Hostess Brands, Inc. today released its 2022–2023 Corporate Responsibility Report, "Inspiring Moments of Joy with Transparency and Progress," and announced the company's initiatives in the priority areas of people, product, planet, and governance.

"At Hostess Brands, we put corporate responsibility at the heart of everything we do, and I'm proud of our team for the actions they have taken to advance our journey as a socially responsible company. This report demonstrates our tangible commitments to our stakeholders, including the communities in which we live and work," said Andy Callahan, president and CEO of Hostess Brands.

Following are highlights of some of the achievements the company has made in each of the four priority areas:

  • People: 
    • Hostess Brands announced its new partnership with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in September 2022 to emphasize the importance of mental health resources for all employees and its commitment to becoming a stigma-free workplace. Hostess Brands' employees helped raise awareness and financial support for NAMI by participating in local NAMIWalks, convening employee events with NAMI experts that focused on reducing the stigma of mental health conditions in the workplace, and mental health challenges specific to active members of the military, veterans, and their families.
  • Product: 
    • In 2022, Hostess Brands joined the Children's Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) and pledged not to advertise to children under the age of 13.
    • This year, the company is partnering with SeeHer, whose mission is to increase the representation and accurate portrayal of all women and girls in marketing, media and entertainment to reflect culture and transform society.
    • All seven Hostess Brands facilities have been audited by the British Retail Consortium Global Standards (BRCGS) and have received AA certifications in the most recent announced audits. Going forward, the company has set a goal of an A+ or higher grade during its BRCGS unannounced audits, a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked certification standard, for 2023.
  • Planet:
    • The company continues a positive trend across its Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) scores. In 2022, the company was above the North American industry average for water and climate for a second year in a row.
    • Over the last three years, Hostess Brands has reduced normalized water consumption by 18%, and in 2023 will roll out new initiatives in an effort to continue to reduce normalized water consumption across its facilities.
    • Hostess Brands continues to evolve its corporate responsibility roadmap while looking at how it can provide a positive impact through packaging life cycle management. In 2022, the company removed 1 million pounds of material from packaging. Additionally, all of the company's folding cartons and corrugated packaging was recyclable.
  • Governance: 
    • In 2022, Hostess Brands named Darryl Riley as its first chief sustainability officer to drive continued progress and integration of corporate responsibility and sustainability throughout the company,
    • Hostess Brands continues to maintain a diverse, professional and highly qualified board of directors, including its Nominating and Governance Committee that is charged with overseeing the company's corporate responsibility efforts.

The Hostess Brands 2022–2023 Corporate Responsibility Report can be viewed in full here.

Hostess Brands is on the current Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery “Top 50 Snack & Bakery Companies” list. Click here to view the current “Top 50” rankings.