ConAgra Foods Inc., one of North America's leading food makers, on April 5 announced five aggressive sustainability goals to be achieved by 2015. The goals build on the company's sustainability accomplishments, which began in a company-wide fashion in 1992 with the ConAgra Foods Sustainable Development Awards program. This is the first time ConAgra Foods has set company-wide sustainability goals.
ConAgra Foods' Sustainability Goals for 2015 include:
- Greenhouse gas emissions: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent per pound of product produced as compared to 2008 emissions.
- Water: Reduce wateruse by 15 percent per pound of product produced as compared to 2008 water use.
- Solid waste: Divert solid waste from landfills by at least 75 percent as compared to 2011 levels.
- Packaging: As compared to 2008, the company will: A) reduce packaging by 10 percent per pound of product produced, B) increase the amount of packaging made of renewable resources from 45 percent to more than 50 percent, and C) increase the use of recycled content in packaging overall by 25 percent.
- Supply chain engagement: Encourage continuous improvement of the supply chain in the areas of energy, water, materials and waste. Work with growers to further enhance sustainable farming practices that optimize yield while improving land stewardship.
"Because our food is part of the lives of millions of consumers each day, ConAgra Foods has a critical responsibility to create positive environmental change. We can do that by making our food – such as Healthy Choice meals, Orville Redenbacher's popcorn and Hunt's tomatoes – in the most sustainable and efficient way possible," said Gary Rodkin, ConAgra Foods CEO. "We've set these new transparent sustainability goals to ensure we are a leader in continuously improving the way we make food, and to continue to create more awareness for what others can do to improve as well."
Recent sustainability accomplishments
Since 2007, ConAgra Foods has measured distinct sustainability projects that have reduced carbon emissions by more than 25,000 metric tonnes, eliminated 4,000 tons of landfill waste and 7,000 tons of packaging materials, and conserved 348 million gallons of water.
The company has been recognized for several recent achievements and is making significant capital investments to drive further processing efficiency.
- Named to CRO Magazine's annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens list, one of the world's top corporate responsibility rankings.
- First company in North America to use post-consumer recycled plastic in its frozen meal trays, diverting 8 million pounds of plastic from landfills annually.
- Winner of the World Packaging Organization's prestigious WorldStar Award for Hunt's Ketchup, designed to be compatible with bottle-to-bottle recycling.
- Opening in November 2010, ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston's environmentally friendly sweet potato processing plant in Delhi, La., will be one of the first food plants in the country using the newest and best processing and packaging technologies in the industry and following LEED standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Also within the company's frozen potato platform, the Quincy, Wash., plant recently became one of only three potato plants in the nation to earn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star.
In regard to ConAgra Foods' new sustainability goals, results will be made publicly available in August of each year through the ConAgra Foods Corporate Responsibility Report published at http://www.conagrafoods.com/corporateresponsibility.
ConAgra Foods Inc. is one of North America's leading food companies, with brands in 96 percent of America's households. Consumers find Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Marie Callender's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip and many ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise and club stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business presence, supplying frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers.
