Company Surpasses Solid Waste Goal Six Years Early
AUSTIN, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) today announced it surpassed its
goal to reduce solid waste 10 percent by 2020 six years early, with the
release of its 2014 Hormel Foods Corporate Responsibility Report. The
report is available online at www.hormelfoods.com/csr
and includes information related to the company’s sustainability
performance in 2014. Highlights include:
-
Surpassing the solid waste goal by 20 percent (originally set to
reduce solid waste to landfills by 3,500 tons by 2020). In 2014 alone,
the company’s operations implemented projects that reduced the amount
of solid waste sent to landfills by 1,500 tons. The company plans to
reevaluate and establish a new goal related to solid waste and will
report the goal/progress in next year’s report.
-
Awarding the first international winner of the Hormel Foods 2014
Sustainability Best of the Best competition to the Beijing Project
Blue Sky team at the Beijing HFC Plant (Beijing, China) for their
achievements in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
-
Implementing projects that have documented significant resource
savings:
-
Reduced more than 2,500 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from domestic manufacturing operations (32 percent of
goal when combined with previous progress).
-
Reduced energy use by 17,400 MMBtu (45 percent of goal when
combined with previous progress).
-
Reduced water use by 0.082 billion gallons (67 percent of goal
when combined with previous progress).
-
Reduced product packaging by 8.27 million pounds (68 percent of
goal when combined with previous progress).
-
Donating 2.5 million cans of SPAMMY®shelf-stable
poultry product to help malnourished children in Guatemala, and $6.8
million in hunger donations, including products donated to food banks
and disaster relief.
“Our achievements in 2014 illustrate the dedication we have to being a
responsible food manufacturer,” said Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman of
the board, president and chief executive officer of Hormel Foods.
“Achieving our solid waste goal six years earlier than expected shows
how committed our people are to not only reaching, but exceeding our
sustainability goals. Additionally, we understand the positive impact we
have on our communities and are pleased that we were able to donate more
than $9.1 million in cash and products to help address hunger. Our
journey to sustainability is never ending and we will continue to
operate responsibly. It’s ‘Our Way’ of doing business.”
In addition to this report, Hormel Foods will showcase the different
focus areas of its corporate responsibility program through the “Our
Way” video series, to be released periodically throughout the year.
Additionally, Hormel Foods will be hosting a Twitter Chat with Triple
Pundit following the launch of the report on Friday, June 5 at 1 p.m. CT
(2 p.m. ET) at #Hormel3pChat. This Twitter Chat will focus on how Hormel
Foods is meeting sustainability goals through employee engagement.
This is the ninth corporate responsibility report for Hormel Foods, and
the first report for the company that follows the new Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) G4 guidelines “in accordance” with the core option,
with the Content Index verified as being accurate and aligned by GRI.
The Hormel Foods 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report is designed to
allow stakeholders to easily view top-line highlights through the
interactive online version and downloadable PDF. Readers are encouraged
to provide any feedback about the report or corporate responsibility at
Hormel Foods by emailing sustainability@hormel.com.
Hormel Foods will continue to report on its environmental and social
performance annually. The company’s next report will be released in June
2016 for data spanning from November 2014 to October 2015.
About Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in
Austin, Minn., is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of
consumer-branded food and meat products, many of which are among the
best known and trusted in the food industry. The company leverages its
extensive expertise, innovation and high competencies in pork and turkey
processing and marketing to bring branded, value-added products to the
global marketplace. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's
(S&P) 500 Index, S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats for 2014, was named the
2013 Sustainable Supply Chain of the Year by Refrigerated & Frozen Foods
magazine, and was again named one of “The 100 Best Corporate Citizens”
by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the seventh year in a row.
Hormel Foods was also recognized as a 2015 Military Friendly Employer by
G.I. Jobs magazine, on the 2015 Best for Vets Employers List by Military
Times, and was named one of the 2015 40 Best Companies for Leaders by
Chief Executive magazine. The company enjoys a strong reputation among
consumers, retail grocers, foodservice and industrial customers for
products highly regarded for quality, taste, nutrition, convenience and
value. For more information, visit http://www.hormelfoods.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150604005181/en/
Hormel Foods Corporation
Julie H. Craven, 507-437-5345
media@hormel.com
Source: Hormel Foods Corporation