Hormel Foods Corp. has made numerous changes to its product packaging, trimming more than 5.36 million pounds in materials from the supply chain.
That follows Hormel's 5.2 million pound packaging reduction in 2008, according to a press release.
Reconfiguring the shipping box for its Compleats microwave meals resulted in a 23 percent materials saving, or 1.2 million pounds annually.
Eliminating extra room in its Jennie-O Turkey Store burgers carton reduced paperboard use by 175,000 pounds. By eliminating a paper sleeve on Lloyd's barbeque tubs, more than 660,000 pounds of carbon fiber are saved.
Redesigning the shipping box for pork ribs, butts and bone-in cuts not only strengthened the carton, but saved 2.4 million pounds of materials a year. By eliminating the need for shrink wrap on its party trays, the company is saving 100,000 pounds of materials a year.
Reducing the thickness of glass in its Hormel bacon bits packaging will save 411,000 pounds a year.
Finally, redesigning pepperoni boxes will save 188,000 pounds of wood fiber, since fewer pallets are needed to ship them, as well as 49,000 pounds of corrugated material.
Hormel in 2008 increased recycling to 32 percent of total waste from 29 percent in the previous fiscal year. Ten plants have exceeded the 2008 goal to increase recycling to 40 percent of total waste and seven have met the 2011 goal to increase recycling to 50 percent of total waste, according to the company’s 2008 corporate responsibility report.
Hormel reduced water consumption by 4 percent in fiscal year 2008 compared to the previous fiscal year.
Hormel’s goal is to reduce its energy use at its 41 U.S. manufacturing facilities by 2 percent per year for five years after benchmarks are established at the start of fiscal year 2009.
