The Pilgrim’s Europe Prepared Foods business was awarded the RoSPA Gold Award for health and safety performance for the period from January 01, 2023, to December 31, 2023. The ultimate symbol of achievement in safety and excellence, the internationally renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards recognize organizations, teams, and projects across all sectors for their unwavering commitment to protecting lives - setting the benchmark for prestige and inspiring sector-wide admiration. By earning a RoSPA Award, organizations not only receive recognition for their accomplishments but also become part of a legacy that values dedication to high safety standards, the well-being of individuals, and signifies a commitment to excellence.

In 2023, Pilgrim’s Mexico replaced styrofoam trays with PET trays for its Just Bare product line. PET is the most recyclable material in the world and can be recycled indefinitely while maintaining all its characteristics.

Each year, numerous capital projects and procedural improvements are installed to reduce and/or reuse water at JBS facilities. In the United States for example, our Pilgrim’s chicken processing facility in Sumter, South Carolina, reduced water consumption by more than 10% from 2022 to 2023. Sumter’s primary reduction project focused on reusing partially treated wastewater in non-edible areas within the site. Alternatively, our Cold Spring, Minnesota, facility reduced year-over-year water usage by nearly 5% primarily due to procedural improvements applied during sanitation. Enhanced metering and tracking of data led our Broadway, Virginia, facility to better communicate reduction opportunities, leading to a noteworthy decrease in its water use. Perhaps the largest water reduction impact project took place at our Mayfield, Kentucky, facility. In 2023, the plant upgraded its open-vessel scalder (a warm water basin used in production facility) to a closed-vessel. This and other water reduction actions resulted in nearly a 1 gallon per bird water reduction due to technological advancements. However, significant co-benefits were also realized, such as lowering radiant heat loss into the immediate area, improving working conditions for team members, reducing fossil fuel usage that would be required to maintain water temperature, and mitigating the resulting GHG emissions.

The incubation department of Pilgrim’s Mexico’s center chicken complex consists of six hatcheries that have a cumulative loading capacity of 5,798,880 fertile eggs per week. In 2016, the business developed a plan to reduce liquefied petroleum (LP) gas consumed for heating, while still maintaining temperature needs across different rooms and areas of the hatcheries. Over the years, Pilgrim’s Mexico implemented several energy efficiency strategies that managed to reduce LP gas consumption from 507,587 liters to 207,962 liters from 2016 to 2023, a reduction of almost 60%.

Pilgrim's U.S. partnered with local utility providers and third-party energy consultants to identify energy savings opportunities, audit routine operations, and implement best practices for reducing energy consumption across multiple facilities. Plants received on-site assistance and as a result realized reductions across a range of interventions – from daily low-cost behaviors to capital-funded heat recovery projects. Today, they continue to engage in other energy saving initiatives. Many projects were also implemented in 2023 based on previous 2022 consultant findings, and we are working to monitor and quantify the resulting reductions. At Pilgrim's, continual reductions through multiple smaller-scale projects are as important as a one-time implementation of a large project.

In May 2023, a full-service food safety and food plant sanitation company was formed to provide in-house sanitation services for Pilgrim’s facilities. In light of the troubling revelations that occurred in the food sanitation sector related to child labor among subcontractors in meatpacking plants, Pilgrim's made the decision to create a company that can provide the highest levels of food safety and quality assurance in its facilities, while also adopting the same high standards for compliance and employment verification that Pilgrim's adheres to in the hiring of its own workforce. To date, Pilgrim’s U.S. has transitioned 63% of facility sanitation contracts from third-party providers to internal sanitation teams.

At Pilgrim’s Mexico, day-old chicks are transported from hatcheries to broiler farms on trucks equipped with temperature monitoring systems. This allows drivers to monitor and ensure chick comfort throughout transit. Additional monitoring mechanisms were implemented in 2023 via DATALOGERs, which record truck temperatures in real-time throughout the entire journey, confirming correct comfort levels for the chicks daily.

In 2023, our Pilgrim’s Europe beef patty production facility, Beef Orléans, celebrated the 20th anniversary of its cattle supplier contract program. Created in 2003 as a guaranteed outlet for farmers seeking an alternative to a volatile and uncertain cattle market, the program’s objectives remain the same today: To secure the facility’s beef supply via dedicated animals on farm To agree to a price independent of market fluctuations, guaranteeing economic efficiency and income security for all, beginning with farmer partners To ensure that farmers have an avenue and medium- / long-term vision to plan production and investment To help their suppliers meet evolving challenges and expectations related to climate, Beef Orléans developed two unique diagnosis tools CAP’2ER, an on-farm Life Cycle Assessment that helps cattle breeders understand their action levers and the positive environmental outcomes generated by their farms BoviWell, an on-farm animal performance assessment that identifies where farms can further improve In 2023, Beef Orléans contracted 30,000 cattle from 1,070 French farms, 100% of which were evaluated using these tools. Today, an additional program is being developed to support the implementation of further action on farm.

