Environment
Protecting Our Planet’s Resources – Safeguarding Our Future
We at Hershey have always said our business relies on a healthy earth. That statement is as true today as it was when Milton Hershey first said his famous quote, “There’s not a person alive who should not plant a tree. Not for the shade that you’ll enjoy, but for those coming after.”
Those coming after us in terms of the future of our business will continue to rely on agricultural commodities grown in healthy soil, rich biodiversity to keep pollinators busy all season long, abundant high-quality water to keep manufacturing our products, and clean air to keep our employees, consumers, and workers in our supply chain healthy and safe.
Climate change, water scarcity, natural resource depletion and biodiversity degradation pose an increasing threat to our planet, communities and individuals around the world. As we face environmental challenges, we see opportunities for collective action by governments, businesses, NGOs and multilateral organizations, and we are committed to doing our part to create positive change for a brighter future.
Addressing Climate Change and Reducing our Environmental Footprint
Our journey to setting science-based targets began in 2019. We are proud to be among the companies committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) by setting a target to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint aligned with the 1.5°C temperature pathways, the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi process. We’ll do so across three core areas to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by more than 50 percent and absolute Scope 3 emissions by 25 percent by 2030, compared to a 2018 baseline.1 To meet these goals, we are undertaking many programs to protect our environment for a more sustainable future,, including investing in renewable energy, advancing sustainable packaging solutions and ending deforestation across our supply chain.
Investing in Renewable Energy
Investing in renewable energy is key to reaching our Scope 1 and Scope 2 commitments. Two power purchase agreements (PPAs) enable the construction of two new utility-scale solar farms. We’re also pursuing other energy efficiency projects around the world. To drive this commitment, each Hershey location around the world has designated an Energy Champion responsible for implementing carbon savings, meeting conservation goals, identifying opportunities for energy reduction and efficiency, and engaging employees in these efforts.
Advancing Sustainable Packaging Solutions
In 2015, we committed to reducing packaging weight by 25 million pounds by 2025. We’re proud to say we’ve achieved this goal and have set a new goal of reducing an additional 25 million pounds by 2030. We’re also aiming to make 100 percent of our plastic packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2030.
Ending Deforestation
We are committed to ending deforestation across our supply chain by 2030 by working within our individual commodity supply chains to drive sustainable practices within our own operations, with our suppliers and within the industry to eliminate deforestation. Read more about this commodity-specific approach to ending deforestation.
Protecting Water Sources
As a global snacking company, water is critical to our business and interconnected to our climate action strategy. In 2020, we joined the Science Based Targets Network’s (SBTN) Corporate Engagement Program to stay aligned with emerging best practices in water stewardship. We are currently participating in SBTN’s Self-Guided Pilot to set SBTs for Freshwater once SBTN’s final guidance is issued in 2022. Developing SBTs for water will provide a clear way to minimize our own impact on water as well as identify opportunities to support collective solutions in priority areas. We will continue to report on our progress in our annual sustainability report and on our website.
Engaging employees to achieve our climate action goals
The ambitious goals we’ve set to take action against climate change will require support from our passionate employees, including an employee-group dedicated to creating a more sustainable Hershey, Green Teams. Green Team groups exist in our many locations around the world to activate on sustainability projects, including a native tree giveaway through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.
Bringing a Passion for Environmental Sustainability to Hershey: A Company that Cares to Make a Difference
At Hershey, we have numerous programs to protect the environment and make a difference. These programs include collaborations and partnerships around the world, as well as Hershey employee events like native tree plantings. We have set ambitious science-based targets to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint aligned with the 1.5°C temperature pathways for a better future.
Resources
Resources
1 Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the company.
Scope 2: Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from consumption of purchased electricity.
Scope 3: Other indirect emissions, such as from the farm-level production of our ingredients, the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc.