Month: May 2023

PARIS, May 23, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Today Amcor, Delterra, Mars and P&G jointly announce the launch of a strategic partnership to stem the tide of plastic pollution in the Global South. These global leaders will work together to scale upstream and downstream solutions for a circular plastics economy, jointly committing $6 million USD over five years.

The announcement comes in the lead-up to the second negotiating committee meeting for a Global Plastics Treaty (INC-2), working to develop a globally binding instrument on plastic pollution.

The partners are coming together with a shared commitment to urgent environmental action and a shared understanding that the challenge of plastic pollution cannot be solved without a systemic and holistic approach to roll out scalable and sustainable programs to boost the transition to a circular economy. We call on like-minded organizations to join this first group of strategic partners and add your support to drive real change, at scale.

Recognizing that plastic pollution is a symptom of the broader issue of underperforming or non-existent waste management and circularity solutions, the partnership is committed to investing in innovative programs along the full value chain:

upstream, stemming plastic pollution at source by designing waste out of the system with Delterra’s global roll out of Plastic IQ, a digital tool that is changing the way companies understand and improve their plastic footprintdownstream, working on the supply and demand side to capture recyclable and compostable materials and return them to productive use with Delterra’s Rethinking Recycling programwhile innovating material traceability solutions to provide transparency on matters such as source, quality and ethical concerns along the recycling value chain.

The partnership will focus on countries of the Global South, starting in Indonesia, Argentina and Brazil, and aim to provide easy access to waste management and recycling systems to 10 million people. The partners will explore new ways to drive true systems change and to innovate beyond each organization’s individual realm to positively impact the entire ecosystem.

Dr. Shannon Bouton, President & CEO at Delterra remarked, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Amcor, Mars and P&G on our joint mission of eliminating waste in the environment. Solving plastic pollution – and indeed the broader waste crisis, requires a rethinking of the way we produce and manage waste. This includes a rapid expansion of waste collection and sortation and reliable recycling markets, alongside a deeper redesign of how we consume. We are inspired that these organizations are stepping up to this challenge alongside Delterra and we invite more companies to join this growing partnership.”

David Clark, Vice President, Sustainability at Amcor commented, “This partnership of leaders from the packaging value chain will make a real difference in creating a circular economy for packaging and eliminating plastic waste from the environment. Our partnership with Delterra in Latin America has shown us that shared commitments enable great progress when working collaboratively. We understand the critical importance of stemming pollution at the source by designing waste out of the system and returning plastic into the value chain as recycled content. This strategic partnership is a milestone achievement towards this ultimate goal.”

Allison Lin, Global VP Packaging Sustainability at Mars said, “We are excited about this partnership with Delterra and like-minded peers in the industry. We want to demonstrate that we can create successful programs for waste management and recycling systems particularly in the Global South, that currently lacks the infrastructure we need to stop plastic pollution. Scale will enable these systems to be self-sustained and ultimately, protect people and planet while at the same time creating value for local communities. We call on all parties gathering in Paris for the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations to agree on a regulatory framework that enables the creation of effective waste management infrastructure systems everywhere in the world.”

Stacie Hecht, Packaging & Waste Leader – Global Sustainability at Procter & Gamble, stated, “We are excited to partner with Delterra. It will take the entire value chain – including businesses like P&G – to prove out new circular business models while improving waste management.”

Amcor, Delterra, Mars and P&G share a common vision for a world where human activities protect and restore a healthy planet and are calling on likeminded organizations to join this strategic partnership to help drive impact at scale and deliver against our collective goals.

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ABOUT AMCOR

Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal care, and other products. Amcor works with leading companies around the world to protect their products and the people who rely on them, differentiate brands, and improve supply chains through a range of flexible and rigid packaging, specialty cartons, closures, and services. The company is focused on making packaging that is increasingly lighter weight, recyclable and reusable, and made using an increasing amount of recycled content. In fiscal year 2022, 44,000 Amcor people generated $15 billion in annual sales from operations that span 220 locations in 43 countries. NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC www.amcor.com | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube

ABOUT DELTERRA

Delterra is a global environmental NGO on a mission to solve the world’s most complex systemic environmental challenges—on the ground, at scale, and with urgency. Founded by McKinsey & Company, Delterra uses a systems-change approach to redesign entire ecosystems by developing innovative, scalable solutions for the good of people and the planet. Learn more at: https://delterra.org and connect with us on LinkedIn & Instagram.

ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED

Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality snacking, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 140,000+ dedicated Associates. With more than $45 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including Ben’s Original™, CESAR®, Cocoavia®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, KIND®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®. We are creating a better world for pets through our global network of pet hospitals and diagnostic services – including AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™ – using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing.

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About Procter & Gamble 

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news

CNH Industrial actively supports the communities in which it operates. The company’s employees are committed to projects and initiatives that benefit those around them. And in Thailand, they have been doing just that by sponsoring and assisting with many education-based efforts.

From assisting with the rebuild of a monsoon-struck school to donating a state-of-the-art combine harvester to an agricultural college, CNH Industrial Thailand and its employees have dedicated time and resources to helping advance the education of Thailand’s children.

The employees’ efforts and CNH Industrial’s donations are helping inspire a new generation of agriculture professionals.

Click here for the full story and images straight from these valuable initiatives.

And visit to discover more about how CNH Industrial is supporting local communities.

CNH Industrial

CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI / MI: CNHI) is a world-class equipment and services company. Driven by its purpose of Breaking New Ground, which centers on Innovation, Sustainability and Productivity, the Company provides the strategic direction, R&D capabilities, and investments that enable the success of its global and regional Brands. Globally, Case IH and New Holland Agriculture supply 360° agriculture applications from machines to implements and the digital technologies that enhance them; and CASE and New Holland Construction Equipment deliver a full lineup of construction products that make the industry more productive. The Company’s regionally focused Brands include: STEYR, for agricultural tractors; Raven, a leader in digital agriculture, precision technology and the development of autonomous systems; Flexi-Coil, specializing in tillage and seeding systems; Miller, manufacturing application equipment; Kongskilde, providing tillage, seeding and hay & forage implements; and Eurocomach, producing a wide range of mini and midi excavators for the construction sector, including electric solutions. 

Across a history spanning over two centuries, CNH Industrial has always been a pioneer in its sectors and continues to passionately innovate and drive customer efficiency and success. As a truly global company, CNH Industrial’s 40,000+ employees form part of a diverse and inclusive workplace, focused on empowering customers to grow, and build, a better world. 

For more information and the latest financial and sustainability reports visit: cnhindustrial.com 

For news from CNH Industrial and its Brands visit: media.cnhindustrial.com

Processing 100,000 pounds of grain a day takes a lot of energy, and this plant gets it from the sun

The sun shines more than 270 days of the year in Fresno, Calif., home of the Corn Nuts® brand roasting and packaging facility. That sunshine, combined with the rich alluvial soil of the San Joaquin River valley, makes for a great place to grow the Peruvian Cusco hybrid corn that creates those distinctive extra-large kernels. But the farmers aren’t the only ones who employ energy from the sun. Thanks to visionary managers, those sunny days now power nearly all of the Corn Nuts® facility’s activity — even after the sun goes down.

The Corn Nuts® brand began its solar journey in 2017 when it made an agreement with SolarCity to build a large solar array. The plant agreed to provide a four-acre lot they weren’t using adjacent to the facility and SolarCity would fund the capital investment. In return, the plant would promise to buy the power from the facility at a fixed rate for 20 years. In the end, the project would become an example of one of the most high-tech, state-of-the-art solar projects ever developed and one of the five biggest in the state.

Commitment To Renewable Energy

This sort of ambitious, long-term commitment to renewable energy is part of the ongoing climate stewardship plan at Hormel Foods, through which the company is aggressively expanding its portfolio of renewable energy investments. One the company’s 20 by 30 Challenge goals is to match 100% of its energy use with renewable sourcing. In 2022, the company achieved 100% renewable energy sourcing for its domestic energy use.