BQP, Pilgrim's Europe's in-house 100 percent higher welfare pig farming operation, marked its 40th anniversary with a celebration event at the Suffolk Food Hall in Ipswich. Established by Pilgrim's Europe Agriculture Director Andrew Saunders in 1979, the organization has evolved to become the UK's leading pig farmer and award-winning producer of higher welfare pigs, consistently winning top honors in key industry awards year on year. “Our core strategy at BQP focuses on the production of top quality, higher welfare pigs, with considerations of efficiency and CSR responsibilities at the heart of this, and safety as a condition,” Saunders said, speaking at the event. “For 40 years, we’ve worked with the best suppliers who have helped us to continue to push forward with the latest farming innovations to become the best in the industry. We are also proud to count two of the UK's major retailers, Waitrose and Co-op, as our core customers.” “We're already looking ahead to the next 40 years of BQP, including attracting a new generation of farmers and enhancing our green credentials. Sustainable farming will remain a key priority as we strive to set new benchmarks in industry practices. As well as exploring solutions to reduce and minimize our impact on the environment, we're proactively evolving our processes to ensure we have a culture that supports our people, our animals and our planet.”

In Continental Europe and the United Kingdom, our Pilgrim's Europe team saw an 8% reduction in energy intensity between 2021 and 2022. Overall energy consumption was reduced due to the business’ utility saving teams at the facility level leading reduction projects, action plans outlining targeted opportunities, and behavioral changes in team members. Energy-related key performance indicators (KPIs) were also closely evaluated through regular performance reviews, and improved metering system deployment and analysis were advanced. Finally, sharing utility reduction activities and improvements between facilities was also found to be effective.

Pilgrim's Europe's efforts to protect nature and biodiversity have been recognized with ‘Platinum’ level accreditation in an independent Business & Biodiversity Charter, delivered by Business in the Community Northern Ireland (BITCNI) in partnership with Ulster Wildlife. The Charter recognizes organizations that are committed to enhancing and protecting biodiversity and have taken action to address their impact on all living things, from ecosystems to individual organisms. The top rank was conferred on Pilgrim's Europe in recognition of its focus on protecting and enhancing the environment through a range of nature-focused initiatives including schools’ outreach and community engagement, along with strategic partnerships and investments to enhance biodiversity at its sites across Northern Ireland.

Our Pilgrim’s Europe businesses continued to maintain their commitments to send zero waste to landfill across all facilities in 2022. Pilgrim's Europe also began using 100% recyclable rigid packaging this year in line with their “Remove, Reduce, Recycle and Research” strategy. All other packaging will be widely recyclable by 2025.

In the U.K. and Europe, Pilgrim’s Pilgrim's Europe has been working with Professor Niamh O’Connell at Queens University Belfast (QUB) to further understand the lived experiences of birds and automate measures of bird behavior. In 2022 the QUB team was awarded $1 million from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research ‘SMART Broiler’ competition in conjunction with McDonald’s. Pilgrim's Europe was the industrial partner and supported the project, with the key aim to develop camera-based technology to provide automated behavior and additional management insights - called FlockFocus. The initial outcomes from the project have shown that the birds can be identified and that gait scores and play behavior can be automatically captured within the field of vision of the camera. One of the biggest challenges in this field of research is to understand the experience of the individual. Over the last 10 years we have been exploring how to track individual birds. In May 2023 in partnership with Pilgrim's Europe, the first paper of its kind was published entitled ‘large variation in the movement of individual broiler chickens tracked in a commercial house using ultra-wideband backpacks’. This provides fascinating insight on the level of individual variation that exists within flocks and for the first time documents the activity levels up until depletion. The findings open up a plethora of opportunities to better understand how to design environments to enhance bird welfare and performance.

In Northern Ireland, Pilgrim's Europe kickstarted a biodiversity project by planting 350 trees on the grounds of its facility in Ballymena. Pilgrim's Europe team members planted the trees in April 2022 with the help of eager students from Slemish College and Straid Nurseries, who provided the trees and equipment. Pilgrim's Europe has been working with the school, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, and the Woodland Trust to enhance biodiversity around the Pilgrim's Europe site, maintain a more diverse ecosystem in the local area, and offset carbon emissions. Future activities planned as part of the biodiversity project at Ballymena include establishing habitats for pollinators, growing wildflower meadows, and installing bird boxes around the area.

