by Shane Henson — February 13, 2012—Consumer packaged goods giant Kraft Foods is making good on its commitment to reduce its environmental impact through executing aggressive and, so far, highly successful strategies to reduce its manufacturing waste, and says its employees have helped spearhead its many efforts.
Kraft employees continue to raise the bar by improving efficiency, by changing behavior, business practices and culture, and by creating new partnerships to turn waste into something of value, note company executives. For Kraft Foods, manufacturing accounts for the vast majority of its solid waste output, so its plants are a natural place to take action.
In 2007, the company launched a program with the global recycling company Sonoco Recycling, using its Sonoco Sustainability Solutions service offering to substantially reduce waste in plants. The ultimate objective: send zero waste to landfills.
According to the company, 36 Kraft Foods facilities have achieved zero-waste-to-landfill status, including 24 plants in Europe and 12 facilities in North America. Elsewhere, many plants have made significant reductions through partnerships to put waste to work.
