Maple Leaf Foods Reports Meaningful Progress on Sustainability Journey

Strategic Insights -

As the world's first major carbon-neutral food company, Maple Leaf Foods has released its 2020 Sustainability Report, highlighting the company's key initiatives, milestones, and accomplishments in 2020. Despite the challenges of 2020, the company remained committed to leading in sustainability, prioritizing the health and safety of its employees and the stability of its food supply. Maple Leaf Foods made significant strides in enhancing employee mental health support, developing its diversity and inclusion strategy, building its world-class animal care program, and making progress towards its environmental targets.

Key Takeaways:

  • Maple Leaf Foods has reduced artificial ingredients, antibiotic use, and continually advanced food safety in its 2020 Sustainability Report.
  • The company expanded its Raised Without Antibiotics (RWA) Greenfield portfolio to include Family Lunch Kits, introduced the Prime Organic brand, and launched filler-free Maple Leaf Natural Top Dogs, taking a leadership stance in the real food movement.
  • Innovating plant-based protein alternatives is a focus for Maple Leaf Foods, with the repositioning of its Lightlife Foods brand as a clean, nourishing choice, and its Field Roast Grain Meat Co. brand as a bold, flavour-forward, meat alternative for consumers looking to diversify their protein intake.
  • Food safety and quality are vital for Maple Leaf Foods, with the company exceeding its performance targets in both its Food Safety Incident Rate (by 41 per cent) and its Quality Incident Rate (by 63 per cent).
  • The company made significant progress in building its world-class animal care program, transitioning 87 per cent of its sow spaces to its Advanced Open Sow Housing system and installing environmental enrichments in all Advanced Open Sow Housing sow, nursery, and growing pig barns.
  • Maple Leaf Foods is committed to creating a culture and work environment that keeps people safe, rewards excellence, and embraces an inclusive, diverse workplace. The company achieved a world-class Total Recordable Incidence Rate of 0.48 and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred Rate of 0.24 in 2020.
  • The company announced its Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint in 2020, outlining a comprehensive approach to addressing systemic and cultural barriers and providing an environment with equal opportunity for all to thrive.
  • Maple Leaf Foods has reduced the intensity of its environmental footprint by 25.9 per cent for electricity, 19.5 per cent for natural gas, 21.6 per cent for water, 12.1 per cent for solid waste, and 30.9 per cent for food loss waste since its baseline years.
  • The company has diverted 91.6 per cent of waste that would ordinarily go to landfills and is part of the first Sustainability-Linked Loan in Canada, a partnership with nine global banks where the company will benefit from lower interest rates upon achievement of certain sustainability targets.

Statistics:

  • Maple Leaf Foods reduced artificial ingredients in its products by an unspecified amount in 2020.
  • The company expanded its RWA Greenfield portfolio to include Family Lunch Kits and introduced the Prime Organic brand.
  • Maple Leaf Foods reduced antibiotic use in its products by an unspecified amount in 2020.
  • The company exceeded its performance targets in both its Food Safety Incident Rate (by 41 per cent) and its Quality Incident Rate (by 63 per cent) in 2020.
  • Maple Leaf Foods made significant progress in building its world-class animal care program, transitioning 87 per cent of its sow spaces to its Advanced Open Sow Housing system and installing environmental enrichments in all Advanced Open Sow Housing sow, nursery, and growing pig barns.
  • The company achieved a world-class Total Recordable Incidence Rate of 0.48 and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred Rate of 0.24 in 2020.
  • Maple Leaf Foods has reduced the intensity of its environmental footprint by:

+ 25.9 per cent for electricity

+ 19.5 per cent for natural gas

+ 21.6 per cent for water (2014 baseline)

+ 12.1 per cent for solid waste (2015 baseline)

+ 30.9 per cent for food loss waste (2016 baseline)

  • The company has diverted 91.6 per cent of waste that would ordinarily go to landfills.

Sources:

  • Maple Leaf Foods 2020 Sustainability Report
  • Source: "Maple Leaf Foods announces its 2020 Sustainability Report and performance results," PR Newswire, July 6, 2021
  • Source: "Maple Leaf Foods makes commitment to sustainability with new animal care program," Maple Leaf Foods website, 2020