In 2023, KnowTheChain assessed the 60 largest global food and beverage companies on their efforts to address forced labor risks in their supply chains. In addition to assessing information available on companies’ websites, KnowTheChain invited benchmarked companies over a period of three months (January- April 2023) to review the information identified, and to provide additional information.
- 55% of companies formally engaged during the three month period, by providing additional public disclosure (40%), or sending links to existing or newly added disclosure on their websites (15%).
- The majority of the companies (83%) confirmed a contact person for communication to KnowTheChain.
Please find below details on the engagement details with each company.
Cocoa Cola Euro-pacific Partners, 2022 Modern Slavery Statement
Loblaw, 2022 ESG Report
Empire, 2023 KnowTheChain Additional Disclosure. p 4
| Company name | Headquarters | Engagement* | 2023 Disclosure | 2020 Disclosure | 2018 Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeon | Japan | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Ahold Delhaize | Netherlands | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure and sent link | Responded, and provided updated response |
| Ajinomoto | Japan | Yes | Sent links | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Almarai | Saudi Arabia | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | No response | No response |
| Amazon | United States | Yes | Sent links | Sent links | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Arca Continental | Mexico | No | No response | Provided additional disclosure | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Archer-Daniels-Midland | United States | Yes | Sent link | Sent link | |
| Associated British Foods | United Kingdom | Yes | Sent link | Sent links | Responded |
| Avenue Supermarkets | India | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Barry Callebaut | Switzerland | No | No response | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Britannia | India | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| BRF | Brazil | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] | No response |
| Campbell Soup | United States | Provided additional disclosure | Sent additional disclosure and further information | ||
| Carrefour | France | Yes | No response | Responded | |
| China Mengniu Dairy | Hong Kong | No | No response | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Coca-Cola | United States | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosure |
| Coca-Cola European Partners | United Kingdom | Yes | Provided additional disclosure and sent link** | Provided additional disclosure | Sent additional disclosure, and further updates |
| Coca-Cola HBC | Switzerland | No | No response | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Coles | Australia | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure and sent links | [Assessed as Wesfarmers including Coles] Responded, provided additional disclosure and links |
| Colruyt Group | Belgium | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Conagra | United States | No response | No response | ||
| Costco | United States | Yes | Sent link | No response | Sent link |
| Danone | France | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosure |
| Empire | Canada | N/A | Sent links** | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] |
| FamilyMart | Japan | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | Sent additional disclosure and link | [Not included in benchmark] |
| FEMSA | Mexico | No | No response | No response | No response |
| Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food | China | No | No response | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| General Mills | United States | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure |
| Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B de C.V. | Mexico | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] | ||
| Hershey’s | United States | Yes | Sent links | Sent links | Responded |
| Hormel Foods | United States | Yes | No additional disclosure provided | Provided additional disclosure | No response |
| Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group | China | No | No response | No response | |
| J Sainsbury | United Kingdom | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] |
| JBS | Brazil | No | No additional disclosure provided | No response | Sent link |
| Kellogg | United States | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosure |
| Kerry | Ireland | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Sent additional disclosure and links to statementand revised supplier code | Provided additional disclosure |
| Keurig Dr Pepper | United States | Yes | Sent links | Sent link | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Kikkoman | Japan | No | No response | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Kraft Heinz | United States | No | No response | No response | Sent additional disclosure |
| Kroger | United States | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Sent links to report (pp. 146-148 and 150) and commitment |
Responded and provided links (2016 report, 2017 report, statement) |
| Lamb Weston | United States | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Loblaw | Canada | Yes | Provided additional disclosure** | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosure |
| Lindt | Switzerland | Provided additional disclosure | Responded | ||
| McCormick | United States | No response | [Not included in benchmark] | ||
| Mead Johnson, now Reckitt Benckiser | United States | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Meiji Holdings | Japan | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure** and sent links to | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Metro | Canada | Yes | Sent links | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Mondelez | United States | Yes | Sent links | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosure |
| Monster Beverage | United States | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure |
| Mowi | Norway | Yes | Sent links | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Nestlé | Switzerland | No | No response | Sent additional disclosure and links (1, 2, 3) | Responded |
| PepsiCo | United States | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure |
| San Miguel Food and Beverage | Philippines | No | No response | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Saputo | Canada | Yes | No additional disclosure provided | Provided additional disclosure | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Seven & i | Japan | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure, additional information and link* | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Siam Makro | Thailand | No | No response | [Not included in benchmark] | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Sun Art Retail | Hong Kong | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Smucker’s | United States | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosureand links |
| Suntory | Japan | Provided additional disclosure | No response | Responded and provided additional disclosure | |
| Tesco | United Kingdom | Yes | Sent links | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosure |
| Tyson Foods | United States | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | |
| Unilever | United Kingdom | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosure |
| Vietnam Dairy Products | Vietnam | No | No response | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Walmart | United States | Yes | Confirmed membership of Fair Food Program | No response | Responded and sent link** |
| Want Want China | China | No | No response | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
| WH Group | Hong Kong | No | No response | No response | No response |
| Wilmar | Singapore | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure and further information | Responded and provided additional disclosure, and further information |
| Woolworths | Australia | Yes | Provided additional disclosure | Provided additional disclosure | Responded and provided additional disclosure |
| Yakult | Japan | No | No response | Provided additional disclosure | [Not included in benchmark] |
| Yonghui Superstores | China | N/A | [Not included in benchmark] | No response | [Not included in benchmark] |
*Engagement with KnowTheChain April 2022-April 2023
- “Yes” indicates that a company participated in the research process by having an engagement call with KnowTheChain or submitted links or additional disclosure to KnowTheChain during the three-month engagement period (March to May 2020).
- “Informal” engagement means a company had some form of contact with KnowTheChain between July 2019 and June 2020. This could include an email enquiring about KnowTheChain or its benchmarking methodology or a call outside the engagement period.
- “No” means a company did not interact with KnowTheChain between July 2019 and June 2020.
**Companies provided additional disclosure or links outside of the designated research timeline.