Pilgrim’s Europe has unveiled a state-of-the-art poultry farm on its pathway to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2040. Located in Lincolnshire, U.K., Beech Farm was built from the ground up with sustainability in mind to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 100%, effectively taking the farm ‘off grid’ when all systems operate at capacity. Everything from the design and layout of the farm building to how it captures and recycles rainwater reflects Pilgrim's Europe’s mantra of ‘reduce, reuse, renewable.’ Technologies utilized on the farm to reach net-zero emissions include ground source heat pumps to generate heating, heat exchanger systems to reduce overall heat usage, and solar technology capable of generating 1MW of electricity, which work in tandem with lithium battery storage. The facility also practices the latest biosecurity measures to help ensure safety and welfare standards for its birds. Through these innovations, Pilgrim's Europe has created a 100% reduction in energy-related GHG emissions at Beech Farm, representing 900 metric tons of CO2e savings a year. With more than 700 farming partners across the U.K., Pilgrim's Europe plans to use Beech Farm as a demonstration farm to share knowledge and technical assistance with its network of poultry producers. The project’s potential to be a game-changer for the industry is also particularly exciting when taken in partnership with Pilgrim's Europe's other scope 3 initiatives, such as its ‘Farm Carbon Calculator’ that will monitor and track GHG emissions in real time at individual farm level, across its entire farming base.

In the United Kingdom, our Pilgrim’s Europe businesses continued to use 100% renewable electricity in 2022. Looking ahead, Pilgrim's Europe is set to invest over £10 million across 2022 and 2023 to support the roll-out of a series of process innovations and operational improvements. To determine the best reduction projects to invest in, the business has undertaken a net zero investment roadmap exercise. Upgrades include switching out equipment with more energy-efficient alternatives, such as replacing gas boilers with heat pumps and optimizing refrigeration systems. The business also already has local solar projects at many of its sites and is now expanding these to the remainder of its operations across the country – all of which will help to reduce carbon emissions by 11,000 metric tons annually.

Pilgrim's Europe secured a new long-term agreement with Aldi to supply fresh pork products from its Kings Lynn facility. The agreement will run until 2025 and cover a range of fresh packaged hams for Aldi, including wafer thin honey roast ham, cooked ham slices, premium thick cut oak smoked and honey roast ham products. Kings Lynn is a cooked meat center of excellence for Pilgrim's Europe and was the ideal facility for Aldi to utilize for its popular fresh ham range. An additional 30 jobs have been created following the agreement, with the site also conducting several training sessions for current staff to ensure they are ready to begin production. There is also an opportunity for further recruitment when volumes increase in 2021. “This is fantastic news for the site and for the local area, securing our future for years to come,” said Andy Shepherdson, Site Director at Pilgrim's Europe Kings Lynn. “We have an enthusiastic and hard-working team here at Kings Lynn and as volumes increase in the next few months, there will be further recruitment opportunities to come. We’ll be creating a delicious range of products, and I know our colleagues will be very proud to see them stocked on Aldi’s shelves when they next visit."

Pilgrim's Europe has contributed over 300,000 meals to FareShare, the U.K.'s largest food redistribution charity. FareShare aims to tackle hunger by redistributing surplus food to charities that then turn it into meals. Pilgrim's Europe joined forces with FareShare in March 2015 and has provided over 130 tonnes of fresh surplus chicken to be distributed across FareShare's network of Regional Centres, reaching homeless hostels, breakfast and lunch clubs, domestic violence refuges and community cafés across the U.K. Pilgrim's Europe is proud to be involved in such a worthwhile initiative with FareShare. By working together, companies across the supply chain can make a difference to those in need and put surplus products to the best use possible.

Pilgrim's Europe is in the third year of its primary charity partnership with Mind, a mental health charity. Mind believes that no one should have to face a mental health problem alone; everybody who works at Pilgrim's Europe is part of our family. Sometimes family members are affected by mental health issues that have a devastating impact on their lives. It is then up to the whole family to take action by offering meaningful support. We're keen to continue to work with Mind to enhance our understanding of mental health issues and to ensure that our business is properly equipped to offer the necessary support when our employees need it most as such we have extended our partnership with them for a further two years.

Thirty-eight of the UK's largest organizations involved in the production and sale of meat, including Pilgrim's Europe, announced goals to halve the amount of meat that goes to waste each year in the UK, which will help the UK achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under new collective action. All major grocery retailers, together with meat processors representing 80 percent of UK production, and hospitality and foodservice companies, have signed up for Meat in a Net Zero world – developed under Courtauld Commitment 2025 and facilitated by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). WRAP estimates that each year, around 380,000 metric tons of the meat intended for consumption goes uneaten, with the GHG emissions associated with this uneaten meat measuring more than 4 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents. Much of this meat is discarded in the home, but there are important actions to take at all points across the supply chain. A dedicated Meat Sector Working Group was convened by WRAP under Courtauld 2025 that brought together key stakeholders to identify the areas of biggest impact, and opportunities to overcome barriers and avoid just moving problems along the supply chain. Meat in a Net Zero world aims to prevent more than 150,000 metric tons of meat from ending up as waste each year, worth £1.5 billion, and make an important contribution to the UK's target to bring all GHG emissions to net zero by 2050.

