The progress McCain Foods is making towards its sustainability commitments was spotlighted on January 24 with the release of its annual Global Sustainability Report, which includes results from the past fiscal year.
With a goal of implementing regenerative agriculture practices by the end of the decade across 100 per cent of the global acreage that grows potatoes for transition into McCain products, the Florenceville, New Brunswick, Canada-headquartered company was pleased to announce that it is well on its way to reaching this milestone. Fifty-one percent of McCain’s global potato acreage has already be onboard within the Regenerative Agriculture Framework, and 28% is moving up the framework towards more comprehensive adoption of regenerative practices.
“As one of the most vulnerable sectors impacted by climate change, the food system is among the most important levers to help drive a sustainable and resilient future,” said Max Koeune, president and chief executive officer of McCain Foods. “That is why sustainability is at the heart of our purpose as a business. We are making strides towards our goals in key areas that will ensure we have resource efficient operations, are farming in a smart and sustainable way and are contributing to building thriving communities in the areas that we operate, all while we continue to produce good food.”
The company is accelerating the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices through its direct relationships with farmers— a network of 3,500 partners around the world — by providing technical and educational assistance and developing innovative financing solutions to offset costs associated with making changes in farming practices and adopting new technologies.
As part of the 2023 Sustainability Report, McCain details a typical year in the regenerative agriculture cycle at Farm of the Future Canada. This deep dive brings the regenerative transition to life and parallels learnings with those in the Southern hemisphere at Farm of the Future Africa.
By trialing, testing, and learning from the outcomes of implementing regenerative agriculture practices, McCain has supported farmers to become more resilient and competitive for the long term. This continued focus on innovation in agriculture reinforces the company’s role as a global innovator in food production.
In the 2023 Global Sustainability Report, McCain highlights the following results across four key pillars, underscoring its ongoing commitment of prioritizing sustainability across its global operations:
Smart and Sustainable Farming
In addition to progressing on commitments towards regenerative agriculture, the company has completed its first season at Farm of the Future Africa and third season at Farm of the Future Canada, improved water-use efficiency in water-stressed regions by 9.4%, delivered more than 23,500 hours of training to farmers and has achieved its goal to ensure 21.9% of the potatoes grown for McCain are water stress-tolerant varieties.
Resource-Efficient Operations
More than 21% of the electrical energy used by McCain was from renewable sources and absolute carbon emissions (Scope 1 and 2) reduced by 9.8% from 2017. McCain has also achieved a 16.3% improvement in water-use efficiency in priority plants. Additionally, 98.5% of McCain’s paper packaging and 87.8% of its plastic packaging are designed for recycling.
Good Food
McCain launched new global policies for clean ingredients and nutrition, while maintaining 100% Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certification at all company-owned facilities — and 96% GFSI certification of all Tier 1 ingredient supplier facilities. Sodium was reduced by 6.6% in McCain branded appetizer products, and the company has continued to remove artificial ingredients from key products.
Thriving Communities
In 2023, McCain the company provided more than 17,000 volunteer hours through the McCain Chips In initiative, reached 2,716 new beneficiaries with development programs and partnerships and donated the equivalent of 11.9 million meals.
“While we are proud of how far we have progressed towards our goals, we recognize there is more to be done,” says Koeune. “But we know this is not something we can do alone. Partnership and knowledge are crucial to move forward. We will continue to look to stakeholders – from our farmers, to government, to financial institutions, NGOs, suppliers, customers and other players in the food system – to collaborate on this journey towards planet-friendly food.”
About McCain Foods
Founded in 1957, McCain Foods Limited ranks among the world’s largest manufacturers of frozen potato products and is a global leader in the prepared appetizers and snacks sectors. Its products can be found in restaurants and retail stores in more than 160 countries. The family-owned company has major production, retail and corporate operations around the globe, employs approximately 22,000 people, operates 51 production facilities on six continents, partners with 3,500 farmers and generates annual sales in excess of $14 billion CAD.
