Smithfield Foods is aiming to halve overall food loss and waste in its U.S. company-owned operations by 2030. The new commitment aligns with various resource conservation and waste reduction initiatives already underway in its operations, including efforts to reduce overall waste sent to landfills by 75% and achieve zero-waste-to-landfill certification at three-quarters of its U.S. facilities by 2025.
With the implementation of its new food loss and waste target, Smithfield joins the U.S. USDA and EPA’s U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions list of private businesses and organizations that have publicly committed to reducing food loss and waste. Other champions include companies such as Campbell Soup, PepsiCo, and Unilever.
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“For years, Smithfield has spearheaded impactful programs to proactively minimize waste and reduce carbon emissions,” says Stewart Leeth, chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods “Simultaneously, we’ve taken meaningful action to fight food insecurity in our communities. Our new food loss and waste goal furthers both of these objectives and underscores our longstanding commitment to produce wholesome, safe, and affordable food in a responsible way.”
Smithfield also has accepted an invitation to join the 10x20x30 initiative, which brings together 10+ of the world’s largest food retailers and providers to engage at least 20 suppliers to halve food loss and waste by 2030. In addition, Smithfield is a member of the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, an initiative by Vanguard Renewables, Unilever, Starbucks, and Dairy Farmers of America that aims to avoid or eliminate food waste first and repurpose what can’t be eliminated into renewable energy via farm-based anaerobic digesters.
