Oreo-maker Mondelēz International has ongoing transparency issues regarding its business in Russia. But this time, the company’s investors are sounding the alarm bells, Bloomberg reports. The reason? The maker of Milka, Tolberone and Ritz crackers managed to quietly remove two statements from its website on the future of its Russia business, suggesting that the company may be retreating from its pledges to reduce its presence in the country.
“Lack of transparency is our main concern with Mondelez,” said Johan Florén, chief ESG and communication officer of the Swedish pension fund AP7, an investor in Mondelez.
While Russia only represented 2.9% of Mondelez’s consolidated net revenue in the third quarter of 2024, that share has grown from 2.7% the year before and profitability remains “above historical levels,” according to the company’s most recent quarterly filing.
A new shareholder proposal is likely to be filed this year calling for more visibility on the company’s business in conflict zones, said Florén.
“It’s always shameful when companies make commitments on significant social issues to their shareholders that later disappear,” said Matt Prescott of The Accountability Board, an investor in Mondelez.
B4Ukraine has been urging Mondelez International leadership to have a clean exit from Russia, similar to what Unilever has recently done. Our attempts to engage the company over the last 2,5 years have fallen on deaf ears.