Pilgrim's Europe is a signatory of the UK Plastic Pact, which brings together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain with U.K. governments and NGOs to tackle the scourge of plastic waste. Members agree to the following joint targets: Target 1 - Eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative (re-use) delivery models; Target 2 - 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable; Target 3 - 70% of plastic packaging effectively recycled or composted; Target 4 - 30% average recycled content across all plastic packaging; and All targets to be achieved by 2025. The business continued to make good progress against these targets in 2022, resulting in a reduction of more than 120 MT of plastic packaging while increasing recyclability. Examples of projects delivered include: Across our Richmond fresh pork sausages, we reduced the thickness of the plastic layer and reduced the bag sizes, resulting in a reduction of 36.1 MT. We moved our Richmond frozen sausages from a mixed laminate to mono laminate and reduced bag size, resulting in a reduction of 49 MT and increasing the recyclability of our packaging. Across our chilled ready meals, we introduced a pulp tray for one of our customers, removing 205 MT of virgin plastic annually. For another customer, we moved from 2 x virgin plastic PP trays to a single A-pet clam shell designed with recycled plastic, reducing 20 MT of plastic waste. At our Carrickmacross site, we have removed another 17 MT of plastic by removing all plastic tape from site.

Pilgrim's Europe has donated more than £60,000 to 15 community organizations across the UK for projects aimed at supporting and enriching the lives of those in need. These awards mark the first tranche of groups to benefit from the £1 million fund Pilgrim's Europe established to support community groups local to its operations across Europe. One group to benefit from the Pilgrim's Europe Community Support Fund in Northern Ireland is the Blackwater Community Barge organization in Dungannon, which helps make the Blackwater River accessible to those who are disabled and less abled. The group aims to support wellbeing and boost mental health, focusing on the calming elements of water, and teach about nature and the local landscape. Brian MacAuley, Secretary from the Blackwater Community Barge said, “With support from Pilgrim's Europe and through fundraising activity, we will be able to purchase a new purpose-built wheelchair accessible boat. With this, we can reach even more members of the community who may not have been able to enjoy riverside and water activities previously and will benefit from seeing the local area in a new way. “While we have not been able to take users out over the lockdown period, the Blackwater Community Barge group has been busy carrying out conservation work on the river, getting it ready for when the barge arrives. We are incredibly grateful to have secured funding from Moy Park's Community Support Fund and look forward to supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of those in our community further through this project.” Another group to benefit from the Pilgrim's Europe Community Support Fund in England is emergency response charity, LIVES in Grantham. Pilgrim's Europe donated £12,850 for a defibrillator replacement program. A LIVES responder carries their own defibrillator, so that they are ready for any medical emergency they are called to, and when minutes matter in a cardiac arrest, the LIVES responder and their defibrillators make a difference. Zoe Dean, Community Partnerships Manager at LIVES said, “We are thrilled to have been awarded support from the Pilgrim's Europe Community Support Fund. The defibrillator replacement program is a costly task, but the benefits will be extensive. The new defibrillators will allow the data recorded to be uploaded to the patient's records and will allow the hospitals to make a more informed decision on patient care. The new equipment will also allow us to evaluate our CPR activity and drive future training. This project will fund 10 defibrillators in the Grantham area and we are extremely excited to be working with Pilgrim's Europe on this project."

Pilgrim's Europe established a £1 million Community Support Fund aimed at supporting and enriching the lives of those in need across its local communities. This new initiative builds on Pilgrim's Europe's range of existing and long-established community measures, including charity and educational programs. Pilgrim's Europe's HR and Performance Director, Kirsty Wilkins said, “The food industry plays a vital role, keeping our supermarket shelves stocked and we are thankful to our local towns, villages and team members who are part of this important effort. Pilgrim's Europe is a people focused organization, and we invest heavily in development opportunities for our colleagues in the workplace. This new community initiative is a natural extension of this approach and we look forward to receiving applications from local groups.”

