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Published 27/03/2025Today we launched the latest Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW), which ranks 150 global food companies on their animal welfare policies, practices and performance.
The report, supported by Compassion in World Farming and Four Paws, reveals that 14 companies have moved up the tier ranking.
Greggs, Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods and Waitrose are highlighted as the top performers, reaching ‘Tier 2’ of the benchmark, having achieved a score of between 62-80% against all BBFAW criteria.
Impact Rating Assessment
Leading the Impact Rating – which measures whether animal welfare policies translate into real benefits for animals on the ground – Marks & Spencer, Premier Foods, and Fonterra achieved a high ‘B’ grade for the first time.
Overall, 14 companies increased their Impact Rating in 2024, yet progress remains uneven. 91% of companies still rank in the lowest ‘E’ or ‘F’ tiers, highlighting a significant gap between commitments and implementation. No company has yet reached the top ‘A’ ranking.
Diversifying food sources
Out of the 150 companies in the Benchmark, 43 companies (29%, compared with 25% in 2023) acknowledge the need to reduce reliance on animal-sourced foods with two companies – Waitrose and Hilton Food Group – scoring 85% for this set of questions compared to an average score of just 11%.
Regional differences in welfare performance
This year’s BBFAW results show stark contrast in performance between different geographies.
UK-based companies dominate the upper tier rankings, and have an average overall score of 41%. Companies based in Europe and Latin America perform next best with average overall scores of 20%. Average scores for North America were 12%, and in the Asia Pacific region just 9%.
More action on animal welfare needed
The majority of food companies (118 out of 150) remain in BBFAW’s bottom two tiers, providing limited or no evidence that they have policies or processes in place to manage animal welfare effectively. These include 22 companies (15%) who have still not published a formal overarching animal welfare policy.
Businesses play a critical leadership role in transforming food systems for a more sustainable and animal welfare-friendly future. A key first step is eliminating cages—and we are already making progress. As the impact of current practices weighs on people, animals, and the planet, the urgency for change will only grow.
Every company has the power to drive meaningful progress by shifting toward higher-welfare, cage-free products, diversifying protein portfolios with more plant-based options, and embracing regenerative farming. Together, we can build a food system that respects animals, supports the planet, and creates a better future for all.
Philip Lymbery, Compassion’s global CEO
Driving impact with investor support
BBFAW is supported by a coalition of institutional investors, managing over $2.4 trillion in assets, who will engage with the companies in the year ahead to drive improvement.
The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare is a unique yardstick for the market that gives investors a valuable insight into the management quality of individual food companies. It helps to shine a light on which companies are best managing not just on-the-ground animal welfare systems, but business-critical issues such as reputational risk, resilient supply chains and antimicrobial resistance. This year the results tell us a lot about which companies are taking this issue seriously.”
Robert-Alexandre Poujade, ESG analyst, biodiversity lead at BNP Paribas Asset Management
