News Release

Conagra Foods Announces 2016 Sustainable Development Award Winners

Mar 30, 2016, 2:59 AM EDT

55 ConAgra Foods projects reduce water, waste, energy and costs

OMAHA, Neb. --Mar. 30, 2016 -- ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) announced the winners of its 2016 Sustainable Development Awards, an internal awards program that drives and rewards imaginative approaches to sustainability while producing bottom line business results. The 55 entries received this year collectively:

Eliminated waste by 16,000 tons
Optimized and improved packaging, while using 2.3 million pounds less material
Conserved more than 365 million gallons of water
Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15,300 metric tons

Delivering more than $8.7 million in savings, these projects demonstrate the economic value of a company’s commitment to sustainable development. Many of the projects were low to no cost improvements identified by employees at our facilities. The awards program recognizes that employees can make a big impact by coming together to do what’s right for both the environment and the business.

ConAgra Foods started its annual Sustainable Development Awards program in 1992 to recognize and encourage employees to eliminate waste, save water and reduce energy through process innovation and engagement.

Winning teams are each awarded a $5,000 grant from the ConAgra Foods Foundation to apply toward a sustainability-focused community service project in their area.

"Each year, our employees continue to come up with new ideas on how to positively impact the environment while driving down costs," said Gail Tavill, Vice President of Packaging and Sustainable Productivity, ConAgra Foods. "It's exciting to see how the program continues to evolve with employees working to make our company a truly lean enterprise through sustainability efforts."

Tavill added, “As we transition to become a more efficient and effective company, we will continue to aggressively work toward driving out any waste from our operations."

ConAgra’s 2016 winning sustainability projects include:

Climate Change & Energy Efficiency – ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston Facility in Pasco, Washington.

Through a co-sponsored training program, employees in our Pasco facility achieved measurable energy savings through efficient operations, maintenance improvements and a performance tracking system.
This initiative saved 3.7 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 1,150 metric tons.

Water Conservation & Wastewater Management – ConAgra Foods’ Grocery and Snacks Facility in Indianapolis, Indiana.

A team at the Reddi-wip facility came together to study water use and identify multiple low-cost opportunities to reduce water and improve overall plant capacity.
Through these efforts, the facility reduced water use by 26 percent, conserving 45 million gallons in 2015.

Solid Waste Reduction & Recycling – ConAgra Foods’ Grocery and Snacks Facility in Milton, Pennsylvania.

Employees at the Chef Boyardee facility took a holistic approach to reduce excess food loss throughout the ravioli production process.
By identifying critical loss points throughout the production process, the facility was able to eliminate 580 tons of food waste while conserving 32,000 gallons of water.

Sustainable Business Innovation – ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston Columbia Basin Blends facility in Pasco, Washington.

One of the company’s potato facilities collaborated across multiple departments to receive incoming materials more efficiently.
Resulting efforts led to significant packaging and pallet reductions, the elimination of 100,000 pounds of material and the reduction of 27,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the supply chain.

Award of Excellence – ConAgra Foods’ Lamb Weston facility in Park Rapids, Minnesota.

Another potato facility in Park Rapids, Minnesota, limited hose access during shifts, focusing on dry clean-up and the overall reduction of unnecessary water usage.