Pilgrim's Europe was awarded the RoSPA Gold Award for Health and Safety for the 8th year in a row, and the Gold Award for Fleet Safety for the 7th consecutive time. The RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Awards scheme is the longest-running of its kind in the UK, and receives entries from organizations across the globe, making it one of the most sought-after achievement awards for health and safety worldwide. Organizations receiving a RoSPA Award are recognized as being world-leaders in health and safety practice. Every year, nearly 2,000 entrants vie to achieve the highest possible accolade in what is the UK’s longest-running H&S industry awards. When conferring our award, Julia Small, RoSPA's Achievements Director, said: “This is a fantastic and well-deserved accomplishment. All our award entrants demonstrate their unwavering commitment and passion for keeping people safe at work. By receiving this recognition Pilgrim's Europe represents the very best in their approach to Health and Safety. I would like to add my personal thanks for all the work that it has taken to secure this well-deserved award – congratulations to all those involved, who champion and drive up Health and Safety standards every day. You are a fantastic example to others in your sector.”

As a crucial element in our journey to Zero Harm, our continued focus on Behavioral Safety has been key and critical in improving standards and reducing workplace lost time accidents. Building on our work to date, Pilgrim's Europe has now partnered with renowned Behavioral Science subject matter experts to develop an IOSH Certified blended-learning, online course ‘Behavioral Science for Leadership in Safety’. Launched in December 2021, the program will provide a series of Workshops and ‘Live On-Line Sessions' to Pilgrim's Europe team members, complemented by four Self-Study units and an accreditation assessment.

In 2022, Pilgrim's Europe won the RoSPA Food and Drink Health and Safety Award. The RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) Awards scheme is the longest running of its kind in the U.K., and receives entries from organizations across the globe, making it one of the most sought-after achievement awards for health and safety worldwide. Organizations receiving a RoSPA Award are recognized as being world-leaders in health and safety practice.

Pilgrim's Europe has awarded £4,800 to local charity Stand To – Supporting Mental Health to fund CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training for 200 young adults in the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon area. The funding has been provided by Pilgrim's Europe's Community Support Fund – a £1million fund through which the company supports good causes in the communities local to its sites across the UK. Established in Rathfriland, Stand To – Supporting Mental Health is a community group helping people, young and old, who are suffering from mental health and well-being issues. Made up of volunteers from all walks of life, across Northern Ireland, the charity provides tailored workshops that bring people together to learn new skills as well as talk about their problems. With Pilgrim's Europe's support, the latest series of workshops will see 200 young people learn vital lifesaving skills. Speaking after a recent training workshop at New-Bridge Integrated College, Loughbrickland, Stand To's David Topping said: “We are delighted to be a recipient of Pilgrim's Europe's Community Support Fund. This project will see 200 young adults aged 16-25 throughout the local area receive accredited training in AED and CPR. We have seen incidents over the past number of months where defibrillators and CPR have saved lives locally. These basic life saving skills can be used in any serious incident where a person has stopped breathing and medical help is on its way. It could mean the difference between life and death for someone and we are grateful to have the opportunity to deliver this vital training.”

At Pilgrim’s Europe, a key part of our hygiene programs is a strong focus on how we design equipment to further mitigate microbiological and pathogen risks. To that end, the company has undertaken a hygienic review of its manufacturing equipment to ensure that it is identifying and eliminating areas of the facility or equipment that may be more challenging to access. Hygienic design principles have been applied, which includes a review of the equipment surfaces, ease and accessibility of cleaning, ease of draining and drying equipment, and enhanced cleaning practices.

Pilgrim's Europe helped launch a new Farm Africa strategy, which will support the charity's goals through 2025. Farm Africa’s mission is to support sustainable and gainful farming to benefit the planet and people. The new launched strategy is based on three key pillars: Farm Africa will support one million smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists per year to increase their productivity, household incomes and resilience to shocks. Farm Africa will support at least 200 farmer groups, cooperatives and small and growing businesses to grow sustainably and support 12 private sector partners to transition to sustainable supply chains. Farm Africa will implement integrated landscape management projects in all countries of operation, supporting the sustainable management of 12 priority landscapes, including forests, rangelands and coastal ecosystems. “This is a huge step in the right direction, and I am excited to see what the future holds,” said Rachel Baldwin, vice president of human resources. “Farm Africa is helping tackle and support climate change, gender equality, youth employment, resilience and Agri tech – all of which is helping create a better future for farmers in Africa. But all of this is backed up by a solid strategy and plan, which justifies what is being done and how. Pilgrim's Europe is a proud supporter of Farm Africa, and I look forward to sharing with you all further updates and progress in the near future.” Funds for Farm Africa are raised through membership fees and ambitious fundraising challenges. To learn more about Farm Africa and the new strategic plan, click here.

