Environment
2010 may have been our best year ever for minimizing our environmental footprint when you consider the following:
- Energy from oat hulls. We brought online new equipment that burns oat hulls left over from our milling process to provide 90 percent of the steam to operate our Fridley, Minn., facility that makes oat flour for Cheerios and other products.
- Energy from the sun. Our first U.S. facility to produce its own electricity via solar panels came online at our facility in Methuen, Mass. – and a second bank of solar panels was installed at our headquarters in Minneapolis.
- Environmentally friendly buildings. Our first LEED-certified buildings opened their doors – a distribution facility in Georgia, and an existing office building in Minneapolis that was upgraded to meet LEED specifications.
- Environmental management certification. All of our European locations are now “ISO 14001” certified, a globally recognized environmental management system.
Many factors have contributed to the success of our recent sustainability projects. But one of the most important is the longtime support from our chairman and CEO, Ken Powell.
Powell has been an active supporter both inside and outside General Mills, and delivered the keynote address at a Sustainability Summit hosted by the food industry. Powell’s message was that sustainability efforts are not only the right thing to do, but are also good for business.
