Hormel Foods’ Plant Cuts GHG Emissions 60%

Hormel Foods achieved a 60 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in 2014, compared to 2013, at its Beijing, China plant after replacing two coal fire boilers with more efficient steam generators, relocating the equipment closer to ovens to reduce energy loss, and installing heat recovery technology and thermal solar panels to heat water for sanitation.

For reducing its CO2 emissions, the Beijing HFC Plant was named the 2014 Environmental Sustainability Best of the Best winner. The annual award recognizes Hormel Foods’ internal teams hat have identified areas for efficiency and implemented changes in the category of environmental sustainability.

The other Environmental Sustainability Best of the Best finalists included:

• Atlanta Plant (Tucker, Georgia): Through educational newsletters, meetings and facility container improvements, reductions decreased to one trash pickup per week and solid waste to landfill was reduced by 42 percent compared to the previous year.
• Saag’s Products (San Leandro, California): By engaging employees in recyclable material training, the plant reduced its solid waste to landfill by 89 tons, surpassing its original goal of 50 percent, and improving recycling to 53 percent.
• Dold Foods (Wichita, Kansas): Dold Foods originally aimed to eliminate 39 tons of solid waste by the year 2020. In a plantwide effort to minimize all solid waste streams, the plant realized an annualized savings of 127 tons of solid waste, or 330 percent of the 2020 goal, in fiscal 2014.

Based on entries from 2014 alone, Hormel Foods documented the following annual savings from the 52 Environmental Sustainability Best of the Best projects:

• 82 million gallons in water use;
• 8,100 MMBtu of natural gas;
• 2,700,000 kWh of electricity;
• 1,500 tons of solid waste; and
• 2,570 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

According to its most recent sustainability report, Hormel Foods beat its goal to reduce solid waste by 20 percent — the company had originally pledged to reduce solid waste to landfills by 3,500 tons by 2020, or 10 percent compared to a 2011 baseline — and has exceeded the goal six years early.