Environmental Leaders and Laggards

Best Records

We’ve uncovered some leading companies working to improve their environmental performance, and in some cases actually working to significantly reduce their global warming impacts. One has retooled its machines to save water, another has minimized its packaging, and a third has harnessed the wind and the sun to run its factory.

Keep reading to find out more.

Cadbury

In 2007, Cadbury pledged to cut its net carbon emissions in half by 2020.

In 2007, the company announced a collaboration with the Carbon Disclosure Project to report carbon footprints and reduce carbon emissions throughout their supply chain.

Cadbury has reduced their water consumption by 17% since 2006 by increasing efficiencies in production, recovery, harvesting and recycling water.

Lundberg Family Farms

Since 2003, Lundberg Farms has been committed to purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates to offset 100% of the electricity used in its headquarters and production facilities.

All of the electricity they use at their plant is either wind or solar generated. They have a 380 kilowatt solar generating field at their facility. The rest of their electricity is contracted from a certified wind generating company.

Lundberg Farms is committed to organic farming.

Nature’s Path

35% of the power from Nature’s Path’s Blaine, Idaho facility comes from wind power.

By changing their packaging they’ve saved 144 tons of paperboard, 942,128 KwH of energy, 1,318,979 gallons of water—and they have taken 400 tractor trailers off the highways.

They participate in a carbon offset program.

Straus Family Creamery

Straus Family Creamery is an organic dairy in Northern California that processes milk from its own dairy and two others.

Their milk comes in recycled and reusable glass bottles.

They’ve retooled equipment to use less water.

Straus is the first dairy in the U.S. to verify that all their products are Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) free.

Worst Records

Some of the leading food companies in the U.S. have disappointing environmental records. Several have violated clean air laws, others have discharged toxic pollution into streams, and one’s facility actually was deemed a “Superfund” hazardous site.

Dean Foods

Cornucopia Institute, an organic watchdog, filed complaints with the USDA against Dean and its subsidiary, Horizon Organic, asserting that the company does not meet organic standards.

According to Cornucopia, Dean’s Horizon Idaho farm sells off all their calves and then buys conventional animals on the open market. These replacements likely have received milk replacer (made with blood—considered to be a “mad cow” risk), antibiotics, and genetically engineered feed.

Del Monte

In August 2007, EPA inspectors found open and unlabeled containers of hazardous waste at a Del Monte facility and evidence of a release of used oil.

A former Del Monte plantation has been declared a Superfund site after officials discovered water contamination and were informed of an accidental spill of ethylene dibromide.

In 2008, a ferry carrying 10 tons of the highly toxic chemical Endosulfan, destined for a Del Monte plantation, sank off the coast off the Philippines.

ConAgra

In 2005, ConAgra was assessed fines for Clean Water Violations in Minnesota.

In 1998, the company was fined $1 million and paid $2.5 million more to settle a complaint in federal court alleging that one of ConAgra’s slaughterhouse and meat packing plants in Idaho committed more than 600 violations of the Clean Water Act between 1992 and 1996.

ConAgra raised money to fight an Oregon initiative requiring companies to label foods with genetically modified ingredients.

Tyson

In 2003, Tyson was fined $7.3 million for federal and state clean water violations.

In 2005, Tyson settled a suit brought by Sierra Club for the discharge of ammonia in its Kentucky plants.

Tyson has four facilities in the Top Ten for the Toxics Release Inventory list of Food and Beverage Company Emissions.