Tyson Foods releases 2019 Sustainability Report

Springdale-based Tyson Foods on Wednesday (May 27) released its 2019 Sustainability Report. It outlines the company’s progress toward its sustainability goals and announces achievements in five focus areas: Food, Animal Welfare, Environment, Workplace, and Communities.

The goal of the report, company officials said, is to make sure Tyson Foods produces safe, nutritious food for the global population and makes a positive impact on the world.

Tyson Foods has roughly 140,000 employees with food operations in 10 countries and three continents. It sells food throughout the world.

“We publish this report because it promotes transparency in our work, because it increases collaboration, and because it makes us better,” John R. Tyson, the company’s chief sustainability officer, said in a statement. “It also drives accountability for all and provides context to stakeholders about the sustainability improvements we are realizing as we produce ‘good food’ for people all over the world.”

Highlights of the report under each category include:

Food – With the introduction of its Raised & Rooted brand of plant protein and blended protein burgers and nuggets, Tyson Foods has become the largest US meat producer to enter the alternative protein segment. Tyson Foods launched its Coalition for Global Protein initiative earlier this year, created “to identify, incubate and implement new and creative solutions for sustainable protein to feed a growing global population,” the report said.

Animal welfare – Over the past year, the company completed the construction of a new four-house commercial broiler research farm at the Tyson Foods Center for Sustainable Broiler Welfare Research and implemented scored welfare audits in its cattle supply chain. The company also trained more than 1,000 of its employees in the US Poultry and Egg Association’s Poultry Handling and Transportation Certification Program.

Environment – Tyson Foods is partnering with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop and deploy sustainability initiatives. Working with the Farmers Business Network, the company helped identify both conservation practices and areas for improvement in more than 400,000 acres of farmland in the first year of its pilot project. Tyson Foods is also collaborating with the World Resources Institute to assess water risk and develop a water stewardship strategy.

Workplace – Tyson Foods continues to work with its employees to help them reach new goals. More than 18,000 employees joined the company through recent acquisitions. The company launched maintenance and refrigeration technical school partnerships with 60 technical schools, to help with recruiting and to build skills in existing employees. In addition, Tyson Foods’ We Care safety initiative was expanded to include Exposure Reduction Coaches.

Communities – Tyson Foods reached its goal one year early to give $50 million in cash or in-kind donations over five years to fight hunger. In addition, it continued to use its Meals that Matter food donations to respond to food needs following natural disasters around the country.

“Our world has changed greatly as we have all faced the COVID-19 pandemic – together,” CEO Noel White said. “Now more than ever, the one constant is for companies of our size to provide the world with good food; we at Tyson Foods hold ourselves accountable to do our part. Our commitments are unwavering – to keep our people safe, be good stewards of animals and resources and advance sustainability to serve our customers.”

The full report is available at this link.