Cage-free Accountability
We’ve made a cage-free commitment. Now what?
One of the most important parts of a successful transition to cage-free is putting a clear and achievable plan in place. The best strategies often include a roadmap and annual progress reporting.
What is a roadmap?
“As of [current date], X% of our shell egg volume, X% of our liquid egg volume, and X% of our ingredient egg volume are cage-free. These numbers reflect our progress across all [company] locations in the US. We commit to sourcing X% total cage-free egg volume by 2023, X% by 2024, and we expect to fulfill our goal of 100% cage-free egg supply by 2025. We will report our progress annually.”
A roadmap is a step-by-step plan for a supply chain transition with clear, quantifiable progress markers. Most commonly, this takes the form of annual goals for the total percentage of cage-free products in a company’s supply.
Consider the following examples of successful roadmaps from major corporations:
General Mills, a fortune 500 foodservice company, published a 4-year cage-free roadmap in their 2022 Global Responsibility Report. They decided upon the following annual progress goals to implement their commitment to sourcing cage-free eggs.
Royal Caribbean Group, the world’s second-largest cruise operator, publicly shared a similar plan in their 2021 Sustainability Report (Supply Chain) to achieve their commitment to 100% cage-free
Why is annual reporting important?
Once you have completed and published your roadmap, the next step is to follow up on your progress through annual reporting.
This has important internal and external functions for your firm — on the one hand, it allows you to keep track of your own progress and make changes as needed to ensure that you are on track to meet your commitment in time. But perhaps more importantly, it allows you to communicate to customers, shareholders, and partners that your commitment is being taken seriously and progress is regularly being made.
Annual reporting may involve a single metric reflecting the cumulative progress across all markets and products, or it may include multiple metrics reflecting differing progress in specific geographies or classes of egg products. Many companies choose to report their progress as one among many similar metrics in annual ESG or CSR reports. You may also choose to share progress via blog posts or web pages.
For example, McDonald’s maintains an animal welfare page on their website, where as of February 2024, they share that they have achieved 100% cage-free egg supply in France, Germany, Australia, and the U.K., 85% cage-free in Canada, and reached 100% cage-free in the United States ahead of schedule.
Starbucks also has an animal welfare page, where as of 2023, they report that 100 percent of its shell eggs and egg products are cage-free, inclusive of branded products supplied to licensed partners.
How can I communicate this to the public?
We suggest sharing your commitment with the public through a statement featured on your website, annual reports, sustainability resources, and/or in press releases.
How can I communicate this to suppliers?
One of the most important functions of a roadmap is that it allows your company to clearly express its intentions to suppliers, allowing them ample time to adjust their operations to meet your demand.
It’s advisable to begin a discussion with your supplier as soon as you’ve made a cage-free commitment and work with them on developing the specific milestones of your roadmap to achieve 100% cage-free by your projected date.