In 2018, our packaging team’s sustainability initiatives resulted in 2.5 million pounds in savings.
Hormel Foods has a dedicated group of employees that regularly evaluates our packaging design, consistently looking for minimization opportunities.
2018 Progress
The packaging team collaborates with all departments and examines the entire supply chain for sustainability initiatives that will benefit all divisions. In calendar year 2018, this team initiated 28 projects and completed 27 projects. Combined, these projects resulted in 2.5 million pounds in savings.* When combined with our progress made since 2012, these savings represent 99 percent of our goal to reduce product packaging by 25 million pounds by 2020.
(when combined with progress made since 2012)
Note: Due to the breadth of input materials used in production and packaging, we cannot report on the total weight of materials used throughout the company until we have a reliable process to measure and track this information.
Product Packaging
Hormel Foods uses more than 12,000 unique items to package and produce our products, including corrugated paperboard, labels, films, cans, plastic bags, displays, glass containers, metal closures and plastic closures. Approximately 87 percent of our product packaging, by weight, is recyclable and/or made from recycled materials.
Recent Projects To Reduce Product Packaging*
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413K+Pounds Of Material Saved
Box Design Change
A box design change was made for Hormel® side dishes that resulted in less corrugate use. This conversion resulted in a material savings of more than 413,000 pounds.
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28K+Pounds Of Material Saved
Jar Height Optimization
We reduced the jar height of our Herb Ox® bouillon jars, which resulted in less plastic and corrugate use and improved shipping efficiencies. These changes resulted in a material reduction of over 28,000 pounds.