The Benchmark, now in its tenth year, assesses companies across 37 distinct, objective criteria. As such, it is the most authoritative and comprehensive global account of corporate practice on farm animal welfare
In addition to the 2021 Benchmark results presented below, the BBFAW 2021 Report contains the key findings and analysis:
Changes to the 2021 methodology placed further emphasis on companies’ performance reporting and performance impact. This, combined with stricter interpretation of company disclosures, has seen the overall average score drop from 35% in 2020 to 32% in 2021, and has led to 36 companies dropping a tier. Noteworthy, given the scale of changes introduced in 2021, six companies have improved their score sufficiently to increase their ranking by one tier.
| Tier | Percentage Score |
|---|---|
| 1. The company has taken a leadership position on farm animal welfare | > 80% |
| 2. The company has made farm animal welfare an integral part of its business strategy | 62 - 80% |
| 3. The company has an established approach to a farm animal welfare but has more work to do to ensure it is effectively implemented | 44 - 61% |
| 4. The company is making progress on implementing its policies and commitments on farm animal welfare | 27 - 43% |
| 5. The company has identified farm animal welfare as a business issue but provides limited evidence that it is managing the issue effectively | 11 - 26% |
| 6. The company provides limited if any evidence that it recognises farm animal welfare as a business issue | < 11% |
Progress continues but welfare 'impact' remains under-reported.
Producers and Manufacturers are for the second year the highest-scoring sub-sector in the Benchmark.
UK domiciled companies achieve the highest overall average score across all regions.
The number of companies with published positions on key animal welfare issues continues to grow.
More companies are reporting their performance across the specific welfare topics covered by the Benchmark.