Sysco Corp., Houston, Texas, published its 2019 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, documenting the company’s progress toward the 2025 goals established in 2018. Sysco’s CSR strategy focuses on three key areas—people, products and planet.

“As we celebrate Sysco’s 50th anniversary this fiscal year, we understand the importance of a strong CSR strategy that is focused on finding systemic solutions and leverages strong partnerships,” says Tom Bené, chairman, president and COO. “Our entire organization is committed to acting ethically and responsibly to service our customers, while producing positive, lasting change.”

The 2019 CSR report details the progress made in the last year against Sysco’s 2025 goals, including a scorecard that measures results from year-to-year, along with plans for the future.

“We have a long-term commitment to making sustained change,” adds Bené. “And, so we are testing, learning and continually adapting to lead the way and deliver on our 2025 CSR goals into our next 50 years.”

Progress highlights entail:

People 

• Provided 7.5 million meals and $6.4 million in cash contributions to local communities.
• Added 15 new Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) suppliers; increased year-over-year purchases in the United States by 4.3%.
• Increased total U.S. associate ethnic and gender diversity to 57.2%.
• Launched Sysco Simply brand, emphasizing vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian and plant-based protein products.

Products

• Refreshed Sysco’s Animal Welfare Advisory Council by adding new internal and external members.
• Developed a short list of 13 commodities for further evaluation as “key commodities.”
• Increased the total number of assessments in Sysco Brand Supplier Social Audit Program by nearly 9% with more than 30 suppliers improving their performance.

Planet

• Launched 3 solar garden sites, supporting 10% of Sysco’s U.S. electricity usage, which is halfway to the goal.
• Increased waste diversion to 73% in U.S. and Canada operations.
• Improved energy efficiency by 14.2% since 2014 in U.S. and Canada operations.

Sysco’s European operations also support CSR programs. For example, many locations established hunger relief programs that provide nutritious food to local communities.