The Greggs Foundation reaps what it sows thanks to Pilgrim's Europe's support, providing four schools with innovative "growing towers, " which allow students to plant and harvest a range of vegetables and fruits right in their classroom. The towers, which pump filtered water through a central base to sustain up to 20 different vegetables and fruits, provide students the resources to grow crops year-round and serve as invaluable hands-on learning tools. "We all know how important our support of the Foundation is in allowing children to enjoy a hearty breakfast before school, but our work does not stop there. Four schools, which are close to our sites, also benefited from our donation of several growing towers, " said Rebecca Hinton, Pilgrim's Europe Commercial Manager, who also works closely with Greggs and the Greggs Foundation. Our continued aim is to provide education around food and what is required to grow, look after and harvest food that we all sometimes take for granted. " Students are responsible for building the tower, choosing and planting the vegetables and fruits and maintaining the system. This includes pruning, checking water levels, filling the tank and harvesting the crops. It goes without saying, we value the importance of a balanced and sustainable diet, and it is important to get this message across to the next generation. This new initiative takes our support to the next level, helping educate children around food and sustainability, Hinton said. It is heart-warming to receive feedback and pictures from the schools that show the impact we are having.

Richard Mellor, a BQP pig farmer, has been awarded Pig Farmer of the Year 2021 during the Farmers Weekly Awards, which recognizes hard-working and innovative farmers across the U. K. BQP, a Pilgrim's Europe subsidiary and the U.K.'s leading pig farming operation, represented two out of three finalists, also including Ryan Dyer of Hall Farm, Norfolk. Pig Farmer of the Year is a highly competitive category, requiring pig producers to meet top standards, such as high levels of output, top technical performance, commitment to staff management and a drive to improve production and welfare. We are all very happy for Richard, who adds an extra award to his growing list of achievements. To have a BQP farmer recognized as Pig Farmer of the Year proves how well the model is working and what can be achieved by this unique partnership, said Andrew Saunders, Pilgrim's Europe Pork Agriculture Director. Since taking on the 346-acre county council Grange Farm seven years ago, Mellor has made great strides to improve production and make the business as self-sufficient as possible. The farm houses a 990-sow outdoor breeding unit on a two-week batch production system, with weaned piglets transferred at five weeks old into the BQP Pilgrim's supply chain. I am thrilled that Richard has won. His attitude and willingness are why we see him as the benchmark of success within the BQP family, said Simon Barber, BQP Breeding Farms Fields Person. He is always eager to try new ideas and has amazing attention to detail. But even better is his willingness to share best practice and open his farm to visitors so they can see and understand his success the very reason he is consistently one of BQPs highest performing farms over the past four years. I also want to congratulate Ryan as a finalist, thank the BQP team who work closely with our farmers like Richard and many more. Thanks to this award and others, we can shine a light on our BQP partnership, Saunders added. These awards are also a way of encouraging others, who are thinking of joining the BQP family, to see what can be achieved through our support and guidance.

A Coleraine-based basketball club has been awarded funding by Pilgrim's Europe as part of its ongoing Community Support Fund initiative. The Causeway Giants Wheelchair Basketball Club is benefitting from a total of £2,000 from Pilgrim's Europe's Community Support Fund. The funds will be used to help with the cost of training facilities, as well as the purchase of additional materials and equipment to ensure the team members' wheelchairs are safe and operational whilst training and competing. The club, which has been operating for over four years received the funding as part of the £1 million Community Support Fund established by Pilgrim's Europe in 2020 to support organizations local to its operations across Europe. Speaking about the support, Richard McVicker, Treasurer and Welfare Officer at Causeway Giants Basketball Club: "We are so appreciative and grateful to receive this funding from Pilgrim's Europe. The generous grant will help us cover the cost of ongoing training facilities as well as funding additional parts for our players wheelchairs and will help for the overall running of the club, helping those with disabilities get involved and take part in a sport they enjoy."

Pilgrim's Europe is bringing home more hardware after winning "Net Zero Strategy of the Year" at the 11th annual BusinessGreen Leaders Awards. Pilgrim's Europe Pork's 2030 Sustainability Strategy was recognized as the key pillar behind the award. According to the judges' panel, Pilgrim's Europe Pork "won over the judges thanks to a comprehensive, ambitious, independently validated strategy that wrestles with some of the most complex decarbonization challenges facing the agricultural sector." "I am extremely proud of this award which pays credit to the difference we at Pilgrim's UK are making. Our sustainability goals are guided by our vision to become the best and most respected company in our industry, creating the opportunity of a better future for our team members and communities," said Matt Dight, Pilgrim's Europe Pork Head of Sustainability. "This award validates that we're on the right path towards achieving our vision - now we need to keep pushing forward with our journey. "Sustainability increasingly guides everything we do at Pilgrim's Europe. It combines our vision, focus and targets as we take on the big challenges of our time around climate," added Dight. "And that's why this award belongs to us all. I want to thank everyone across the business who has helped make a difference and supported the development of our strategy." For a full list of the winners and learn more about the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards, click here.

