Pilgrim’s UK has announced plans to invest over £10m in sustainability projects over the next 12 months.
The pork giant’s investment will fund a series of process innovations and operational improvements including a complete transition to LED lighting across all sites and switching out equipment with more energy-efficient alternatives.
It also plans to expand the number of solar and wind projects to all its manufacturing plants across the country, which it said would help to reduce carbon emissions by 11,000 tonnes annually.
The company stated the investment would help it reach its target of becoming a net zero business by 2030, 10 years ahead of the NFU’s industry-wide goal, and that it had an “unwavering commitment to our sustainability roadmap”.
“We want to accelerate our progress, working with the entire value chain, so that we can continue to go further and faster to becoming a net zero business and that means investing in vital sustainability projects like these to help us get there,” said Morten Knudsen, CFO at Pilgrim’s UK.
JBS-owned Pilgrim’s UK has previously pledged to reduce its Scope 3 emissions and will continue to use 100% renewable energy across all of its manufacturing sites.
The business also works with farmers to promote sustainable farming practices which has, along with diet reformulation for its pigs, meant that it has an average farm footprint of 2.53kg/CO2e/kgLW – half the industry average for UK pig production.
“We recognise that as one of the leading farming and food businesses here in the UK, we have a responsibility to be trailblazers in this space, supporting our global ambitions,” added Knudsen.
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