AUSTIN, MINN. — Hormel Foods Corp. recently provided its latest greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, where the food company plans to reduce absolute GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 using a base year of 2019.

In its commitment, Hormel said it would reduce absolute GHG emissions within its supply chain by 27.5% within the same timeframe. The company said the numbers were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

“We are proud to announce these ambitious targets to help fight climate change,” said Tom Raymond, director of environmental sustainability at Hormel Foods. “It is going to require all team members, partners and supply-chain members to reach these goals and continue to decarbonize every part of our value chain.”

Hormel stated that its targets align with the Paris Climate Agreement, which plans to limit average temperatures rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. 

During 2022, the company said it increased its procurement of domestic renewable electricity from less than 10% to 100%.

In September, Hormel also opened its latest solar project at the Jennie-O Turkey Store plant in Montevideo, Minn., which expects to supply 10% of the plant’s electricity annually. 

The company’s green energy commitment is part of its 20 By 30 Challenge, in which Hormel proposed 20 quantitative and qualitative goals to achieve by 2030.

More information on the initiatives can be found in Hormel’s Global Impact Report.