The Latest Food Companies To Announce Ambitious Green Goals

2020 is shaping up to be a year of progress in shifting towards a more sustainable way of life. Food and beverage giants such as Nestle NSRGY and Coca-Cola Co KO along with tech behemoth Microsoft Corporation MSFT already detailed ambitious projects. By Thursday, three new food companies unveiled their plans.

Tyson Foods

John R. Tyson serves as Tyson Foods, Inc.'s TSN chief sustainability officer and is pushing the meat industry to tackle resource conservation and food waste, The Wall Street Journal reported. He is overseeing a new global coalition of meat companies, academics, environmental and human rights activists called The Coalition for Global Protein.

The new coalition is scheduled to meet at the World Economic Forum in Davos to set sustainability commitments and they can all cooperate together to measure progress.

Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands Inc CAG said it expects 100% of its current plastic packaging to be renewable, recyclable, or compostable within five years. The new goal expects to eliminate 33 million pounds of plastic and will be achieved through new packaging innovation and further development of plant-based packaging options.

"As a food company, packaging is an integral part of our product. That's why we are committed to making packaging decisions with the environment in mind," said Corey Berends, senior vice president, Research & Development for Conagra Brands.

"We've set an ambitious goal and we look forward to working with our suppliers and others in the industry to identify innovative solutions that maintains food safety and freshness while also reducing our packaging footprint."

Wendy's

Wendy's Co WEN highlighted in a Wednesday press release several key initiatives, including a new Animal Care Standards Program to assess beef, pork, chicken, and eggs which will launch in 2020; a successful transition to 100% hydroponic, vine-ripened tomatoes across North American restaurants; and a deeper commitment to fresh menu options as part of a "Fast Food Done Right" vision.

"At Wendy's®, we believe that doing the right thing is the only way to do business," said Todd Penegor, President and CEO of Wendy's.

"Being a responsible corporate citizen is a priority for our brand, and Good Done Right is our way to communicate how we're advancing various commitments to make a positive impact in the areas of food, people and our environmental footprint."

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