Maple Leaf Foods has taken a massive step forward on its sustainability journey as the first major food company in the world to become carbon neutral.
For years, we’ve been working to reduce our environmental footprint by 50 per cent by 2025. But, the urgency of the climate crisis has compelled us to act and become carbon neutral now. “There is simply no more time to waste,” said Michael McCain, President and CEO. “Climate change’s devastating impact on our planet must be confronted head-on by business leaders and it must be done now.”
We recognize that creating nutrient-dense, animal and plant-protein products like ours consumes natural resources and, like all businesses, we generate emissions. Since 2015, we have made great progress in reducing our environmental footprint. We’ve reduced our electricity use by 86 million kWh – equal to taking 12,912 cars off the road for a year. We’ve reduced our water consumption by 1.2 billion litres – equal to 480 Olympic-size swimming pools.
But, we have decided to go further.
We have doubled down on our commitment to reduce our emissions by adopting a new, more ambitious Science Based Targets through 2030. These are globally respected emission reduction targets aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and are approved by the Science Based Target Initiative. This commitment makes us the first major food company in Canada to set Science Based Targets. And, one of only three animal protein companies in the world to set these targets.
[callout text=”We are committed to Science Based Targets that require us to reduce our emissions as we grow.” align=”left”]
We are also investing in high-impact environmental projects throughout Canada and United States to neutralize our remaining and currently unavoidable emissions. These projects support green wind energy, recovery of methane gas for energy from landfills, energy efficiency programs, composting and biomass projects, and forest protection and re-forestry that also support species-protection and bio-diversity.
Climate change is a serious, global problem and we are committed not just to words, but to actions that will benefit our communities and ensure a brighter future for generations to come. We are on our journey to be the most sustainable protein company on earth!
