General Mills sets sights on packaging improvements

In its 2011 corporate social responsibility report, General Mills said that by 2015, 40 per cent of its global product volume would be sold in packaging that has been improved over the last five years.

It has focused efforts on modifying packaging weight, recycled content, renewable content or truck loading efficiency.

Last year the company set expanded environmental sustainability goals for energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, water usage and solid waste generation.

In 2010, the company established a new North American transportation goal to reduce the fuel used to ship a pound of product by 35 per cent by 2015. It also expanded its use of renewable energy in 2010 through the use of oat hulls and solar power to generate energy at select facilities in the United States.