Not long after the Fresno plant leadership signed the deal to install solar panels in their large backyard, Tesla bought SolarCity and the new leadership there suggested a different, and much more ambitious, vision for the project. Instead of the original plan for stationary units, they would install 40 panels, covering an area equivalent to over three football fields, that would pivot from east to west during the day to capture the maximum amount of California sun. That power would then be fed into a huge Tesla battery system that would be able to run the plant for four hours after sunset. The new plan was an order of magnitude more complex.

The path to renewable energy innovation at scale is never easy. The installation at the Fresno plant was one of the first times that a solar-charged Tesla battery system was used at this scale. The technology was complicated and the installation and maintenance required the best technicians in the solar industry.

“We did a lot of piloting for Tesla and there were only five units in California at this size and we had one of them,” says Dan Pattani, Corn Nuts® brand plant manager. “When we were putting together the solar array and the battery system, there were really only a few technicians in the whole state who could truly understand it. The system hasn’t been without its problems. We had to spend a lot of time working with them. We’ve come a long way over the years.”

The system now produces one megawatt, which is the equivalent of the amount of power used by 400 homes a year. When the sun is shining, that electricity is more than enough to power the facility that processes 100,000 pounds of corn kernels each day.

Benefits for the Company and Community

At the time the deal was signed, the electricity rates the plant agreed to pay were significantly below the market. Since then, electricity costs in California have risen every year and show no signs of decreasing. Now the rates for the Corn Nuts® brand plant are far below what other businesses in Fresno are paying PG&E for power. On holidays and weekends when the plant isn’t running, the solar array continues to create electricity. The charge that can’t be stored in the onsite batteries is fed back into the community grid. The plants get credit, at the current rate, which offsets the times on cloudy days that the plant has to draw power from the grid.

“There are huge economic advantages to the deal. It helps us reduce our business cost, improve our margins and keep us competitive in the market,” says Pattani. “But more importantly, we are providing sustainable energy to this community. We’re helping the whole town use renewable energy. You can see the panels as you drive by our facility and everyone knows that’s where we get the energy to make our Corn Nuts® products. We are very proud to have this in our backyard.”

It takes sun to grow corn and it takes sun to put the CORN NUTS® products in the bag

DAN PATTANI, PLANT MANAGER

The location of this solar installation, in the middle of the city of Fresno, is a testament to how solar can be easily integrated into urban environments, unlike traditional power plants. The array is surrounded by schools, apartment buildings, homes and other businesses. The plant is just a block away from Sequoia Middle School and the only real impact is the aroma of roasting corn kernels that sometimes drifts into classrooms.

More Than Just Solar Innovation

The solar panels are not the only innovation at the Fresno plant. Over the last few years, the cooking and bagging process has become increasingly automated. Team members have moved from physically demanding repetitive tasks to learning to run sophisticated machines that increase the safety for both workers and the final product.

That innovation goes all the way back to the fields where the corn is grown. Unlike other products, where a manufacturer might have little connection to the growers of the raw materials, the making of Corn Nuts® products is an end-to-end operation. Hormel Foods owns the rights to the non-GMO hybrid corn variety and makes yearly contracts with farmers. Farmers receive their allotment of seed in the early spring and in mid-August the kernels are harvested and shipped to the Fresno plant for cooking and seasoning.

Innovation never ceases throughout the process. Seed hybridists are currently trying to develop a plant that will grow shorter and produce more ears of corn per plant. This will save water, which is especially precious as California goes through a multi-year drought. Farmers, for their part, are increasingly using drip irrigation systems to save water.

Growers also talk about pride in the product. Most corn is grown for cattle feed. When it’s harvested it goes into huge silos and the farmers lose connection with what they have grown. For those growing the proprietary Peruvian hybrid, their experience is different. “When farmers go into a corner store and see the product on the shelves, there is a lot of pride,” says Brown. “It’s a good feeling for these farmers for sure.”