Benchmark

The BBFAW analyses the farm animal welfare policies, management systems, reporting and performance of 150 of the world’s largest food companies


The Benchmark, now in its twelfth year, assesses companies across 50 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 2023 Benchmark results presented below, the BBFAW 2023 Report contains the key findings and analysis: 

Explore the full 2012-2021 Benchmark data below – select your areas of interest using the filters

The BBFAW is placing continuing emphasis on performance impact in line with the programme’s long-term objective to drive up farm animal welfare standards in global supply chains

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.

Table 1.1: BBFAW Tiers
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 now the highest-scoring sub-sector in the Benchmark Average scores for Producers and Manufacturers in Latin America have increased significantly in 2020 Increasing proportions of companies now have commitments to improving key farm animal welfare issues More companies are reporting their performance across the specific welfare topics covered by the Benchmark
Read the BBFAW 2020 Report:
BBFAW 2020 Report
For a full description of the Benchmark methodology, see the: BBFAW 2020 Methodology Report