Operating Ethically
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Doing the right thing
Kellanova’s culture is built on a strong, ethical foundation. Our Global Code of Ethics, available in 15 languages, details our commitment to integrity by providing clear guidance, so our employees and stakeholders understand our high standards for conducting business globally. This Global Code of Ethics provides balanced, practical and relevant business advice to help us live our values and deliver results in a way that is legal, ethical and responsible. It highlights key leadership responsibilities that set the right tone throughout our global operations to enable us to better connect, collaborate and compete in the 21st century.
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. For many years, Kellogg Company, was honored with some of the industry’s highest recognitions, including:
- Ethisphere World’s Most Ethical Companies
- Dow Jones Sustainability Index
- 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 Kellanova. These requirements include social and environmental issues and are aligned to the standard by which we hold ourselves accountable to, as well.
One way we work with our suppliers to support ethical operations in manufacturing facilities is through the use of the SEDEX platform. We have annual goals to maintain 90% of our in-scope suppliers registered and active on Sedex and to have 90% of all Kellanova supplying sites linked and accessible. This aids Kellanova 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% Global spend profile for ingredients and packaging, 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 Kellanova, employees and suppliers alike share our commitment to operating ethically. Doing so is core to the company we have always been and will always be.
Grievance Mechanism
The Kellanova Ethics Hotline offers a confidential way for employees, suppliers, contractors and the general public to ask questions and report concerns about ethics, compliance or any other requirements in our Global Code of Ethics and Supplier Code. The Hotline, which is operated by a third-party, confidential reporting company, is available immediately and anonymously 24/7 via telephone, internet or mobile app in 21 countries and in local languages. The operator listens to concerns or inquiries and provides a written summary to our 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.
Learn more
Click here to view our Global Human Rights Policy and our Human Rights approach. The Policies and Guidelines section contains a comprehensive list of our policies and guidelines.