Month: August 2023

Jennifer Crandall Founder of Safe Food En Route and Land Betterment Board of Director, is the moderator on the panel titled, Female Founders Disrupting CPG on August 29th at 10:00 am at the Rally Conference to be held at the Indiana Convention Center. The panel is expected to be an inspiring discussion featuring extraordinary female founders who are defying the odds in the CPG space. They are on a determined mission to disrupt their respective categories. Discover the latest innovations in retail strategies, wholesale partnerships, and personalized marketing approaches that empower CPG businesses to thrive in the competitive market, while challenging the VC funding gender gap. The speakers are Allison Disney, CEO and Co-Founder of MixMix, Rachel Klein, CEO and Founder of Revival Food Co. and Mara Smith, CEO and Founder of Inspiro Tequila.

About Rally 
Rally, the largest global cross-sector innovation conference, forges and celebrates cross-sector connections between companies, entrepreneurs, investors and universities from across the globe and features a $5M cash IN-Prize pitch competition, 1:1 investor meetups, a demo arena, content sessions and more. This year Rally takes place from August 29th – 31st at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. For more information about the conference please visit the website.

About Safe Food En Route, LLC and Jennifer Crandall 
Safe Food En Route is a Certified Woman’s Business Enterprise focused on evening the playing field in the food industry. Entrepreneurs and family-owned food business can obtain a full suite of regulatory compliance through the Safe Food En Route team of experts with a focus on Quality Assurance, Food Safety, and Supplier Verification. You get the corporate feel with the personal touch of a small business. Please visit www.safefoodenroute.com for more information.

Over the last 25 years, Jennifer has worked with both private and publicly held companies, balancing scientific and regulatory guidance with a clear understanding of operational and manufacturing directives that are crucial to the success of a food business. Jennifer worked in roles including 8 years in dairy and juice manufacturing and 12 years at Kroger Corporate in their Corporate Food Technology and Sourcing departments. She has worked in various roles exposing her from “farm to fork” which helped her understand the many obstacles within the supply chain. In her last 12 years at Kroger, she was the business lead for developing the software solution initially intended to ensure Kroger’s compliance to applicable FSMA regulations.

Jennifer also makes space for bridging education to industry by being a regular guest lecturer and alumni contact for Purdue University Food Science students; and has served on the Curriculum Advisory Committee for Cincinnati State’s recently approved Culinary Arts and Applied Food Science Bachelor of Arts program. Jennifer has a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science from Purdue University and an Associate’s Degree in Agriculture from Vincennes University. Throughout her career, she has achieved many other certifications to compliment her food safety centered career including HACCP, FSVP, PCQI, BRC Internal Auditor, SQF Practitioner, ServSafe and Gluten Free Certification Program (GFCP).

Betterment Harvest 
Betterment Harvest, a Land Betterment company, is a sustainable farming company that has upcycled land that has been previously impacted from prior coal mining and industrial activity. We provide the highest quality of agriculture while providing job opportunities to a region that is in need of sustainable employment. Betterment Harvest is a leading controlled environment agriculture (CEA) company with a highly scalable model and the off-take agreements to support its growth plan. Operational footprint spans from Ontario Canada to Perry County Kentucky with over 65 acres of operational CEA. To learn more about Betterment Harvest visit our website – bettermentharvest.com

Land Betterment Corporation 
Land Betterment Corporation, an Indiana Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corporation, is an environmental solutions company focused on fostering a positive impact through upcycling former coal mining and industrial sites to create sustainable community development and job creation. The Company utilizes a complete solution-based lifecycle program to restore and rehabilitate the environment and revitalize communities in need of change and opportunity. Land Betterment accomplishes this by identifying un-reclaimed, run-down and neglected coal mining sites, fixing the environment through reclamation and remediation, and then repurposing the land to support a sustainable business that serves the community. Land Betterment firmly believes that with real solutions it is possible for restoration of impacted areas to live side-by-side long term employment, while building sustainable and safe surroundings for communities and our planet. For more information visit landbetterment.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Company Contacts:

Mark LaVerghetta 
317.537.0492 ext. 0 
Chief Governance Officer, Corporate Finance 
info@landbetterment.com

Stephanie Conzelman 
207.205.0790 
Stakeholder Engagement Director 
info@landbetterment.com

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Land Betterment Corporation’s control. The words “believes”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “would”, “could”, “continue”, “seeks”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “expects”, “intends”, “estimates”, or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved.

