Pilgrim’s UK invests £10m in bid to improve sustainability
Pilgrim’s UK has announced that it will invest over £10 million into sustainability projects over the next twelve months.
The manufacturer said that the latest round of funding will support the roll-out of a series of “process innovations and operational improvements, to help the business on its net zero roadmap.”
Upgrades covered by the funding include completing the transition to LED lighting across all of its sites, and switching out equipment with more energy efficient alternatives, such as replacing gas boilers with heat pumps and optimising refrigeration systems.
The business already has local solar and wind projects at many of its sites and is now expanding these to the remainder of its manufacturing plants across the country – all of which, according to Pilgrim’s UK, will help to reduce carbon emissions by 11,000 tonnes annually.
The investment forms part of Pilgrim’s UK’s roadmap to becoming a net zero business by 2030, a target that puts the business 10 years ahead of the NFU’s industry-wide goal. The move is also part of its strategy to support its customers in achieving their own sustainability ambitions as the business targets net zero in its supply chain by 2035.
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, Pilgrim’s UK’s parent company, became the first global meal and poultry company to offer a sustainability-linked bond last year as part of its Net Zero 2040 commitment. The latest investment also forms part of the wider $1billion investment by its global operations.
Accelerating its progress
Chief financial officer at Pilgrim’s UK Morten Knudsen said the company has a responsibility to be “trailblazers in this space”.
He said: “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.”
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