August 02, 2019

SumOfUs, an international consumer group, on behalf of the British Columbia Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) filed a shareholder resolution with dairy giant Saputo calling for more accountability on its food waste. The proposal requests that Saputo submit an annual report on the impact of the company’s food waste. The proposal has been endorsed by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a leading proxy advisory firm. 

WHO: British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) and SumOfUs

WHAT: Saputo Annual General Meeting 

WHEN: August 8, 2019 10:00am 

WHERE: Sheraton Laval, 2440, Autoroute des Laurentides, Laval, QC, Canada H7T 1X5

WHY: In Canada, 58 percent of all food produced is either lost or wasted and 86 percent of this waste takes place within the food industry. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, 30 percent of food is wasted globally across the supply chain, contributing 8 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. In the case of Canada, food waste produces emissions equivalent to 41 million cars being driven year-round. Leading proxy firm ISS agrees that food waste’s contribution to climate change is a risk to shareholder value and that food loss negatively affects shareholder value. 

The shareholder proposal can be viewed here: 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.sumofus.org/images/Saputo_food_waste_proposal_2019.pdf