in its transparency. It provides more information on suppliers and sourcing countries of certain key commodities while starting to disclose its sourcing volumes.

    See how General Mills score on other issues

  7. Kellogg's

    Score
    5

    Kellogg has continued to make improvements in its transparency score by providing more disclosure about sourcing origins and suppliers and sourcing volumes for certain key commodities. However, it is still secretive about how compliant the suppliers are to its supplier guidelines.

    See how Kellogg's score on other issues

  8. PepsiCo

    Score
    5

    PepsiCo took a step forward by disclosing its top three suppliers and sourcing countries for three major crops in 2014. But is it still making progress on transparency? PepsiCo has a lot more work to do, particularly regarding disclosure of its tax reporting, sourcing volumes, and supplier compliance.

    See how PepsiCo score on other issues

  9. Mondelez

    Score
    4

    Mondelez has made no improvements from last year and scores second lowest score in Transparency. Mondelez still discloses little information about its sourcing volumes, countries and buying agents, taxation and the compliance of suppliers with its code.

    See how Mondelez score on other issues

  10. Associated British Foods plc

    Score
    3

    ABF receives the lowest score on transparency (3), with no changes from the previous year. Although it does provide some information about where it sources its raw materials, the information on suppliers and auditing is limited and no information on lobby practices is provided.

    See how Associated British Foods plc score on other issues