Policies and Guidelines

As a socially responsible company, we are committed to responsible sourcing, including protecting animals. Even though we are a grain­-based company, and we use very little animal product in our foods, we embrace the important role we play in influencing responsible and sustainable behavior throughout our supply chain. Approximately 95% of the ingredients in Kellanova foods have no animal products, and 99% of our foods are meatless.

View full Animal Welfare Commitment
View Egg Sourcing Story Infographic

Kellanova’s Better Days™ Promise is our commitment to advance sustainable and equitable access to food by addressing the intersection of wellbeing, hunger, sustainability, and equity, diversity and inclusion. Behind these issues are specific metrics to meet our goals and details describing the methodology for tracking these metrics.

View full Better Days Promise methodology

We've been reporting climate-related information to the international CDP since 2016. Doing so is part of our long-held commitment to transparency and advocacy that can help drive the change we need to protect the planet.

View full 2023 CDP Climate Change Report for Kellanova

Where permitted by law, Kellanova may contribute to candidates, political parties, political committees, and ballot initiatives. Any political contribution with corporate funds requires approval by the Vice President, Global Government Relations; Chief Global Corporate Affairs Officer; and the General Counsel. Political contributions reflect the interests of Kellanova and not those of its officers, executives, or directors.

Read more about our political contributions and disclosures

As a global food company, we know we have a responsibility to engage our supply chain, our suppliers and our industry to drive faster, more effective action to combat deforestation. We have focused our deforestation-related efforts on palm oil, soy and paper and pulp. Although we are a small user of palm oil and soy from high-risk regions, these commodities have been identified through materiality assessments and stakeholder consultations as having significant social and environmental risk.

Though deforestation is a global issue, the solutions and actions to curb it must be regionally relevant. It is through this lens that we can accelerate our efforts to protect remaining forests, restore degraded areas and direct funding and investment to efforts that will provide the greatest impact. Using the framework of “Protect, Restore and Fund,” we will deliver nature-based solutions that take into account both environmental and social elements at the global and local level. We will partner with suppliers, farmers, peers, customers, civil society, communities and governments to protect vulnerable, biodiverse areas and ecosystems. We will work collaboratively to restore degraded forest landscapes and we will fund on-the-ground efforts to achieve these goals. We know that these are steps in the right direction and achieving a positive forest future will take time, money, effort and the participation of many.

View full Global Deforestation Policy

As an organization and as individuals, we fully commit to global Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) policies that protect our people, partners, customers, consumers, communities and the environment that surrounds us.

View full Environment, Health and Safety Policy

As a global food company, we believe we have a significant role to play in helping to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. We’re committed to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2-Zero Hunger and U.N. Development Goal 12.3. to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and to reduce food losses along the production and supply chains including post-harvest losses by 2030.

A critical element of our work to support food security and help eradicate hunger is helping to eliminate food waste from the global food system.

View full Food Loss and Waste Methodology

Apex Companies LLC conducts an independent third party limited assurance of global food loss and waste data by Kellanova.

View Food Loss and Waste 2023 Verification for Kellanova

Kellanova prohibits involuntary labor, including forced, indentured, bonded, slave or human-trafficked labor ("Involuntary Labor"), within our business operations and our supply chain. Involuntary labor is a pervasive and insidious global issue that directly and negatively impacts basic human rights. We are committed to protecting human rights and maintaining an ethical and transparent supply chain, free of Involuntary Labor. As part of doing so, we have embedded our commitment into our Global Supplier Code of Conduct ("Supplier Code") and Global Code of Ethics ("Employee Code").

View Policy Statement Prohibiting Involuntary Labor

As a global food company, we recognized that we have a responsibility to the people and communities that we serve around the world, including our consumers, employees, suppliers, and all those involved in and affected by our operations. This is why we have the same expectations for all of our supply chain partners and their operations as we do for ourselves.

