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Our Impact

Healthy Environment 

We work toward a healthier environment from fields to plants to families, promoting sustainable ecosystems and making a positive impact in every thing we do.

Combating climate change 

We are committed to combating climate change and mitigating its impacts. We’re working to do this by: 

  • Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our operations and supply chain
  • Increasing use of renewable energy sources
  • Supporting sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture
  • Improving our sourcing practices to reduce environmental impacts
Tomato Harvest|Tomato Washing|
Campbell HQ Solar Panels

Our science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The food industry has a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions—that’s one reason we announced a Science-Based Target in March 2022.

Science-based target: Our new goals

We are committed to reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42% on an absolute basis by fiscal 2030 as compared to fiscal 2020. We also committed to reducing absolute Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions from purchased goods and services and upstream transportation and distribution by 25% within the same timeframe.

Working to address climate change in our operations 

We have long had goals to improve the energy and water efficiency of our operations. We also have on-site solar installations in five locations. Our manufacturing operations undergo energy efficiency audits, and we make investments in equipment and processes to improve performance. We’re also working to better integrate energy and water efficiency into our operational excellence program in the supply chain.  

Campbell Enel Agreement

Virtual power purchase agreement

In 2022, we signed a virtual power purchase agreement that will contribute to a reduction of our Scope 2 emissions beginning in July 2023.

Our progress

Renewable Electricity

9 %

of our electricity is from renewable sources. 

Solar Installations 

5

solar installations across our footprint, including a 26-acre solar field in Hanover, Pennsylvania. 

Campbell tomato farmer

Expanding sustainable agriculture efforts in our supply chain

The farmers we work with play a significant role in making our food. We work together with these growers and other supply chain partners to improve sustainability on farms that grow our tomatoes, wheat, potatoes, almonds, and cashews.

Tomatoes

Over the years we’ve formed close partnerships with our tomato farmers. Many of the family-owned farms that supply our tomatoes are located within a few miles of our plants in California and have been partners for decades. We have worked together to implement more sustainable agricultural practices, including drip irrigation. As a result, we’ve seen a 25% reduction in GHG emissions per short ton of tomatoes and a 28% reduction in water use per pound of tomatoes, compared to 2012.

wheat farm

Wheat

After expanding our wheat sustainability program in 2021, we’re now supporting farmers throughout Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Kansas who are advancing sustainable agricultural practices on 122,000 acres of wheat and working to reduce their use of fertilizers, protect waterways, and mitigate the risk of climate change.

Potatoes

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices, such as systematically monitoring potato fields for pests or implementing some level of non-chemical pest control are used widely by our potato growers. We’re working with the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Institute to assess pesticide risks and risk-reduction opportunities.

Heartland Potato Farm Harvest

Nuts

In 2020, we launched sustainability programs for our newest priority ingredients: almonds and cashews. We’re working with our almond growers in California to track almond pollinator health. Farmers can compare their practices against peers, access sustainability management tools, and demonstrate compliance with third-party certification standards.

For our cashew supply chain, we’re working with one of our suppliers to support smallholder farmers in West Africa to strengthen farmer livelihoods and support farm sustainability.


Reducing pesticide risks 

Responsible pest management only increases in importance as farmers deal with climate change. We’re committed to working with farmers and industry experts to reduce pesticide risks using a three-part strategy:

  1. Supplier standards: Through our Responsible Sourcing Supplier Code, we expect all ingredient suppliers to adopt advanced integrated pest management (IPM) practices.
  2. Monitoring: Through our sustainable agriculture programs, we collect grower data on pesticide use and IPM adoption annually to monitor risks and identify opportunities.
  3. Assessments and programs: For tomatoes, potatoes, and wheat, we conduct pesticide risk assessments and then build programs to reduce major risks.

Our progress

WHEAT SUSTAINABILITY

122 K

acres now covered by our wheat sustainability program.

PROTECTING SOIL HEALTH

92 %

of our tomato farmers use crop rotations, and 82% have reduced tractor passes or tillage events, in their fields.

PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY

97 %

of our contracted potato farmers protect environmentally sensitive areas on their farms.

Campbell’s commitment to farmers has been both long-term and reliable, which allows us to trust the stability of the relationship and feel more secure in making long-term investments in our operations.

Blake Harlan, President of Harlan Family Ranch and Campbell’s tomato grower-supplier since 1990

Promoting sustainable water supplies 

Tomatoes arriving to process

We are committed to managing and protecting our water resources—both in our own operations and on the farms we source from.

Assessing our water stewardship and risks 

We conduct water inventory and risk assessments of our direct operations and supply chain. 

Our operations assessments

Twenty of our facilities were identified as having basin-level water risks, which means there may be risks including seasonal variability, droughts, floods, or water quality.  

