Our goal is to significantly reduce the environmental impact of our
manufacturing sites to protect the natural resources we rely on.
Context
Industrialised food systems drive significant global and
local environmental decline, including land conversion,
climate change, topsoil degradation, biodiversity loss,
water extraction, pollution, food waste, plastic packaging
waste and micro-plastic pollution.
We recognise that our activities are associated with negative
environmental impacts, both upstream and downstream
and that we have a responsibility – and significant potential
– to leverage our scale and presence to drive environmental
stewardship, particularly in South Africa.
Our primary environmental impacts stem from water and
energy use, food processing and manufacturing, boiler
operations, facility and vehicle maintenance, product
packaging, transportation and agricultural practices in
our upstream supply chain.
Key environmental risks include power outages and water
shortages affecting our local operations, increasing
environmental disruptions in our agricultural supply chains
– such as extreme weather, flooding, fires and pests –
and expanding regulations, including carbon taxes and
extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements.
Approach
Our environmental strategy currently focuses on establishing
a solid foundation in operational environmental management
to ensure legislative compliance, enhance resource efficiency
and reduce costs.
Additional impacts, such as biodiversity loss and land
conversion from upstream agricultural activities, are not a
priority at present but will require focused attention in the
coming years as part of our ethical sourcing approach
(see here).
We are addressing our material impacts and risks by
embedding routine management processes, strengthening
data capture and reporting, optimising energy and water
use, reducing carbon emissions, minimising solid and food
waste and enhancing energy and water security across
all manufacturing sites. We are prioritising our top 10
manufacturing sites with the highest intensity of energy
and water use and waste generation, implementing a
targeted strategy to help achieve our 2030 environmental
targets.
Key enablers for advancing our environmental efforts in
coming years will include building internal environmental
capabilities, forging strategic partnerships and driving
digitalisation and innovation within our processes and
business models.
Our 2030 targets
45% reduction in carbon emissions off a 2021 baseline
65% of electrical energy at manufacturing sites from sustainable energy solutions
30% reduction in energy intensity (kWh/tonne) off a 2019 baseline
30% reduction in water intensity (kl/tonne) off a 2019 baseline
Zero waste to landfill
50% reduction in food waste from 2022 baseline
80% of plastic packaging to be recyclable/compostable
All plastic packaging (by volume) to contain at least 25% post-consumer content
Our key initiatives
Reduce thermal energy consumption through optimisation of our heating and steam generation systems, including the improvement of condensate return
Reduce electrical energy consumption through process optimisation and the implementation of integrated and environmentally friendly energy options
Reduce water consumption through process optimisation and the evaluation of water reuse opportunities and responsible effluent discharges
Generate green electricity through solar installations and other opportunities
Implement circular-economy initiatives that stimulate sustainable economic opportunities
Environmental stewardship
Our goal is to significantly reduce the environmental impact of our manufacturing sites to protect the natural resources we rely on.
Context
Industrialised food systems drive significant global and local environmental decline, including land conversion, climate change, topsoil degradation, biodiversity loss, water extraction, pollution, food waste, plastic packaging waste and micro-plastic pollution.
We recognise that our activities are associated with negative environmental impacts, both upstream and downstream and that we have a responsibility – and significant potential – to leverage our scale and presence to drive environmental stewardship, particularly in South Africa.
Our primary environmental impacts stem from water and energy use, food processing and manufacturing, boiler operations, facility and vehicle maintenance, product packaging, transportation and agricultural practices in our upstream supply chain.
Key environmental risks include power outages and water shortages affecting our local operations, increasing environmental disruptions in our agricultural supply chains – such as extreme weather, flooding, fires and pests – and expanding regulations, including carbon taxes and extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements.
Approach
Our environmental strategy currently focuses on establishing a solid foundation in operational environmental management to ensure legislative compliance, enhance resource efficiency and reduce costs.
Additional impacts, such as biodiversity loss and land conversion from upstream agricultural activities, are not a priority at present but will require focused attention in the coming years as part of our ethical sourcing approach (see here).
We are addressing our material impacts and risks by embedding routine management processes, strengthening data capture and reporting, optimising energy and water use, reducing carbon emissions, minimising solid and food waste and enhancing energy and water security across all manufacturing sites. We are prioritising our top 10 manufacturing sites with the highest intensity of energy and water use and waste generation, implementing a targeted strategy to help achieve our 2030 environmental targets.
Key enablers for advancing our environmental efforts in coming years will include building internal environmental capabilities, forging strategic partnerships and driving digitalisation and innovation within our processes and business models.
Our 2030 targets
Our key initiatives