McCain Foods Limited (McCain) underpins its dedication to the production of plant-friendly food with the release of the company’s Sustainability Report, shared a release.
The report details McCain’s sustainability results from the previous fiscal year, exhibiting the organization’s response to climate change challenges, its emphasis on elevating soil health and the transition of farming partners to more regenerative practices. Crucial strategic investments also played a key role in the expansion of plant-forward product innovations. The report is “reinforced by a strengthened approach aligning to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard,” stated the release.
McCain has worked with its farm partners to accelerate the organization’s regenerative agriculture ambition through offering technical assistance and financing options to aid in tackling the increasing effects of climate change on crop yields and quality. One of McCain’s greatest efforts came in the form of the launch of its second Farm of the Future located in South Africa. The company has also reached its water-efficiency target, with the achievement coming three years ahead of schedule. This target made significant improvements in the reduction of CO₂ emissions and intensified McCain’s utilization of renewable electricity. The organization also contributed significantly throughout the year to support communities with donations and volunteering.
These accomplishments show the progress McCain has made to adopt sustainable farming practices, implement more resource-efficient operations, produce plant-friendly food and build communities in locations where the company operates, according to the release.
“Environmental and social stewardship are part of our DNA at McCain,” said Max Koeune, president and CEO of McCain Foods. “The escalating climate and nature crises illustrate the fragility of our global food system with wide-reaching impact on consumers, growers, the land and communities. We believe agriculture can and must be transformed to safeguard our future and we are encouraged by the progress we are seeing in our sustainability journey. While much work remains, we are determined to continue to advance on our commitments.”
Highlights from McCain’s Sustainability Report include:
Smart and Sustainable Farming
McCain’s launch of Farm of the Future Africa will allow the organization to test regenerative farming within the environment of the Southern Hemisphere, where the farm in Lichtenburg, South Africa has already seen the first crop of potatoes planted. The company also implemented its Regenerative Agriculture Framework that supports farmers and measures the adoption of regenerative farming practices among priority regions.
Resource-Efficient Operations
The organization’s renewable electricity soared to 18.5 per cent of its entire electricity use and saw an absolute CO₂ emissions reduction of six per cent since 2017 (Scope 1 and 2) and a 17 per cent decrease of CO₂ per tonne for product produced. An impressive 98 per cent of McCain’s paper packaging, along with 90 per cent of its plastic packaging, is designed for recycling now.
Food Improvements
Last year, McCain entered strategic partnerships with Strong Roots and The Simple Root and strengthened its efforts with GoodLeaf. All facilities ran by McCain are now GFSI certified with a reduction of sodium and the removal of artificial ingredients from key products. The company has seen the voluntarily implementation of Nutriscore hit 100 per cent in France, Belgium and Germany, with a Health Star Rating secured in Australia.
Tend to Community
In 2022, McCain gave food banks and NGOs the equivalent of 10.9 million meals, offered support to over 1,200 staff across 19 countries through 6,432 volunteer hours and reached 2,921 new beneficiaries with community projects and partnerships.
“We have made marked improvements through action and collaboration and will continue to embrace climatic challenges as opportunities to innovate and make meaningful change to the food system,” said Charlie Angelakos, vice president of global external affairs and sustainability for McCain Foods.
For more information on McCain’s sustainability strategy, visit https://www.mccain.com/track-link-sustainability-report-2022?url=/media/4060/mccain-foods-sustainability-report-2022.pdf.
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