How ConAgra Is Improving Its Resilience Against Climate Change (Part Two of Two)
By Isaac Fletcher, contributing writer, Food Online
The first installment of this series discusses how ConAgra is approaching sustainability and climate resilience through food-waste reduction and energy-efficient strategies. Other key parts of the company’s sustainability approach include effective utilization of employees and ensuring sustainability throughout the supply chain.
In order to change operations, implement new procedures and policies, and solve problems, employees are key. Recognizing this, ConAgra has made Active Green Teams a central part of its employee engagement strategy in most of its locations. ConAgra’s director of sustainability, Marcella Thompson, elaborates, “Our employee Green Teams bring our sustainability ambitions to life. They are the heart and soul of our program and they’re best positioned to identify opportunities in our facilities.”
Debbie Stanley, ConAgra’s senior Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) specialist explains the process, “Initially, we had to educate our team on what greenhouse gases (GHGs) are and our past performance so that they could understand and communicate to others about our goals. After understanding GHGs, [employees] were excited to help develop solutions that could impact the goal.” According to Stanley, educating employees about GHGs was the most challenging part, but the rewards have been worth it. “Several times a week, I have team members come up with energy-saving ideas and solutions and bring them to Green Team members, and I’ve gotten Green Team members to lead projects to reduce GHGs,” Stanley says.
For the vast majority of food industry members trying to improve climate resilience, collaboration with the supply chain is of paramount importance. Gail Tavill, ConAgra’s VP of sustainability contends, “It is important for us and other companies to understand our supply chains to assure long-term access to materials and minimize risks.” ConAgra has implemented sustainable agriculture programs that focus on critical crops — such as potatoes and tomatoes — and establish direct relationships with farmers. Tavill suggests, “It’s the direct, long-term relationships we have with these business partners that enable us to collaborate effectively to really drive change.”
For example, ConAgra has worked with its potato farmers to put more water-efficient irrigation practices in place, serving the dual purpose of water-conservation and GHG emission reduction through energy saving. Furthermore, many growers have begun using soil moisture probes to identify dry areas and help ensure that irrigation occurs only where and when it is needed. Thompson says, “Innovative application of technology in agriculture enables farmers to grow more food on less land with far fewer resources.”
ConAgra is not alone when it comes to building climate resilience and improving sustainability. It will take industry-wide effort to effectively tackle these issues, but by helping pave the way through waste reduction, employee education, and supply chain management, ConAgra is making important strides toward achieving sustainability goals.