Sustainable Development & Our approach to Packaging for a Sustainable Future Gail Tavill 07/12/2011
Corporate Responsibility Published March 2009 Download ConAgra Foods 2010 CR Report at www.conagrafoods.com 2
How we view Corporate Responsibility CONAGRA FOODS MISSION/REPUTATION Food you love ConAgra Foods Operating Principles and Governance Simplicity Accountability Collaboration Corporate Responsibility Themes Good for you Food safety and quality Sodium reduction Obesity Nutrition Bio-tech foods Labeling Advertising and consumer education Good for the community Governance and ethics Health & safety Learning & development Diversity & inclusion Supplier code of conduct Foundation efforts Good for the planet Climate & energy Water resources Solid Waste Packaging Material sourcing Transportation Sustainable agriculture 3
PACKAGING 4
The Fundamental Functions of Packaging Containment of the PRODUCT to avoid spills/waste and to facilitate use Protection of the PRODUCT from damage, spoilage, tampering, etc. Distribution get the PRODUCT from point A to point B Communication of PRODUCT attributes 5
A Brief History of Modern Packaging 1920 s-1950 s Small stores, bulk containers and high levels of customer service 6
A Brief History of Modern Packaging 1950 s-1980 s Canning boom of post-war era evolving to supermarket boom and the advent of plastic packaging 7
A Brief History of Modern Packaging Today Average stores have >10,000 items to choose from, everything from apples to X-Box games - complicating the total system and demanding more from packaging materials and technologies. 8
Our Philosophy on Packaging Although packaging is widely regarded as a source of waste Considerably more PRODUCT spoilage & damage would occur without it. SO it is absolutely CRITICAL to balance the need for packaging to serve its function versus the desire reduce it Strategically, and using lifecycle thinking, strive to improve packaging with focus on these 5 Rs REMOVE REDUCE RECYCLE RENEW REUSE Remove unnecessary packaging Source Reduce where possible Design for compatibility with Recycling Infrastructure Use Recycled Content where possible Use Renewable raw materials where appropriate Reduce reliance on non-renewable resources Use Returnable systems where appropriate 9
In April 2010, ConAgra Foods Announced Broad Sweeping Sustainability Goals: Packaging being a key contributor Remove Reduce Recycle Renew Reuse 10
REMOVE 11
Marie Callender s Tray Consolidation Project Scope: Convert round-shaped frozen meal trays to oval-shaped trays, and commonize existing oval tray footprints, improving pallet and transportation efficiency. Key Environmental Metrics*: Energy/CO 2 Materials Waste Energy Greenhouse Gas Transportation Efficiency Source Paper Source - Plastic Solid Waste Waste Water Absolute Value / year 33.5 billion BTUs reduced 2,850 metric tonnes of CO 2 eliminated 840 truckloads of finished goods eliminated 867 tons of paper saved 62 tons of resin eliminated 698 tons 11 million gallons Consumer Value / year Energy used by 368 average American homes Emissions from 545 passenger cars 20,123 trees 50 garbage trucks 17 Olympic sized swimming pools Brands Impacted: * The greenhouse gas reduction indicated above includes impacts from both source reduction and from packaging material transportation efficiency improvement. * Numbers based upon Sustainable Packaging Coalition's Technical Briefs, EPA s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, and Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator Updated 01/15/10
REDUCE 13
MM Popcorn Optimization Project Scope: Two phase project to reduce the carton height (phase 1, 2008) and the carton width (phase 2, 2009) across all retail sizes of Orville Redenbacher and ACT II microwave popcorn. These changes allowed for substantial material source reduction and >25% warehousing and transportation efficiency improvement. Key Environmental Metrics: Energy/CO2 Materials Water Energy Greenhouse Gas Transportation Efficiency Source Paper Process Waste Water Absolute Value / year 86.8 Billion BTUs reduced 6,998 tons of CO 2 eliminated 562 Truckloads eliminated 10.4 million lbs of paper 39.4 million gallons saved Consumer Value / year Energy used by 954 average American homes Emissions from 1271 passenger cars ~370 average garbage trucks ~60 Olympic sized swimming pools Brands Impacted: * Numbers based upon Sustainable Packaging Coalition's Technical Briefs and the Environmental Defense Fund s Paper Calculator Updated 07/6/11
Banquet Tray Gram Weight Project Scope: Reduce gram weight of single-compartment tray from 23 g to 21g. Key Environmental Metrics*: Energy/CO 2 Materials Waste Energy Greenhouse Gas Source - Plastic Solid Waste Absolute Value / year 12.4 Billion BTUs reduced 482 metric tonnes of CO 2 eliminated 419,000 lb of resin eliminated 59,000 lb Consumer Value / year Energy used by 137 average American homes Emissions from 92 passenger cars 2 garbage trucks Brands Impacted: * The greenhouse gas reduction indicated above includes impacts from both source reduction and from transportation efficiency improvement. * Numbers based upon Sustainable Packaging Coalition's Technical Briefs and EPA s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator Updated 01/15/10