This Global Supplier Code of Conduct outlines the standards and business practices we require all of our direct and extended Suppliers to adhere to in all aspects. The scope of this requirement includes all tiers of suppliers, external manufacturers, contractors, joint venture partners, agents, distributors, and consultants (each a “Supplier” and collectively “Suppliers”). It also extends to parent, subsidiary, agents, subcontractors, and affiliate entities and applies to all employees, including permanent, temporary, contract, foreign, or migrant workers (each an “Employee” and collectively “Employees”). It is the Supplier’s responsibility to ensure compliance with both the intent and letter of this Code among all Employees and throughout its supply chain, including all sub-tier suppliers/individuals, through dissemination, education, and verification.

View full Global Supplier Code of Conduct
View full Global Supplier Code of Conduct Resource Guide

We understand consumers have questions and strong preferences about the foods they eat. Many influential regulatory agencies and organizations worldwide that study the safety of the food supply have confirmed that genetically modified (GM) ingredients are safe. This approach adds desirable traits from nature, without introducing anything unnatural or using chemicals, so that food is more plentiful. GM ingredients have been around for nearly 30 years, are represented in the vast majority of the foods on grocery shelves in the U.S. and many other countries and help keep food costs down. They also help feed the hungry and malnourished in developing nations. In some markets around the world, we do not use GM ingredients based on input from our consumers and local availability. We continue to actively monitor the science, regulations and our consumers’ preferences on this topic.

Kellanova greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1, 2 and 3) and energy consumption are independently verified by Apex Companies LLC.

View Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Scopes 1,2 and 3) FY2023 Verification for Kellanova

The Global Human Rights Policy highlights salient human rights risks within our operations and global supply chain and details our refreshed human rights strategy for how we are working to mitigate and remediate these issues. These risks were identified through a detailed internal materiality analysis and with the support of third-party consulting firm ELEVATE. This policy supplements our other foundational policies, the Global Supplier Code of Conduct and Policy Statement Prohibiting Involuntary Labor, that guide our operations and inform our expectations for supplier and supply chain partnerships. The annual Human Rights Milestones Report outlines our progress in this area, and also satisfies legislative reporting, including the U.K. Modern Slavery Act. Kellanova is also a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact and we intend to communicate our progress annually.

View full Global Human Rights Policy
​View latest Human Rights Milestones Report
View latest United Nations Global Compact Report

Our wellbeing approach at Kellanova is based on a firm belief that al foods have a place in the diet. Our Kellanova Global Nutrition Criteria (KGNC) establish a set of assessment criteria for each food category and are used to inform food design and formulation. They are based on nutrition science and public health dietary recommendations.

View Kellanova Global Nutrition Criteria
View global foods that meet Kellanova Global Nutrition Criteria

Kellanova uses less than 0.1% of the global palm oil produced. Despite our small footprint in this commodity, we've been on a journey to responsibly source palm oil since 2009. As a global, plant-based food company, we have a responsibility to engage our suppliers, supply chain and industry to drive faster, more effective action to protect the environment and advance the cause of human rights. We continue to evolve our strategies and actions to incorporate best practices and learnings from our own experiences, as well as those of our suppliers, peer companies and industry organizations. To learn more about our commitment, approach and progress, view our Palm Oil page.

View full Global Palm Oil Policy
View Latest Palm Oil information
View 2021 Mill List

At Kellanova, we believe that creating a place at our table for everyone is only the beginning. It is just as important for us to ensure that our people enjoy fair and unbiased access to the fruits of their labor. This is one way of describing pay equity.

Pay equity is the principle that employees should be compensated the same when they undertake the same or similar responsibilities, and that differences in pay in those circumstances should only be due to legitimate factors, such as differing levels of experience, performance, tenure with the company and the like.

We are committed to compensating our people equitably, not only within our organization but also relative to marketplace norms. We utilized a third party to conduct a meticulous pay equity study of salaried employees in each of our regional businesses. The results affirmed that Kellanova provides equitable compensation across our company.

Our ongoing commitment to pay equity in our compensation plans is one important way we can continue to champion equity, diversity and inclusion for the benefit of everyone at our Kellanova table.