GroceryAid has recognized the continued hard work and support of Pilgrim's Europe over the last year by once again awarding the business its coveted Gold award. The business previously achieved Gold status and thanks to the efforts and dedication of the team, the charity awarded Pilgrim's Europe its highest possible honor for another year. The Gold award is given to organizations that have carried out more than eight activities across all three of their pillars in support of the charity and its goals. The pillars include awareness, fundraising and volunteering. "We are enormously proud of our work and contribution to GroceryAid. This year has been very challenging for the industry and our colleagues, but GroceryAid has offered a vital lifeline for many people across our sector - supporting those most in need," said Rachel Baldwin, Pilgrim's Europe Human Resources. "As a responsible business, we support our colleagues in many different ways. We often signpost and forward team members to GroceryAid, which offers a whole host of support options - something we and the sector are very grateful for." In the last year alone, Pilgrim's Europe supported events and promoted internal and external activities. In addition, the business is an active member of the GroceryAid committee - contributing with expert advice and strategic support. "We look forward to supporting GroceryAid in 2021 and are grateful for their continued hard work and dedication," Baldwin said. "I would also like to thank the team at GroceryAid for once again recognizing our efforts with this award. Please remember, GroceryAid do not just offer financial support, but also offers legal support, emotional guidance and so much more." Visit the GroceryAid Website to learn more.

A local community group based in Ballymena has been awarded funding by Pilgrim's Europe. Love, Hope and Faith is a registered charity established for the relief of those in need through a framework of active support and encouragement for children with long term conditions such as Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. The group was awarded the funding through Pilgrim's Europe's Community Support Fund which was established in 2020 to support organisations local to its operations across Europe. With the funds, the charity purchased sensory equipment for children and families living with long term conditions. Darren McGinty, Chairperson of Love, Hope and Faith, commented: "We are grateful to Pilgrim's Europe for their donation, it allowed us to carry out sensory sessions which were really successful. The funds further supported six families across Northern Ireland with various pieces of equipment that they can use at home to make their lives that little bit easier."

We are proud to share a copy of the recently released Role Models in Consumer Goods and Grocery report which features Rachel Baldwin and Rachel Griffiths. The report includes conversations with industry leaders, driving change or inspiring progress on diversity and inclusion. These role models were nominated and selected because of their inspiring leadership, their wider contribution to the sector, their success as a mentor or impact on society. The MBS Group produced the report in partnership with IGD. MBS identified over 70 role models from the consumer goods and grocery sector, with the view to demonstrate the breadth and depth of inspiring talent in the sector. Rachel Baldwin added: "We all face challenges in our careers, but it's important to understand and learn how we overcome barriers and strive forward. MBS has given us the chance to explain our backgrounds and how we have made it to where we are today. This publication is more than just showing examples of success, but learning from individuals across diverse backgrounds." The conversations included in the report will not only inspire us all to dial-up our focus, but also encourage the next generation of talent to enter this exciting and inclusive sector. Rachel Griffiths explained: "Thanks to this publican we can see how inclusive our sector is and recognize those that have smashed glass ceilings across the Grocery and Consumer Goods industries. It is inspiring to read about people's journeys and fantastic to see so many friends and colleagues acknowledged for their hard work in getting to where they are today. Having inspirational leaders and celebrating diversity makes our industry attractive. I want to thank IGD and MBS for helping spread this message." To read the report click here: https://www.thembsgroup.co.uk/internal/role-models-in-consumer-goods-and-grocery/ 

Each year, Pilgrim’s Mexico hosts annual workshop meetings with current and potential suppliers of strategic sourcing categories to review current business, the probability of new provisions, and the development of new projects at Pilgrim’s. Topics of high relevance for both parties are shared, such as sustainability. During these meetings, several projects are defined in which different Pilgrim’s departments and Pilgrim’s suppliers become aligned to the goals of the business, including the company’s Net Zero by 2040 pledge. Activities discussed in the 2022 workshops include the procurement of low-cost, responsibly produced soybeans for the business’ Del Día brand, the implementation of new facilities near Pilgrim’s processing plants to supply ingredients, and upcoming changes in packaging needs. In addition, the global Pilgrim’s leadership attended one of the meetings in 2022, and as a result, one of the attending Mexican suppliers is now supplying the company globally.

The Global FSQA (food safety and quality assurance) team held their second annual meeting in Cambridge, U.K., to share best practices, innovations, and technologies - while empowering FSQA leaders through education, collaboration, and team building. In accordance with this year's tagline - One Team, One Purpose - attendees represented seven countries, encompassing all proteins (beef, poultry, pork, and prepared foods). Speakers presented on food safety culture, robotics, artificial intelligence, and animal welfare. The highlights of this year's meeting included: Building strong relationships among FSQA leaders; Collaborating and learning about KPIs to set global ESG goals; Fostering new learnings while stimulating the exchange of ideas through tours of production facilities; Educating on best-in-class technologies; Learning from external presenters, triggering an exchange of experiences on the food safety culture, animal welfare, and innovation concepts; and Returning home with key takeaways to be applied in their operations.

