Operating Ethically
Just as people want to know what’s in our foods and how they’re made, they are just as interested in how we treat our employees, respect our suppliers, and care for our communities. At Kellogg, we live our values and communicate with transparency to earn the trust of customers and consumers around the world. Kellogg has always been committed to operating ethically; it’s something we prioritize every day.
Our Global Code of Ethics details our commitment to operating ethically and transparently. Employees receive annual training on the Code that addresses anti-corruption, anti-competitive behavior, data protection and human rights.
We also have in place a robust system of controls to protect our company’s information, as well as customer and consumer data, from potential cybersecurity attacks. We prioritize making the necessary investments, continually advancing our information technology capabilities to vigilantly safeguard our business.
We participate in a number of benchmarks and surveys that track and measure our performance in the Ethics & Compliance sphere. In 2022, we were proud to have been recognized again by:
- Dow Jones Sustainability Index
- Ethisphere World’s Most Ethical Companies
- Reputation Institute World’s Most Reputable Company
Partnering to strengthen ethical operations across our supply chain
We collaborate with our supplier partners – including ingredient suppliers, packaging suppliers and engineering firms – to improve the social and environmental sustainability of their operations. Additionally, our Global Supplier Code of Conduct communicates to our supplier partners our expectations and requirements of them as a part of doing business with Kellogg. These requirements include environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and are aligned to the standard by which we hold ourselves accountable to, as well.
We have been working with our suppliers to support ethical supply chains for the last decade. Kellogg utilizes a combination of publicly available indices from reputable sources, including Sedex Radar, to assess forced labor risk, and other salient risks, for supplier operations by region and commodity. As of December 2021, 89% of global in-scope suppliers have registered with the Sedex platform; of those, 85% have registered and linked all Kellogg supplying sites. We have annual goals to maintain 90% in-scope suppliers registered and active on the Sedex platform and 90% of all sites linked. This aids Kellogg to more accurately track Tier 1 supply chain locations and assess current audit status, including open non-conformances or pending actions. In-scope refers to suppliers within the Top 80% spend profile, all high-risk commodity suppliers (palm oil, cocoa, sugar cane), and/or those with high exposure to contract labor. We are continuing to work with our suppliers to achieve completion of the Sedex Self-Assessment Questionnaire to better assist risk profiling and commodity/country risk exposure.
At Kellogg, employees and suppliers alike share our commitment to operating ethically. Doing so is core to the company Kellogg has always been and will always be.
Kellogg Ethics Line
Our Ethics Hot Line offers a confidential way for employees, suppliers, contractors and the general public to ask questions and report concerns in relation to ethics, compliance or any other requirements in our Global Code of Ethics and Supplier Code immediately and anonymously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via telephone, internet or mobile app. The Ethics Hot Line is operated for Kellogg by a third-party, confidential reporting company and is always available to Kellogg employees in 21 countries. The operator will listen to concerns or inquiries and provide a written summary to the Office of Ethics and Compliance for investigation and further action, as appropriate.
Regional compliance leaders review and resolve complaints and inquiries consistent with our investigation protocols. All complaints and inquiries are monitored and subject to review at the corporate level. Most investigations can be completed quickly. Our goal is to complete investigations within 30 days. However, completion timelines may vary depending upon additional factors such as the availability of witnesses, etc. Appropriate action is taken based on investigation findings. Lessons learned are leveraged to prevent and detect future misconduct, ensure compliance, and identify any other opportunities for improvement.
Click here to learn more about Kellogg’s Ethics Line or to report a concern.
Learn more
Click here to view our Global Human Rights Policy and our latest Human Rights Milestones document, which contains comprehensive information on our approach and outcomes. The ESG A to Z contains a comprehensive list of our policies and guidelines.