SunOpta Expanding Sustainability Efforts

SunOpta is making progress toward its zero waste to landfill goal as the company continues working to find solutions to reduce electricity, gas and water at its manufacturing facilities, the company said in its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report.

According to SunOpta, the company has achieved zero waste status at six of its manufacturing facilities while two others are awaiting verification. Its new production facility in Midlothian, Tex., was sustainably designed and will help save 15 million freight miles and 59 million pounds of carbon emissions annually from our supply chain. 

Additionally, SunOpta also developed a Food Loss and Waste Policy and standard operating procedures, laying the groundwork for donating the equivalent of more than 1.9 million meals to Feeding America.

“Sustainability is at the root of everything we do as a producer of plant-based and fruit-based food and beverages,” said Joe Ennen, CEO of SunOpta. “Since our founding nearly 50 years ago with a mission to elevate and nurture sustainability, we’ve built on that legacy by helping to transform the food and beverages people consume, the way they are made, and the communities where we live and work.” 

Ennen said the company is committed to doubling its business in the next three years and aims to achieve this milestone while prioritizing the environmental and social efforts of its operations.

Highlights from the report include:

Products

• Received Upcycled Food Association certification for its nutrient rich OatGold upcycled oat protein powder
• 27 own branded products enrolled in the U.S. Non-GMO Project
• Received a 96.5 External Food Safety Audit Score (.2 points higher than 2021)
• Achieved a complaint per million units score of .09%
• Zero incidents of noncompliance with industry or regulatory labeling and/or marketing codes

Planet

• 2.3 million pounds of food (the equivalent of 1.9 million meals) donated to Feeding America
• 261 tons of carbon emissions saved annually from load mode optimization
• 97.3% by weight of all packaging sourced by SunOpta is recyclable
• 37.6 billion gallons of water saved based on plant-based production volume
• 6 facilities achieved zero waste to landfill and 2 are awaiting verification
• Launched a new, sustainable production facility in Midlothian, Tex., that will save 15 million freight miles annually from SunOpta’s supply chain, eliminating 59 million pounds of carbon emissions; save up to 20 million gallons of water annually with water reuse equipment; reduce energy consumption by 45% with an energy-efficient HVAC system; reduce power usage by 95% with LED lights and energy-efficient water heaters

People

• Launched a Latino Employee Resource Group across all locations
• 45% of employees at the Director level and above are female and 37.5% of SunOpta’s Board of Director members are female
• Received an 80% average employee engagement score for the third consecutive year

Governance

• Created an ESG Action Committee
• Implementation of Enterprise Risk Management through an ESG lens