Poppycock Bags Case Redesign Project Scope: Poppycock cases were redesigned to simplify and optimize the package. This resulted in a reduction of corrugated used as well as an increase in pallet efficiency. This went into production in December 2008. Key Environmental Metrics * : Energy/CO2 Materials Water Energy Greenhouse Gas Source Waste Water Absolute Value /year 3.78 Billion BTUs 760,176 lbs of CO2 264,809 pounds 492,369 gallons Consumer Value / year Energy to power 41 Average American Homes Emissions from 69 passenger cars 9 garbage trucks Nearly a full Olympic sized swimming pool Brands Impacted: Graphics subject to change * All calculations are based upon the Environmental Defense Funds Paper Calculator Updated 05/19/09
David Seeds Round to Square Tub Project Scope: Convert the David Seeds bulk tubs from a standard round tub to a square tub, dramatically improving pallet efficiency. Also implement a diamond pattern in the tub walls to maximize compression strength while minimizing gram weight. Launched January 2009. Key Environmental Metrics: Energy/CO2 Materials Energy Greenhouse Gas Transport Efficiency Source Absolute Value / year Consume r Value / year 7.1 billion BTUs 363 tons CO2 162 Trucks eliminated Energy for 79 average American Homes Emissions from 66 passenger cars 259,480 pounds polypropylene eliminated 31% reduction Brands Impacted: * Numbers based upon Sustainable Packaging Coalition's Technical Briefs Updated 05/19/09
Peter Pan Redesign 3 Jar Sizes Project Scope: Redesigned the Peter Pan 16.3 oz, 28 oz and 40 oz jars to reduce gram weight on the jars and on the closures (caps). The jars are made from PET (#1 plastic), the caps are Polypropylene (#5 plastic). * The energy savings below are strictly related to the source reductions, they do not include any impacts from transportation efficiency improvements Key Environmental Metrics * : Energy/CO2 Materials Absolute Value / year Consume r Value / year Energy Greenhouse Gas Source 22.8 billion BTUs 961 tons CO2 353 tons of packaging (PET, Polypropylene & Paper) Energy used by 256 Average American Homes Emissions from 233 passenger cars 25 garbage trucks Brands Impacted: Graphics subject to change * Numbers based upon Sustainable Packaging Coalition's Technical Briefs and the Environmental Defense Fund s Paper Calculator Updated 05/19/09
RENEW 19
Post-Industrial Recycled PLA for Tamper Bands and Shrink Sleeves Project Scope: Convert PVC and PETg shrink packaging to PLA for all tablespreads tubs, Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers, Marie Callender s Home-Style Creations, Reddi-Wip twin packs, Wesson twin packs and PAM twin packs. PLA is a bio-polymer made from corn vs. traditional plastics made from fossil fuels. This project also incorporates a significant use (up to 60%) of post-industrial recycled content PLA, a technical breakthrough in PLA development. ConAgra is the first in the world to use this recycled content PLA material. Project implementation began May 2009 and will be completed by early 2010. Key Environmental Metrics: Absolute Value / year Consumer Value / year Brands Impacted: Energy CO 2 /Energy Greenhouse Gas Solid Waste Materials Source 2.2 billion BTUs 591,000 lbs CO 2 36,936 lbs Eliminated 263,613 lbs of PVC resin Energy used by 24 American homes Emissions from 51 passenger cars ~1.5 garbage trucks * Numbers based upon Sustainable Packaging Coalition's Technical Briefs and the EPA s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator Updated 01//05/10
RECYCLE 21
DiamondClear Project Scope: Redesign the Hunt s ketchup bottle to move from a multi-layer bottle (PET/EVOH/PET) to a mono-layer bottle (PET) with an oxygen scavenger. Simplifying the structure creates the first ketchup bottle that is truly compatible with the existing recycling stream and has enabled a reduction in gram weight. The closure was also optimized and light weighted. This technology has been recognized with a 2007 AmeriStar Award in the 3M Sustainability Category and a 2008 WorldStar Award for Food Packaging. Key Environmental Metrics * : PET Energy/CO2 Materials EVOH PET Energy Greenhouse Gas Source Air Emission Absolute Value / year 42.2 billion BTUs 2,223 tons CO2 1.4MM lbs of plastic 523 tons Consumer Value, year Energy for 465 Avg. homes Emissions from 402 passenger cars 50 garbage trucks Original Construction New Construction Brands Impacted: * All calculations based upon Sustainable Packaging Coalitions technical briefs and the Environmental Defense Fund s Paper Calculator Graphics subject to change Updated 05/19/09
Post Consumer Recycled PET in CPET Trays Project Scope: Include 8MM pounds annually of rpet into CPET trays across most of the tray designs used for our frozen meal brands, qualified on some trays up to 40%. ConAgra Foods is the first company in North America to implement this technology. This launched nationwide, June of 2008 and has been recognized with a 2008-9 AmeriStar Award for Food Packaging, a 2009 DuPont Award for Packaging Innovation, a 2009 Greener Package Award and a 2009 ConAgra Foods Sustainable Development Award. It was also featured as the cover story of the November 2008 issue of Packaging Digest Magazine. Key Environmental Savings: Energy / CO2 Materials Water Energy Savings Greenhouse Gas Savings Reduced Air Emissions Waste Water Absolute Value / year 236 billion BTUs 15,200 tons CO2 11,200 tons 4,750 gallons Consumer Value / year Energy for 2,600 homes Brands Impacted: Emissions from 2,500 passenger cars Updated 11/16/09 * Values based upon Sustainable Packaging Coalition s Technical Briefs
SUMMARY 24
Food for Thought Food vs Fuel (& bio-resins) Biotechnology Nanotechnology Packaging vs. Food Waste Waste-to-Energy (Incineration) BPA / Chemo-phobia Greenwashing / Eco-Logos Oxo-degradable Compostable What is sustainable food? Others? 25
Thank You! 26