McCain Foods has launched the second edition of the India Sustainability Report 2021 – titled ‘Together-Towards Planet-Friendly Food’ earlier this week, highlighting the steps taken by the company towards delivering planet-friendly food, encouraging the use of sustainable practices and helping communities thrive with a sustainable livelihood.
Commenting on the launch of the Indian Edition of Sustainability Report 2021, Mr. Debadatta Baxi, Regional Director, Human Resources, Communications & Sustainability – India, Korea, South East Asia & Taiwan at McCain Foods said: “Being a responsible food manufacturer, our key focus is on preserving the planet, encouraging the use of sustainable practices including the use of renewable sources, maintaining the quality of food in line with nutritional benefits and environment protection and helping communities thrive to facilitate a sustainable livelihood.
“We aim to produce delicious food using the best sustainable methods as we are driven by the philosophy – ‘Good Ethics is Good Business’. We believe in working on strong foundations to build a safe, ethical, secure and inclusive work environment for the employees.
“We want to achieve sustainable future for all, keeping in line with United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The India Sustainability Report 2021 highlights ways in which we are committed towards bringing sustainable growth and how we have managed to bring a positive change with resource efficient operations, therefore, ensuring transparency among our customers.”
Being one of the largest producers of potato specialties and french fries, McCain aims to make food with clear commitments towards the farmers, communities, environment and consumers, thus working towards integrating sustainable business practices across operations- from Farm to Table.
4 Key Pillars to bring sustainable growth and positive impact
- Smart & Sustainable Farming
McCain puts a key focus on improving agriculture resource efficiency, with the best use of innovation and technology and mitigating climate change. This includes sourcing potatoes from local farmers to reduce Co2 emissions and minimizing pesticide-use. The growers work in line with the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to ensure safety, sustainability, soil health and biodiversity. Company’s efforts to shift to sustainable farming include advancing regenerative agriculture to enhance biodiversity and soil health, given the increasingly unpredictable climate.
- Resource Efficient Operations
McCain believes in producing delicious food with efficient use of natural resources such as saving energy and water and targeting zero waste by adopting recycling practices.
- Good Food
Good-quality food is produced by using ingredients recognized by the customers and making healthier choices for future products. To achieve this, McCain continues to work on the elimination of Palm Oil by the year 2025 and switch to environmentally friendly alternatives. The nutritional values are communicated to the customers on the packaging so that they can make informed decisions.
- Thriving Communities
The organization is committed towards partnering with community development projects to bring a change in the lives of farmers and empower women. Project Utthan and Project Shakti are two such projects which have been initiated in the districts of Gujarat-Mehsana and Sabarkatha. Company’s work with communities also includes donating meals among the families of farmers and launching Employee Volunteering Day to devote one day towards working for charity.
| Key Highlights (2020-21) | |
| Pillars | Impact |
| Smart and Sustainable Farming | 1.6% reduction in C02 emissions intensityIncrease in water use efficiency by 15% as compared to F1783% of the contracted volume of potatoes certified under Global GAP16% reduction in pesticide use |
| Resource Efficient Operations | 13% reduction in absolute emissions (Scope 1 & 2) | 1% reduction in Scope 323% electricity from renewable sources5.7% of total waste goes to landfill100% recycled paper in packaging |
| Good Food | 4% sodium reduction in McCain branded potato and appetizer products Preparations underway to move from palm oil to alternative oils by 2025 |
| Thriving Community | Project Shakti – +1000 direct beneficiaries. Project Utthan – 400 beneficiaries added since 2020Launch of Volunteering Day for all employees at McCain |
The Global Sustainability Report 2020 with India-specific data released last year majorly focused on the challenges posed by the pandemic and climate change. From focusing on sustainable packaging to advancing regenerative agriculture, McCain Food keeps sustainability at the heart of the business.
Learn more about McCain’s sustainability commitments as well as its journey towards delivering planet-friendly food in Together, Towards Planet-Friendly Food, 2021 India Sustainability Report Summary at mccainindia.com/sustainability.
For more information, please visit https://www.mccainindia.com/. Follow McCain on Twitter @McCainFoodsInd and Instagram @mccainfoods_india and like it on Facebook at McCain Foods India.
Source: McCain Foods (India). Original press release here
Image: Credit and courtesy McCain Foods (India)
Related: McCain Foods Releases Its 2nd Global Sustainability Report 2020 – Together, Towards Planet-Friendly Food
McCain Foods (India) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of McCain Foods Limited in Canada. Since 1998, McCain has been engaged in agriculture R&D and in development of the frozen food market in India and subcontinent countries.
