Ardent Mills Announces New ESG Strategy

DENVER — Ardent Mills, a flour-milling and ingredient company, announced the release of its fiscal year 2023 (FY23) Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report. Aligned to Ardent Mills' ESG framework, “Nourish: Intention & Impact,” the report outlines new time-bound goals that cover all aspects of the business, as well as achievements and new programs from the last fiscal year.

“At Ardent Mills, our core values of trust, serving, simplicity and safety guide our commitment to nourish what's next,” said Dan Dye, CEO, Ardent Mills. “We progress towards this when we enact people-centered business practices. Our new ESG strategy underscores our continued dedication to intentional and impactful change — both within Ardent Mills and our surrounding communities. I am humbled by the progress demonstrated in our FY23 ESG Report and I am reminded of our commitment to create a more sustainable and prosperous future for all.”

FY23 highlights across “Nourish: Intention & Impact” include:

COMMUNITIES. The communities pillar has two primary goals: expand agricultural education and the number of students engaged in agriculture through Ardent Mills’ Growing a Better Future program and help ensure access to nutrition through partnerships with organizations that serve specific needs.

• Engaged 945,000 students in agriculture education and announced multi-year, monetary gifts to agriculture innovation initiatives at Kansas State University and Colorado State University.
• Donated more than 2.9 million meals across local communities.
• Volunteered more than 5,900 hours with nonprofit and community partners.

PEOPLE. The people pillar underscores Ardent Mills' initiatives to cultivate a workplace in which all people thrive personally and professionally. This is accomplished through the company's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy, employee well-being and safety and employee development programs.

• Identified an opportunity through employee feedback to address the industry-wide lack of custom-designed and comfortable women's uniforms that are re-usable, appropriate and uphold Ardent Mills' safety standards.
• Leveraged Ardent Mills' Flourish intern program and recruiting opportunities at historically Black colleges and universities to welcome the company’s most diverse intern class — thus evolving its talent and acquisition strategy to help strengthen the industry at large.
• Invested in team members' personal and professional development through a variety of programs that enhance business acumen, support mental health and create a culture of employee engagement.
• Conducted almost 50,000 hours of safety, food safety and quality trainings and achieved 25 office and facility locations with no recordable safety incidents in FY23.

PLANET. The planet pillar focuses on the responsible management of natural resources across energy, water, waste and overall opportunities for operational efficiencies.

• Conducted greenhouse gas emissions inventory in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol across Scope 1, 2 and 3, with the goal to set a science-based target in FY24.
• Sourced 37%* of energy from renewable sources, making significant progress toward Ardent Mills' goal of achieving 50% renewable energy usage across operations by 2025.
• Confirmed 73% of facilities now recycle while 44% participate in composting as the company strives to enroll 100% of facilities into respective programs.
• Saved 4.8 million gallons of water through optimization efforts including regenerative agriculture collaboration, facility-level assessments and extended trailer wash cycles.

*Percentage calculation reflects directly sourcing of renewable energy and retaining related renewable energy credits (RECs), participation in community solar projects and purchase of replacement RECs.

INGREDIENTS. The ingredients pillar supports Ardent Mills’ work as the company strives to responsibly source ingredients together with its suppliers. FY23 accomplishments include:

• Formed the supplier diversity lead as a new leadership role and established a goal to bring 50 new diverse suppliers into the company's supplier portfolio by May 31, 2024, doubling the company's roster of diverse suppliers.
• Enrolled nearly 350,000 acres into Ardent Mills’ regenerative agriculture program across the U.S. and Canada, progressing toward the company's 2025 goal of 1 million enrolled acres.
• Achieved a significant milestone in FY23 by sourcing 100% RSPO certified sustainable palm oil.
• Expanded the Ardent Mills product portfolio to introduce more gluten-free, alternative grain options that meet emerging demand.

“Our FY23 ESG report serves as a benchmark in our continuous journey towards being responsible corporate citizens, both celebrating the progress we've achieved while charting our path forward,” said Phoenix Dugger, senior manager of ESG, Ardent Mills. “Guided by ‘Nourish: Intention & Impact,’ we continue to drive innovation, promote sustainability and nurture a future that reflects our commitment to social and environmental responsibility.”

To learn more about the company's ESG initiatives, visit the Ardent Mills ESG page.