Tuesday 8 September 2020

Smithfield Foods commits to become carbon-negative by 2030

Smithfield Foods has become the first major protein company to make a commitment to become carbon-negative in the US by 2030.

The pork producer and food processing company intends to go beyond carbon-neutrality to effectively remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits, achieving its goal without buying carbon credits to offset emissions.

The announcement builds on Smithfield's goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2025 across its entire supply chain, which was unveiled in 2016.

The company is focusing on ensuring crops are grown with efficient fertiliser and soil health practices and implementing renewable energy projects that reduce emissions through renewable natural gas and wind and solar generation.

Its biogas programme captures methane from hog manure on farms and transforms it into renewable natural gas.

Last year, Smithfield set an ambitious goal to reduce overall solid waste sent to landfills by 75% by 2025 and certify three-quarters of its domestic facilities as zero waste to landfill during the same period.

Kenneth M. Sullivan, President and CEO of Smithfield Foods said: "As the world grapples with environmental challenges impacting our planet, consumers are looking to companies to take deliberate, bold action to address issues such as climate change.

"The world is at an inflection point. To feed a growing world population, with finite resources available to grow and produce the food we need, we must limit our environmental impact. At Smithfield, we are utilising our expansive reach to lead efforts to eliminate our carbon footprint in our company-owned operations and remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere."