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At least two dozen major food, beverage and carbon than it emits. Dairy producers and
apparel companies have joined the Science others in animal agriculture should take note
Based Targets initiative, or SBTi, a project that that plant-based alternatives are figuring in both
requires member companies to set scientifically Starbucks’ and Sodexo’s plans: Starbucks plans
valid goals for reducing their carbon emissions, to meet its climate goal in part by switching
with an option of following either the 2-degree many dairy products to plant-based alternatives;
or 1.5-degree goal. Sodexo says it is “raising public awareness of the
environmental benefits of plant-based meals”
Some companies have even pledged to become and promoting them on menus.
carbon neutral, including Walmart, which
announced in September that it planned to Based on interviews with industry officials, many
reach that goal by 2040, 10 years ahead of the companies aren’t clear yet how they will meet
target set by the Paris agreement. their goals, nor is there agreement yet on how to
measure the impact of many practices.
Smithfield Foods Inc., a vertically-integrated
pork producer and processor, announced in Sep- Those are among the reasons for a myriad
tember it would make all of its company-owned of research programs and pilot projects that
operations carbon neutral by 2030, one of the Walmart, Cargill and other corporations are
most aggressive targets of any company. sponsoring across the country. But many indus-
try officials say it’s clear U.S. farmers will likely
Rival Tyson Foods Inc., one of the largest beef, have to play a role in reducing U.S. greenhouse
pork and poultry processors, committed to the gas emissions as part of a broader effort to help
SBTi project and has pledged to cut emissions food companies hit their sustainability targets.
from its production of beef, pork and poul-
try by 30% in the next 10 years. Tyson and “What we are hearing on all sides of this is that
McDonald’s Corp. are key members of the companies are really doubling down on their
U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, which commitments, and then you see companies also
is sponsoring research on whether “adaptive saying, ‘Not only are we going to reduce our
multi-paddock” grazing can increase rancher greenhouse gas footprint by this much by this
productivity and sequester more carbon in the day, but we commit to being carbon neutral,’”
soil at the same time. said Debbie Reed, executive director of the
Ecosystem Services Market Consortium, an
Dole Foods Co., which produces and processes industry-backed coalition setting up a market
fruits and vegetables, has pledged to make its in credits for reducing carbon emissions and
farms carbon neutral by 2030. improving water quality.
Danone, Sodexo and Starbucks Corp. have gone The COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t appear
beyond many other companies, pledging to slash to have discouraged companies from moving
its emissions in half by 2030. Unilever, whose forward either, she said. “There is no letup in
brands include Ben & Jerry’s and Hellmann’s, the corporate goal setting or the desire to actu-
said in June that it intended to reach net zero ally work to meet them,” she said. For some
emissions by 2039 for all products, “from the companies, the pandemic has increased their
sourcing of the materials we use, up to the point food sales, making their climate goals even more
of sale of our products. challenging to meet.
Danone is further pledging to make its Hori- Some companies, including ESMC members
zon organic milk “carbon positive” by 2025, Danone and General Mills plan to meet their
meaning its supply chain will sequester more commitments in part by purchasing offsets.
8 www.Agri-Pulse.com
