Clif Bar & Company produces energy foods and drinks, priding itself on sustainability. The California-based enterprise became a subsidiary of Mondelez International in 2022 — purchased for $2.9 billion.
It says that 76% of its ingredients are certifiably organic. That means the ingredients are nurtured without the use of synthetic fertilizers and toxic pesticides.
It also says that it diverts 90% of its waste from landfills. In 2020, it generated about 85 tons of food waste; in 2021, it was 83 tons. That is a fraction of the amount of food it produces.
It is significantly reducing its use of plastics — a venture saving it hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. The goal is to cut virgin plastic use by 12% by 2025. It also aims to ensure that 100% of the plastics it uses in its packaging are reusable or recyclable by 2025. It says a quarter of the plastic used in its packaging will be made with renewable materials by 2025. As a company, it will work to prevent 1 million tons of plastic waste from getting into the waterways or public lands.
To date, it has planted 355,000 trees and will plant 1 million trees by 2030.
It is also investing in renewable energy to run its plants and aims to run all of them using only clean energy by 2030. It will furthermore cut its CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2018 baseline and be net zero by 2040. Clif Bar joined RE100 and committed to maintaining 100% green power through 2030.
Meanwhile, all its corporate vehicles will run on electricity or be hybrids by 2030. Employees are incentivized to purchase electric vehicles and commuter bikes while the company installs EV charging infrastructure at all its facilities.
“As a food company, Clif Bar & Company is working step by step to help create a healthier, more just, and sustainable food system,” says the company’s statement on sourcing. “We are on a journey to do business in a different way—we strive to reduce our environmental footprint and improve in everything we do, from the field to the final product.”
It visits the farmers from whom it buys its products each year and has bought more than 1 billion pounds of ingredients since 2003. Currently, 76% of them are sustainably produced — a number it will increase each year. “All of our suppliers go through an extensive screening process for quality ingredient selection.”
Its headquarters, distribution centers, and bakeries now divert about 90% of its waste. The goal is to get to 100%.
For example, 100% of the cocoa ingredients it uses in its food is organic — certified by the Rainforest Alliance Certified. It says it is sourced from farms in the Côte d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Peru, and Tanzania. Its farms and suppliers are certified, meaning they are conserving soil and water, preventing deforestation, and minimizing the use of pesticides and agrochemicals.
In 2019, Clif Bar Baking Company completed the installation of the region’s largest private behind-the-meter solar array. It also includes native plants in and around the panels to support biodiversity in the area. The company says that its investment in solar energy typifies its commitment to running a sustainable food enterprise -- one that takes action for the good of the local communities in which it does business or gets its supplies.
The two-megawatt solar system will generate an annual output of more than 3 million kilowatt hours of electricity, the equivalent of the solar power needed to run 280 homes for a year.
“At Clif Bar, we treat energy like an ingredient,” said Elysa Hammond, Executive Fellow and Regenerative Business and Climate Solutions at Clif Bar & Company. “We’ve made a commitment to using ingredients that are good for people and the planet – and that includes the energy we use to make our food. We took that idea one step further by integrating a solar-pollinator ecosystem that supports biodiversity and healthy farming systems."
Features of the Twin Falls solar farm include:
In the same year it built the solar array, Clif Bar completed a redesign of its LEED-certified bakery in Indianapolis. It is an open and collaborative space that uses large windows for natural light. It also has EV charging stations.
In 2015, the corporate headquarters -- a 115,000-square-foot space -- set the pace for others: it became the first building in Emeryville, Calif. to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