Learn more about our workforce commitments

Originally established in 1976 under Kellogg Company, the Kellanova PAC is funded by personal, voluntary contributions from eligible employees and Board members, and is governed by an executive Steering Committee. The PAC is non-partisan and contributes to candidates across the political spectrum who support policies that enable the growth and prosperity of our company and our communities and advance our Better Days™ Promise social and environmental purpose strategy. 

Read more about the Kellanova PAC

Kellanova’s public policy agenda is anchored in our company’s vision and purpose. Integrity and transparency are integral to this mission and to our government relations activities.

Read more about our lobbying activities across the globe
View registered lobbyists

People care about where their foods come from, who grows and makes it, and how they and the planet are cared for along the way. With this in mind, Kellanova wants to demonstrate to people shopping and eating their foods that the ingredients are responsibly sourced. Responsibly sourced means that Kellanova

is encouraging environmental and social best practices that are in place at the grower and supplier (e.g., flour mill) levels. We gather and track this information through our proprietary Grower Survey as well as several additional industry standard platforms including SAI Platform. These tools allow us to measure continuous improvement over agronomic, environmental and social indicators.

Kellanova has a commitment to responsibly source 12 priority ingredients. Through this commitment, we have  multiple programs in place to engage suppliers and farmers on social and environmental criteria. Annually, approximately 70 global suppliers are engaged in measuring continuous improvement across the row crop priority ingredients – corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, sugar beet, and fruits (strawberries and raisins).

View full Kellogg Company Responsibly Sourced Claim Verification Protocol and Guidance.

This same guidance applies to Kellanova.

Kellanova recognizes that smallholder farmers play a critical role in global food supply, first for themselves and their families, but increasingly for broader food security opportunities in rural or impoverished communities. Kellanova recognizes the key role smallholder farmers play in food security in their communities and is assessing how our supply chain can improve productivity and livelihoods.

Kellanova also recognizes that women play a significant role in agriculture, but in some countries still face challenges of injustice and inequality. Kellanova is identifying the parts of our supply chain with the highest prevalence of women, while identifying the risks and opportunities they face, depending on their communities and regions.

Prior to becoming Kellanova, Kellogg Company worked with TechnoServe, a nonprofit organization with deep expertise creating business solutions to poverty, to produce directional estimates of smallholder and female participation in the supply chain and to complete an analysis of risks to smallholder farmers and women in the markets and crops we source.

Kellanova regularly engages in multi-stakeholder partnerships to advocate together where a common position can be found. We respect the opportunity for all groups to participate in the policy process. Kellanova is a member of, or otherwise contributes to, several associations engaging in lobbying and political activities worldwide. We publish a list of groups to which our dues/payments exceed $50,000 USD/year, and specific to U.S. federal lobbying, we indicate the portions attributed to non-deductible lobbying activities

Read more about our engagement in trade associations

Around the globe, freshwater resources are under pressure from climate change, population growth, industrial and agricultural uses, and aging or inefficient infrastructure. High-water stress regions occur where there’s competition and potential conflict among water users, including human and ecological uses, taking into account total water supply and consumptive demand. Increasingly, businesses and communities are recognizing the critical importance of preserving and protecting water supplies. At Kellanova, we respect the human right to water as defined by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and General Assembly. Visit our Water Efficiency page for more information about our commitment, approach and progress.

View full Water Risk Assessment Methodology

Apex Companies LLC conducts independent third party limited assurance of global water consumption by Kellanova.

View Water Efficiency 2023 Verification for Kellanova

Kellanova’s Wellbeing strategy is built on our commitment to nourish 1.5 billion people with our foods by the end of 2030, from a 2015 baseline.  Our approach to Wellbeing is based in food systems thinking; we believe that every food choice is a combination of multiple dimensions: health, access, sustainability, enjoyment and relevance.

View 2024 Global Wellbeing Positions, Metrics & Reporting document 

Kellanova is committed to responsibly marketing and communicating the intrinsic quality of our brands so that our consumers can make informed choices.

View full Worldwide Marketing and Communications Guidelines