Evaluating a company's impact (the case of Kraft Heinz)

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You are reading Green Digest Impact, a bi-weekly newsletter that provides in-depth analyses of companies’ environmental and social impact.

OUR APPROACH

Central to our narrative is the principle of double-materiality, which recognizes that a company's impact is twofold: it affects both the environment and society at large, and in turn, these external factors influence the company's financial and operational performance.

While traditional ESG assessments focus on the latter, we aim to examine companies' direct impacts on these factors. In pursuit of this, we introduce a unique scoring system that quantifies a company's impact.

The insights and analyses presented in Green Digest Impact are brought to you by a partnership between Green Digest and Impaakt, a Swiss-based impact data provider. Contact Impaakt here to explore how they can assist you.

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THIS WEEK’S COMPANY

Kraft Heinz

This week, we dive deep into Kraft Heinz’s environmental and social impact.

Kraft Heinz is one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, with a portfolio of iconic brands including Heinz, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Velveeta, Jell-O, Philadelphia, Capri Sun, Classico, Planters, and Quero, among others.

Some interesting facts:

• Each year, 650 million bottles of Heinz Ketchup are sold in 140 countries worldwide — around 1,000 bottles every minute.

• Heinz accounts for approximately 50% of the ketchup market in the US.

COMPANY’S IMPACT

Kraft Heinz’s overall impact score

Kraft Heinz has a general impact score of +0.03 (on a scale from -5 to +5). Its impact is spread across nine European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) topics, split between positive and negative analyses.

In the socio-economic sphere,

Kraft Heinz is one of the world’s most influential food and beverage companies, ranking third in North America and fifth globally by net sales. Its products reach virtually every US household and are sold in more than 40 countries across six continents. The company’s diverse portfolio includes eight brands generating over $1 billion in annual revenue and spans categories such as condiments, cheese, dairy, beverages, and infant nutrition. With approximately 36,000 employees and 75 manufacturing and processing facilities globally, Kraft Heinz plays a critical role in driving local and regional economies. Its operations support tens of thousands of indirect jobs across supply chains, and the company’s large-scale production contributes to food availability and accessibility. Through its brand strength and scale, Kraft Heinz shapes consumer behavior, diets, and market trends.

However, the company has faced criticism over ethics, health, and human rights. Kraft Heinz was fined $16 million for manipulating wheat futures and maintains a partnership with a Chinese supplier linked to forced Uyghur labor. The company also received a 7.5/26 score in the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. Nutritionally, its portfolio includes many products high in sugar, salt, and fat, which contribute to non-communicable diseases responsible for 74% of global deaths. In 2021, only 36% of its sales were from healthy products. Condiments, cheese, and beverages — comprising much of its revenue — often exceed recommended sodium and sugar intake levels by 7–120x per calorie, and in the UK, 12 of its 20 key products were classified as unhealthy.

Environmentally,

Kraft Heinz has an annual carbon footprint of around 25 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, comparable to the annual electricity usage of around 5.2 million homes. Further, Kraft Heinz withdraws 30.4 million m³ of water, with 32% from high water-stressed areas. Furthermore, it sends over 90,000 tonnes of waste to landfills annually. Additionally, Kraft Heinz uses over 1.1 million tonnes of packaging, including 235,000 tonnes of plastic packaging, with only 23% made from recycled materials. The company also uses an estimated 17,300 hectares of land to source its raw materials, thus exacerbating deforestation and land degradation. 

_{*The impact score is current as of April 2025 and may be subject to changes as it is continuously updated.
**You can find details about the scoring methodology here and the information sources here.}

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ESG VS IMPACT SCORE

What is Kraft Heinz’s ESG rating?

For comparison, Kraft Heinz has an AA rating in MSCI's ESG evaluation.

However, ESG Ratings from MSCI ESG Research are designed to measure a company’s resilience to financially material ESG risks and they provide a window into one facet of risk to financial performance. They measure how effectively companies manage ESG risks, not their impact on these factors.

SCORES BY ESRS

Kraft Heinz’s impact scores by ESRS topics

Positively (and by weight), the company scores the highest in S4 - Consumers and end-users (+0.89), followed by G1 - Business Conduct (+1.05) and S2 - Workers in the value chain (+2.99).

Negatively, the company scores the worst in E5 - Resource Use and Circular Economy (-2.65), followed by S1 - Own Workforce (-1.47) and E1 - Climate Change (-3.76).

*the analysis takes into account the weight and impact materiality of each topic

CONCLUSION

Materiality Map & Final Words

So, Kraft Heinz’s key social and environmental impact lies in …

its position as a global food industry leader, with products consumed in over 40 countries and found in nearly every US household. The company plays a central role in shaping diets and consumer habits through a portfolio spanning condiments, dairy, beverages, and infant nutrition. Backed by 36,000 employees and 75 production facilities, Kraft Heinz supports local economies through job creation, supply chain, and food access across diverse markets.

However, these contributions are weighed against challenges related to product health, supply chain ethics, and environmental sustainability. The company has faced scrutiny over regulatory issues and ties to labor rights concerns in its supply chain. Many of its key products are high in sugar, salt, and fat, raising concerns about their role in diet-related health problems. Its environmental footprint — from emissions and water use to packaging waste — highlights the broader impact of its operations.

Kraft Heinz’s overall impact score of +0.03 reflects this balance — recognizing its significant economic and food system contributions, while weighing the risks associated with its environmental performance, product portfolio, and supply chain accountability.

If you’d like to delve deeper into Kraft Heinz’s impact, you can explore it here.

If you'd like to learn more about the scoring methodology, you can do so here.

Do you have a specific company you'd like us to cover? Send your suggestions to [email protected]

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