Engaging our Employees to Tackle Food Waste
Our Purpose-Led Performance goals outline McCormick’s commitment to doing what’s right for people, communities and the planet, however, none of our ambitious targets can be achieved without our most important asset – our employees. While tackling the world’s sustainability challenges can seem overwhelming to many, we are working to engage our employees in fun and interactive ways, encouraging them to take simple steps to create a positive impact.
In 2022, one of our focus areas was food waste and insecurity. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that greenhouse gas emissions from food wasted in the U.S. are equivalent to those produced by 42 coal-fired power plants annually. While McCormick has committed to a goal of 85% recycling and recovery of solid waste from our facilities to be met by 2030, our campaign was designed to also help employees reduce waste at home. We partnered with several organizations to educate our employees, inspiring some colleagues in Australia to challenge their local team to #showusyourleftovers.
OzHarvest is a leading food rescue organization, based in Australia, on a mission to stop good food from going to waste by delivering it to charities that help feed people in need. After joining a session to learn about the organization, its evolution and impact, volunteers from McCormick Australia took turns to spend a day with an OzHarvest van driver and experience first-hand how they reduce food waste and feed the underprivileged at the same time.
This collaboration inspired McCormick Australia employees, Richard Brogan and Annaliese Hagan, to start a campaign with their colleagues to address their own food waste: “The largest source of food waste comes from our homes, so every step we take at home is a step towards reducing the biggest cause of food waste, a step towards reducing global hunger, a step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and a step towards freeing up valuable land and water resources,” says Richard.