BOISE, Idaho, August 21, 2023 /3BL/ – Albertsons Companies (NYSE: ACI) today released its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, highlighting the company’s ESG progress and reaffirming its commitments to fight food insecurity in local communities and embed sustainability practices across its operations.

“Our latest report further solidifies our long-standing commitment to support the thousands of communities we serve and the planet we share,” said Vivek Sankaran, CEO of Albertsons Cos. “In 2022, we made meaningful progress against our commitments, further aligning what we do with who we are as a company. We will continue to challenge ourselves to lead positive change as we build upon this momentum to create better lives, vibrant neighborhoods and a healthier planet.”

In April 2022, Albertsons Cos. introduced its Recipe for Change framework, with strategies and goals designed to maximize the company’s positive impact across four pillars: Planet, People, Product and Community. Building on a history of community giving and sustainable operations, Recipe for Change deepens the company’s commitments to reducing carbon emissions, cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce, eliminating food waste going to landfills, reducing unnecessary plastics and packaging and addressing food insecurity.

“The progress we saw in 2022 would not have been possible without the passion and dedication of our associates. Because of them, we made meaningful changes that improve business performance while reducing our emissions, building belonging with our team members, lessening food waste going to landfill and addressing food insecurity,” said Suzanne Long, Chief Sustainability and Transformation Officer at Albertsons Cos. “In the year ahead, we plan to expand our engagement for Recipe for Change, including partnering with our vendors to drive industry change and increasing customer involvement in achieving our goals. By bringing others along on our journey, we can make change a reality.”

Highlights from the 2023 ESG Report for fiscal year 2022 (unless otherwise noted) include:

PLANET –

Climate Action: Albertsons Cos. is committed to letting science and technology lead the way to reduce carbon emissions across its operations and value chain.

Reduced carbon emissions in operations by 21 percent between 2019 and 2022.Completed more than 1,100 energy efficiency projects across its operations in 2022 to reduce energy demand. Projects included installing LED lighting retrofits, doors on refrigerated cases, building management systems and more.Completed more than 85 refrigeration projects across its operations in 2022 to transition stores to lower global warming potential refrigerants.Recycled more than 850 million pounds of cardboard and 27 million pounds of plastic film and bags in 2022.

PEOPLE –

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Albertsons Cos. is committed to cultivating a diverse workforce and fostering an inclusive culture that embraces differences and provides equal opportunity for all associates.

Launched a company-wide inclusion index, which enables associates to share their individual perspectives and help foster a culture where everyone is treated with courtesy, dignity and respect.Launched the company’s eighth associate resource group, DiverseABILITY, which focuses on providing awareness, celebration and opportunities for people with diverse abilities, their caretakers and allies.Trained over 15,000 leaders through “Leading with Inclusion” workshops, designed to heighten awareness around bias and provide tools to support a more inclusive work environment.

PRODUCT –

Waste Reduction & Circularity: Albertsons Cos. is committed to eliminating food waste going to landfills, reducing the use of plastic and packaging in Own Brands products and accelerating a transition to a more circular economy.

Achieved the goal to provide standardized recycling communications on more than 7,000 Own Brands packaged products through How2Recycle labels and QR codes.Leveraged innovative artificial intelligence technology across nearly all Albertsons Cos. stores to accurately order and produce the correct amount and assortment of products for customers and reduce unsold food.Diverted more than 321 million pounds of food and trimmings from landfills through composting, innovative upcycling solutions and anaerobic digestion, which turns food waste into a rich soil supplement.

COMMUNITY –

Community Stewardship: Albertsons Cos. is committed to fighting food insecurity at a local level, so all neighbors can thrive.

Enabled 254 million meals through store food donations and Albertsons Cos. Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors program, totaling more than 950 million meals since 2019.Raised more than $40 million through Nourishing Neighbors, enabling 188 million meals in 2022.Improved access to nutritious food by rolling out a new online service for Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) recipients that enables SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) customers to use their benefits when purchasing groceries online.

To read Albertsons Cos.’ 2023 ESG report, visit: albertsonscompanies.com/our-impact/esg-reports-news.

To learn more about the company’s ESG efforts, visit: albertsonscompanies.com/recipeforchange.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies is a leading food and drug retailer in the United States. As of June 17, 2023, the Company operated 2,272 retail food and drug stores with 1,726 pharmacies, 401 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. The Company operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia with 24 banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market. The Company is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2022, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the Company contributed more than $200 million in food and financial support, including more than $40 million through our Nourishing Neighbors Program to ensure those living in our communities and those impacted by disasters have enough to eat.