Our supply chain assessments

Twenty priority ingredients and packaging materials have been identified in our water risk assessment. Over 100 suppliers, representing 56% of supply chain (ingredient and packaging) water consumption, were identified as having basin-level water risks.

Water targets

We continue to track progress against our current goal to reduce water use in our operations by 20% by fiscal 2025. In calendar year 2023, we expect to complete a project at our Maxton, North Carolina facility that will improve water efficiency and reduce our enterprise water use by over five percent.

5 million gallons of freshwater savings per year

Are you a Sour Cream & Onion Cape Cod chips aficionado? Can’t get enough of Sea Salt and Vinegar? Whatever your favorite is, you’ll love hearing that our Charlotte, North Carolina plant—one of the places where we make Cape Cod potato chips—saves up to 5 million gallons of water each year.

It’s thanks to a process that separates water from potato skins. Then the water is filtered, recirculated, and used to peel potatoes.

Our progress

water risks

1 st

supply chain water inventory and risk assessment completed in 2021.

Farm-Level Water Reduction 

78 %

of our tomatoes are grown utilizing drip irrigation, driving a 28% water use reduction from 2012 to 2021.


Working to eliminate waste

Reducing waste in the plants where our food is made is particularly important to us.

Here’s how we’re addressing this issue:

  • Reduce the amount of surplus food made 
  • Donate extra food to food banks, soup kitchens, and shelters to feed hungry people 
  • Use food scraps and byproducts to feed animals 
  • Divert waste oils and food scraps to industrial uses, including biofuels and anaerobic digestion 
  • Compost food waste to create nutrient-rich soil 
  • Repurpose packaging waste, like glass containers
Woman with food donations
hand holding potatoes

Repurposing potatoes

Sometimes potatoes are too small to be used for potato chips. The potatoes that don’t meet our chip size requirements can be sent to our soup plants, where a wider range of potato sizes can be used.

Our goals

Goal

50 %

reduction in food waste by fiscal 2030.

GOAL

25 %

reduction in waste sent to landfills (on an absolute basis) by fiscal 2025 (compared to fiscal 2017).

Improving circularity in packaging 

By improving the design and recyclability of our packaging, we’re reducing our environmental footprint. Our four packaging sustainability goals address all phases of a package’s life cycle, from sourcing the material to the end-of-life of the package:

  1. Design packaging for recyclability or compostability 
  2. Increase use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content 
  3. Educate consumers through on-pack How2Recycle labels 
  4. Partner with industry organizations to expand recycling infrastructure and increase recycling rates
Campbell Healthy Living Recycling
V8 Original Bottle

V8 bottles redesigned to reduce plastic

After two years in development, we began producing a new V8 bottle in August 2021. The redesigned bottle uses less plastic and is projected to save about 2.5 million pounds of plastic per year.

Pepperidge Farm packaging now recyclable

About 300 million Pepperidge Farm and Goldfish bags—equivalent to about 10 million pounds of packaging—can now be recycled each year.

Until now, the paper bags used to package Pepperidge Farm cookies, Farmhouse cookies, and Goldfish crackers had been considered non-recyclable because of the thin plastic coating and multi-layer structure. In 2021, we worked with Western Michigan University to conduct pulpability and recyclability studies. The studies determined that the paper we’re using could in fact be recycled because the amount of plastic coating is very small and can be removed in the pulping process.

Beyond the engagement with Western Michigan University, our team consulted many partners to confirm the recyclability of our signature bags, including the Institute of Scrap Recycling, The Carton Council, and How2Recycle. The How2Recycle tile will be updated on packaging starting this year to denote that the packaging is now recyclable.

Encouraging recycling with How2Recycle

The How2Recycle labeling system, developed by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), is a standardized way of making recycling easy. To help people better understand which packages are recyclable and how to recycle correctly, we feature a How2Recycle tile with instructions on our packaging. At the end of fiscal 2022, about 75% of our Meals & Beverages products and 84% of our Snacks products are labeled. We’re in the process of including the tile on all of our packaging.

Access to recycling 

In 2020, we became proud members of The Recycling Partnership, supporting its mission to drive measurable improvements in recycling and modernize the U.S. residential recycling system. The Recycling Partnership, with the support of its members, supports community recycling programs and helps divert millions of pounds of recyclable packaging.

Our progress

recyclable packaging

94 %

of our packaging by weight is recyclable. 

reducing plastic

2.5 M

pounds of plastic saved each year with redesigned V8 bottles. 

ENCOURAGING PROPER RECYCLING

79 %

of our products have the How2Recycle labels.

Read our report and explore our ESG goals

Read our 2023 data update (PDF)

ESG Goals

Explore our goals (PDF)

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