Hershey Shares Progress on Social Responsibility Commitments

Fifth CSR Report Showcases Strides in Responsible Sourcing,
Transparency and Nourishing Minds Program

HERSHEY, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) today issued its latest Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) report – titled “Shared Goodness” – showcasing
progress made in 2015 against a variety of priority issues. Building on
2014, Hershey made continued progress through a range of efforts
supporting the company’s commitment to responsible sourcing, ingredient
transparency, simple ingredients and environmental sustainability.
Additionally, 2015 marked the launch of Hershey’s Nourishing Minds
program, the company’s global shared social purpose. The innovative
program provides children in need with the basic nutrition they need to
learn and allows Hershey to help address this critical issue with its
deep expertise in food production.

“No trend impacts our industry more than consumers’ changing
relationship with food, and this year we addressed consumer expectations
better than ever before, starting with our commitment to simpler, more
sustainable ingredients and greater transparency,” said John P. Bilbrey,
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, The
Hershey Company. “As we look to the future, we are proud of the goals we
set and are confident that our efforts will continue to increase in
quality and importance, creating value for our business and helping us
have a more positive impact on the world.”

Key 2015 Hershey CSR Achievements

Responsible Sourcing and Ingredient Selection

In 2015, Hershey continued to make strides in its commitment to responsible
sourcing
, including:

  • Sourced 50 percent of cocoa used globally from certified, sustainable
    sources.
  • Added a fifth Learn to Grow program which will train an
    additional 8,000 cocoa farmers on sustainable, modern farming to
    increase family incomes and improve community well-being.
  • Traced 90 percent of palm oil purchases to the mill level and 10
    percent to the plantation level as of mid-2015, moving toward 100
    percent plantation level traceability by the end of 2016.
  • Published the company position on animal welfare, including humane
    treatment of animals.
  • Published a pulp and paper policy to help prevent deforestation.

Nourishing Minds

During 2015, Hershey aligned social innovation with business objectives
and created the Nourishing
Minds program
, which serves as the company’s shared social purpose.
Through this global program, Hershey is leveraging expertise in food
processing, production and distribution to provide children the basic
nutrition they need to learn and grow. This program offers a variety of
volunteer opportunities for Hershey employees to use their technical
skills to make a difference in our local communities. The goal is to
nourish one million minds by 2020.

Food Quality, Safety and Transparency

Food safety has long been a top priority for Hershey and that focus
continued in 2015. Additionally, Hershey started to transition iconic
products to simple,
familiar ingredients
and extended its product transparency. The
company spearheaded the development of the new SmartLabel™
QR-code transparency program with industry peers, giving consumers easy
access to more information about the foods they eat. Hershey also became
the first U.S. company to adopt SmartLabel™.

Environment, Health and Safety Performance

In 2015, Hershey formally combined its environmental, health and safety
departments into a single department to create greater efficiency,
accountability and collaboration between these functions. During the
year, Hershey also signed the White House American Business Act on
Climate Pledge and announced ambitious
new 2025 environmental goals
, from greenhouse gas to water to waste,
to replace goals previously set for 2017.

Workforce Engagement and Excellence

Last year, Hershey continued to focus on its people as key
differentiators. We know that an inclusive
workplace
brings competitive advantages, and we want our workforce
to be as diverse as the communities in which we live and do business.
Key achievements include:

  • Attracted and employed a diverse and talented workforce, including:

    • Women make up 45 percent of our U.S. workforce, and 27 percent of
      our executive team are women.
    • 50 percent of our new Malaysia leadership team is female.
    • Our workforce globally is composed of 36 percent millennial
      generation employees

    Hershey’s 2015 CSR report applies the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
    G4 guidelines. GRI is a widely used standard that provides companies and
    organizations with a common framework to measure and report on
    sustainability performance. To view the complete report, visit
    our corporate website
    .

    About The Hershey Company

    The Hershey Company, headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a global
    confectionery leader known for bringing goodness to the world through
    its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey has
    approximately 22,000 employees around the world who work every day to
    deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 80 brands
    around the world that drive more than $7.4 billion in annual revenues,
    including such iconic brand names as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s
    Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside. Building
    on its core business, Hershey is expanding its portfolio to include a
    broader range of delicious snacks. The company remains focused on
    growing its presence in key international markets while continuing to
    extend its competitive advantage in North America.

    At Hershey, goodness has always been about more than delicious products.
    For more than 120 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly,
    ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the
    Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on
    giving underserved children the skills and support they need to be
    successful. Today, the company continues this social purpose through
    ‘Nourishing Minds,’ a global initiative that provides basic nutrition to
    help children learn and grow. From neighborhoods across the United
    States to the streets of Shanghai and Mumbai and villages of West
    Africa, our goal is to nourish one million minds by 2020.

    Contacts

    The Hershey Company
    Jeff Beckman, 717-534-8090
    jbeckman@hersheys.com

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