2Sustain

On Monday, ConAgra Foods, Inc., one of North America’s leading food makers, announced five aggressive sustainability goals to be achieved by 2015. Although ConAgra Foods has been involved with various sustainability initiatives since 1992, this is the first time it has set company-wide sustainability goals.

“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,” says 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.”

By  2015, ConAgra Foods plans to:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent per pound of product produced as compared to 2008 emissions.

• Reduce water use by 15 percent per pound of product produced as compared to 2008 water use.

• Divert solid waste from landfills by at least 75 percent as compared to 2011 levels.

• Reduce packaging by 10 percent per pound of product produced, increase the amount of packaging made of renewable resources from 45 percent to more than 50 percent, and increase the use of recycled content in packaging overall by 25 percent –all compared to 2008.

• 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. (Sounds similar to PepsiCo’s commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of Tropicana orange juice.)

Naturally, I’m particularly pleased to see that greening the supply chain is a key element of ConAgra  Food’s sustainability platform. The footprint of a corporate supply chain is typically many times larger than its operational footprint, and therefore it represents a  significant opportunity to reduce emissions.

More information about ConAgra Food’s environmental initiatives is available here.