Pork producer Pilgrim’s UK is set to invest more than £10 million into various sustainability projects over the course of the next 12 months – to support the company with its roadmap to net zero by 2030.
This latest funding is going to support the roll-out of process innovations and operational improvements across Pilgrim’s UK’s vast network of UK sites.
Energy efficiency is key to the investments; LED lighting will now be standard on all sites; heat pumps will replace gas boilers; and refrigeration systems will be optimised.
The business already has local solar and wind projects at many of its manufacturing plants, but it will now expand these to include the remaining plants – for an estimated 11,000-tonne annual reduction in Pilgrim’s carbon emissions. It has also committed to using fully verified, zero-deforestation, sustainable soya by 2025.
Morten Knudsen, Pilgrim’s UK’s chief financial officer, said: “The sector has grappled with significant challenges over the past few years, which we continue to help our farmer network and supply chain partners to navigate. But our unwavering commitment to our sustainability roadmap remains at the heart of our business.”
“We recognise, 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. 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.”