By CONNIE SWAIM

Managing Editor

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. — The Greenleaf plant currently under construction in Shelbyville is going to be green in more than name only. Its parent company, Maple Leaf Foods Inc., announced last week it is the first major food company in the world to become carbon neutral.

"There is simply no more time to waste. The devastating impact of climate change on our planet must be confronted head-on by business leaders with decisive and immediate action," said Michael McCain, Maple Leaf Foods President and CEO. "The global food system must change dramatically if we are to sustainably feed the world's growing population. We recognize that producing nutrient-dense foods takes vital planetary resources, and we are staking our future on being carbon neutral today, and every day going forward."

As one of the leading North American producers of meat and plant proteins, Maple Leaf's path to carbon neutrality is predicated on aggressively reducing emissions by meeting science based targets, which align global greenhouse gas emission reductions with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In doing so, the firm becomes one of just three animal protein companies in the world to set science based targets, approved by the international Science Based Target Initiative.

The 230,000 square foot Greenleaf plant in Shelbyville is currently under construction. It is predicted the new plant will create up to 460 jobs by the end of 2022. Greenleaf makes the foods under brands including Lightlife Foods and Field Roast Grain Meat Co.

During a press conference announcing the carbon neutral initiative, McCain said the fact the Shelbyville plant is under construction makes some things easier. “It will certainly affect our equipment choices,” he said.

Carbon neutral describes the state of an entity (such as a company, service, product or event), where the carbon emissions caused by them have been balanced out by funding an equivalent amount of carbon savings elsewhere in the world.

According to Science Based Targets website, a company’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered “science-based” if they are in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement—to limit global warming to well-below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.

“The Science Based Targets initiative champions science-based target setting as a powerful way of boosting companies’ competitive advantage in the transition to the low-carbon economy. It is a collaboration between CDP, World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). It is one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments,” The website said.

Maple Leaf’s goal is to reduce its environmental footprint by 50 percent by 2025 — an aggressive environmental target in the industry. Since 2015, the company said it has reduced over 86 million kilowatt hours of electricity – equal to 12,912 passenger vehicles driven for one year -- and over 4.3 million m3 of natural gas, which equals annual energy usage for 1,000 homes. Through its water conservation efforts, Maple Leaf has reduced water usage by over 1.2 billion liters. By committing to setting science based targets, Maple Leaf said it will work even more aggressively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its operations and more broadly within its supply chain.

As part of becoming carbon neutral, the company is also investing in high-impact environmental projects throughout Canada and the United States to address its remaining carbon footprint, bringing it to zero. These projects support wind energy, recovering methane gas from landfills, composting and biomass programs to reduce methane emissions, and forest protection and re-forestry to conserve species and biodiversity.

During the press conference McCain said the firm’s goals will affect their suppliers. One of the goals is to reduce the emissions of their suppliers by 30 percent. “We are asking them to participate in joining us,” he said.

Besides wanting to do what the firm feels is better for the planet, McCain said another reason for the initiative is consumers are changing. They are more interested in the environmental impact of the products they u se and consume. Younger consumers he said are especially looking at a firm’s carbon footprint in making buying choices.