Reduce waste to landfill intensity by 20% across our manufacturing facilities by 2025 (per metric ton of product made).
-11%
Waste Reduction
At Kraft Heinz, we think about waste holistically. To source, produce, and package food and beverage products requires several inputs and outputs related to ingredients and byproducts, material flows, and end-of-life packaging considerations. When we think about materials and food-related flows, detailed waste evaluations help us identify where we can ‘prevent, reduce, repurpose, and recycle.’ Kraft Heinz has set a goal to reduce our waste to landfill intensity by 20 percent across manufacturing facilities with a 2019 baseline. Our waste reduction strategy includes a variety of levers including waste minimization and diversion to beneficial use.
2023 Progress
In 2023, we improved waste intensity by 11 percent compared to our 2019 baseline. Our facilities continue to be steadfast in their waste minimization through the identification and reallocation of waste streams for beneficial use, primarily for food and packaging waste. In late 2022, an external facility we used to recycle animal protein byproducts in the U.S. experienced a significant disruption in operations, which caused us to have a temporary gap in waste diversion coverage. Before this disruption, we had almost achieved our goal to reduce waste to landfill intensity by 20 percent across our manufacturing facilities. We spent the greater part of 2023 finding a solution to this issue and have put in place alternative ways to manage this byproduct.
Waste Reduction in Granite City
In just two years, our Granite City manufacturing facility in Illinois has reduced total waste to landfill by more than 85 percent compared to a 2021 baseline. In 2023, the facility, which produces our popular Capri Sun pouches and Kool-Aid BURSTS and pouches, diverted approximately 90 percent of its materials to recyclers and is actively pursuing the diversion of remaining materials to beneficial uses. Key to the site’s progress is its employees’ shared responsibility for waste reduction. Through robust training, staff engagement, and daily onsite routines, all employees own a piece of the waste reduction efforts.
Onsite collection and segregation vessels are placed throughout the facility and leadership has prioritized investments in tools that make it easy for employees to recycle materials. As a result, the Granite City facility is able to process and collect varied materials such as white wood pallets, metal drums, scrap wood, metal strapping, label backing, cardboard cores, plastic jugs, and more. For example, poly-blend foil pouches containing juice that cannot be sold or donated to a local food bank are collected and run through a process that crushes them and then aggregates them into foil bales. Once these foil bales are made and properly dried, they are placed on a pallet and sent to a recycling vendor.
Looking Ahead
As we look to the future, we are continuing to prioritize key global facilities for waste elimination. Our facilities continue to seek opportunities to reduce the waste we generate and divert waste for beneficial reuse and other by-products. We are also focused on improving manufacturing yield and thus reducing and eliminating waste early in the production process.
* Please note that environmental data for years between the base year (2019) and reporting year are not recalculated for acquisitions and divestitures as per our Basis of Reporting for key ESG indicators.
Reducing Food Waste
Food waste is an important priority at Kraft Heinz. We focus on the entire value chain in terms of where food waste can be reduced. This includes sourcing, production, transportation, shelf life, use, and end-of-life. We analyze and test how processes, products, and packaging can be optimized. We investigate where byproducts or unwanted finished products can find other uses versus going to landfill, such as product donations to those in need, and composting to bring nutrients back to the land.
Kraft Heinz has joined together with industry peers to eliminate food waste globally. Kraft Heinz U.K. and Kraft Heinz Canada have both joined national commitments to reduce food waste.
U.K.: In the U.K., Kraft Heinz is a member of the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap (FWRR) initiative. Hundreds of food-related organizations have committed to supporting this initiative, which aims to reduce food waste in the U.K. by 50 percent by 2030. The initiative is run by IGD (a food research and training organization) and WRAP (a nonprofit focused on sustainability) to verify data and encourage best practices. Kraft Heinz committed to setting a target for food waste reduction across our own operations towards the broader goal, and to also work in partnership with suppliers and consumers to that end. WRAP committed to report results in 2019, 2022, 2026 and issue a final report in 2031 against the 50 percent reduction goal.
Canada: In Canada, Kraft Heinz has joined seven other companies in a pledge to reduce food waste in operations by 50 percent by 2025. Kraft Heinz will use the globally recognized Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard to report our progress. Kraft Heinz Canada is also a member of Loblaw’s 10x20x30 Initiative, a key effort of the Consumer Goods Forum’s global Coalition of Action on Food Waste.
Kraft Heinz joined the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Food Waste Coalition of Action in 2022. The aim of the Food Waste Coalition of Action is ‘to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food losses along production, and supply chains including post-harvest losses.’ Kraft Heinz continues to participate in monthly workgroup meetings and is currently reviewing its food waste strategy.
