The Hershey Company announced it has exceeded three of its key environmental sustainability goals set in 2012. Hershey has surpassed its water consumption target three years early and its zero waste to landfill (ZWL) and recycling targets two years early.
By the end of 2013, the company had converted six of its manufacturing facilities to ZWL, surpassing its 2015 goal of five; achieved a recycling rate of 86.6 percent, beating its 2015 goal of 85 percent; and reduced water consumption per pound of product by 58 percent by the end of 2012, far exceeding its 2015 goal of 10 percent.
“As a global company, we are conscious of our impact and the changes we can and must make to be a more sustainable organization,” said Terry O’Day, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer at Hershey. “We set ambitious environmental goals and we are proud of the progress we’ve made. Environmental stewardship has become an inherent part of how we operate day to day, and we will continue to do even more in the years ahead.”
Water Reductions
The company’s progress on water was partly attributable to “Project Next Century,” which included the expansion of Hershey’s West Hershey manufacturing facility and the closure of its legacy 19 East Chocolate Ave. plant. The transfer of operations to the modern, more efficient West Hershey facility produced significant water reductions. Hershey expects to decrease water consumption even further and will have more detailed results available in its third CSR report, available this spring.
Zero Waste to Landfill Progress
In addition to six manufacturing plants, five other Hershey facilities have achieved ZWL status. Three Hershey facilities that achieved ZWL status in the first week of January 2014 are: The Hershey Company Technical Center, Hershey Flight Operations and the Western Distribution Center. Hershey’s combined ZWL plants and facilities as of February 2014 are: Hazleton Plant (Hazleton, Pa.); Reese’s Plant (Hershey, Pa.); West Hershey Plant (Hershey, Pa.); Y&S Plant (Lancaster, Pa.); Robinson Plant (Robinson, Ill.); Stuarts Draft Plant (Stuarts Draft, Va.); Hershey’s Chocolate World Attraction (Hershey, Pa.); Eastern Distribution Center III (Palmyra, Pa.); Hershey Company Technical Center (Hershey, Pa.); Hershey Flight Operations (Middletown, Pa.); Western Distribution Center (Ogden, UT).
The six ZWL manufacturing plants represent 97 percent of Hershey’s U.S. production, 75 percent of all North American production and 67 percent of production globally.
“Given our faster-than-expected progress, we are pushing ourselves even harder and will set new environmental goals in our next CSR report using our 2013 numbers as our baseline,” added O’Day. “Environmental sustainability is not a destination but a journey and one which our employees are passionate about. It’s their efforts that have allowed us to exceed our goals.”
