By: Dave Stangis, VP Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability
Today is Earth Day. In recognition of this important day that has been celebrated around the world for more than 45 years, we designed a series of events this week at our World Headquarters (WHQ) in Camden, NJ to engage employees and share information on sustainable practices they can apply in their personal and professional lives.
On Monday, our chefs developed some delicious plant-based meals for employees in our WHQ Cafe and delivered messaging on the environmental impacts associated with meat consumption. The favorite was Dan Dan noodles with mushrooms.
Tuesday, we invited Urban Farmer, Jon Compton, from the Camden Center for Environmental Transformation to demonstrate for employees how to compost at home. We learned some simple ways to get started and also answered some more advanced questions about ingredients and techniques to improve nutrients for the best end product.
At Campbell, we have been composting food scraps from our WHQ Cafe since 2013 and across our operations we have adopted a goal in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.
Wednesday, we took a tour of our WHQ with Kerrin Donnelly, Director Facilities Management, to explore some of the green building designs and technologies that have been incorporated in renovations over the last 9 years to increase efficiency and be more sustainable. The Campbell Employee Center earned LEED Silver Certification, while green building technologies and recycled content materials were used throughout the other portions of the campus as areas were renovated. Our employees were interested to learn that our light sensors not only have motion detectors, but also infrared to detect heat from occupants.
Thursday, we celebrated sustainable food by kicking off our new community garden with delicious fare. In an effort to bring employees even closer to our company Purpose, Real Food that matters for life’s moments, the garden will be employee-run and employee-designed, grow fruits and vegetables, and be a space for learning and collaboration. Campbell chefs demonstrated innovative ways to use common food waste items, serving cheese from expired milk and celery leaf pesto with carrot peel chips. We gave away seeds and showed employees ways to germinate them. Maybe we’ll be transplanting some successful seedlings when we officially start planting in mid-May!
To learn more about our commitment to sustainability visit our CSR site.