GREELEY, Colo. — Pilgrim’s [NASDAQ: PPC], a global food company, today announced the release of its 2019 Sustainability Report and progress toward 2020 sustainability goals. The report transparently details the company’s progress in the key priority areas of team member health and safety, product integrity, animal welfare, water and energy across its operations in the UK, Continental Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States.
“The Pilgrim’s global team is driven by our passion to sustainably produce food that positively impacts the lives of our team members, grower partners, customers, shareholders and society,” said Jayson Penn, President and CEO, Pilgrim’s. “We are focused on doing things the right way and creating delicious products that families around the world can enjoy and share with pride.”
Achievements detailed in the 2019 report include:
- Team Members: Invested over $10 million and provided more than 255,000 hours of leadership training and development across our global operations
- Environment: Achieved a 5% reduction in greenhouse gas emission intensity from 2018-2019
- Animal Care: Participated in third-party animal handling audits at all production facilities, and passed 100% of external animal welfare audits
- Communities: Pilgrim’s U.S. launched the Tomorrow Fund, a full-ride scholarship program for our team members or their dependents
- Suppliers: Partnered with more than 6,300 livestock and poultry family farms, providing payments of more than $1.8 billion in 2019
“As a result of our ongoing commitment, we made significant progress toward our sustainability goals in 2019,” Penn said. “Our entrepreneurial drive, innovative spirit and sense of purpose will help ensure our team continues to lead on our journey to become the best and most respected company in our industry.”
Progress toward 2020 goals includes:
- 37% improvement in the Pilgrim’s Safety Index score year over year, compared to the goal of 15%
- 14% reduction in greenhouse gas emission intensity, achieving the goal of 14%
- 9% reduction in electricity use intensity, on track to meet the goal of 12%
- 11% reduction in natural gas use intensity, on track to meet the goal of 14%
- 8% increase in water use intensity, compared to the goal of a 10% decrease
- On track to achieve a 90% or better score on the Pilgrim’s Animal Health and Welfare Scorecard
- On track to achieve 100% vendor agreement with the Company’s Supplier Code of Conduct
The 2020 goals are only applicable to Pilgrim’s U.S. and Puerto Rico operations due to recent acquisitions. We are currently adopting comprehensive global goals that will be transparently shared upon adoption and approval from the Pilgrim’s Board of Directors.
To learn more, visit the 2019 Pilgrim’s Sustainability Report online at http://sustainability.pilgrims.com.
About Pilgrim’s
As a global food company with more than 58,000 team members, Pilgrim’s processes, prepares, packages and delivers fresh, frozen and value-added food products for customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com.
