In 2016, our packaging team’s sustainability initiatives resulted in 1.9 million pounds in savings.
Hormel Foods has a dedicated group of employees that regularly evaluates our packaging design, consistently looking for minimization opportunities.
2016 Progress
The packaging team collaborates with all other departments and examines the entire supply chain for sustainability initiatives that will benefit all divisions. In calendar year 2016, this team initiated 42 total projects and completed 27 projects. Combined, these projects resulted in 1.9 million pounds in savings.* When combined with our progress made since 2012, these savings represent 82 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 9,000 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 80 percent of our product packaging by weight is recyclable and/or made from recycled materials.
Projects To Achieve Packaging Minimization*
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239K+Pounds Of Material Saved
Grocery Products And CHEP
We were able to eliminate using paperboard slip sheets on pallets for our Grocery Products items by utilizing the CHEP pallet-pool program. This change resulted in a material savings of more than 239,000 pounds.
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196K+Pounds Of Material Saved
Corrugated Box Design
By adding an automated piece of equipment to our Hormel®Natural Choice® core deli line, we were able to design a corrugated box that uses less corrugated material and eliminates the need for tape. These changes resulted in a material savings of more than 196,000 pounds.
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626K+Pounds Of Material Saved
Plastic Jar Weight Reduction
By reducing the gram weight for the 15- and 16.3-ounce plastic jars for SKIPPY® peanut butter products from 26 to 22 grams, we were able to achieve a material savings of more than 626,000 pounds.
*Savings are estimated annualized savings based on a full year of volume