Hormel Food has reduced water consumption by 9 percent and solid waste to landfills by 16 percent or 7,275 tons in fiscal year (FY) 2009, compared to 2006 levels, according to the company's corporate responsibility report.
However, Hormel's indirect energy consumption increased 3 percent in fiscal year 2009 while direct energy consumption held steady compared to 2006 levels.
Hormel has plans to reduce energy use, water consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at its U.S. plants by 2 percent per year for five years, using 2006 as the baseline. Other environmental goals, using 2006 as a baseline, include reducing solid waste to landfills by 2 percent per year through 2011, and increasing recycling to 50 percent of total waste by November 2011.
To help the company reduce its water and energy use, Hormel's new production facility in Dubuque, Iowa, is designed to use at least 25 percent less water and energy than the typical plant.
In FY 2009, Hormel increased recycling to 38 percent compared to 32 percent in fiscal year 2008. The company also reduced packaging by 4.2 million pounds, completing 44 packaging reduction projects, which exceeded Hormel's annual goal to reduce product packaging by 3 million pounds annually from 2006 to 2011.
The company has plans to develop supplier responsibility principles by the end of fiscal year 2010.
Here's a chart of Hormel's indirect and direct greenhouse gas emissions.