Team members at Dalehead Foods – Linton donated rubber boots to Nigerian farmers to work more safely and efficiently, especially in the wetter months. “As a large local employer we go through a great deal of footwear which is mandatory, but after a eureka moment I thought maybe others could make good use of them,” said Rajesh Ramkhelawan, Dalehead SHE Manager. “That's when I got in touch with Crossroads Global Village, a charity that supports development projects around the world. They got in touch with an NGO in Nigeria, Guidance Community Development Foundation, which is more than happy to have the boots sent to them. “These are the kind of projects we should be highlighting and looking for when we think of sustainability and social responsibility,” said Matt Dight, Head of CSR. “This is more than about making good use of products we no longer need, it's about supporting developing communities, reducing waste and helping those less fortunate. Hopefully this will inspire other sites to start thinking of new and different ways they can support our CSR aims. A huge well-done to the Dalehead Linton team for spearheading this idea, and especially Rajesh for managing it.”

Pilgrim's Moy Park is a market leader in a number of added value categories in the U.K, including Primary Added Value (36.4 percent share), Fresh Coated (49.4 percent share) and Ready To Eat (36.9 percent share). Pilgrim's Moy Park has driven its market-leading positions within these categories by developing capacity, expertise and the latest production technology. The team has a strong reputation for technical excellence complemented with strong customer relationships, which has enabled the business to continue to develop in these and other categories. For example, recent innovation in cook-in-the-bag and packaging technology and additional product launches in the growing “free-from” market coupled with customer relationships have helped to keep Pilgrim's Moy Park at the forefront of these growing markets.

Each year, the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) Worker Safety Awards recognize production facilities that have achieved a high level of performance in the team member health and safety area. Four award levels may be earned based on an evaluation of the facility’s actual safety performance, as well as its implementation of an effective safety and health program as measured by a safety program questionnaire. In 2023, 73 JBS USA and Pilgrim’s facilities were awarded NAMI Safety awards based on 2022 performance – a 36% increase year over year.

The Accident Reduction Initiative is a collection of programs implemented throughout all of Pilgrim's Mexico with the objective of reaching Zero Accidents in our operations. The programs implemented as part of the initiative include: Skills Management: A training program focused on developing the skills required for team members to perform their jobs safely. Security Monitors: On-site champions who verify the correct implementation of procedures, ergonomic exercises, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and detection of unsafe acts or conditions. 5-Minutes Talks: Quick, regular discussions aimed at raising awareness among staff for the safe development of daily tasks. Onboarding: Initial training to ensure new staff are competent to carry out their activities safely from the point of orientation through the development of their skills and the formation of their values.

As a crucial element in its journey to Zero Harm, Moy Park’s continued focus on Behavioral Safety has been key and critical in improving standards and reducing workplace lost time accidents. Building on its work to date, Moy Park has now partnered with renowned Behavioral Science subject matter experts to develop an IOSH Certified blended-learning, online course ‘Behavioral Science for Leadership in Safety’. Launched in December 2021, the program continues to provide a series of Workshops and ‘Live On-Line Sessions’ to Moy Park team members, complemented by four Self-Study units and an accreditation assessment.

The Pilgrim's Moy Park Dungannon team focused on environmental and process efficiency to reduce water use and thermal energy savings. The team installed a sub-metering system that allows for continuous water use monitoring in real time for all departments in the facility. In addition, commissioning valves were put in on large water use processes to control flow, and automatic systems were installed throughout the facility to stop water use when product is not on the line. These water savings were achieved while maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare and food safety.

Pilgrim's UK's agriculture division is working in partnership with the National Farmers Union UK (NFU) to explore the impact of environmental temperature conditions on the welfare of pigs during transportation. During 2022, Pilgrim’s Pride assisted with a project led by NFU to monitor temperatures of pigs during transport. The project was created in response to a previous Welfare in Transport consultation by the U.K. Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), proposing to limit livestock journeys based upon exceeding minimum and maximum ambient temperatures. This project was completed as part of a wider industry working group, involving the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) and other processors across pigs, sheep, and cattle. Pilgrim’s UK supplied data from its onboard trailer temperature monitors, during a forecasted period of cold weather. Drivers also completed online questionnaires to confirm the number of pigs being carried, journey start and end points and timings, the ambient temperature recorded at loading and unloading, and any reported issues with welfare at loading or unloading. The information was submitted confidentially and will be presented back to industry by BMPA once they have enough data collected in both hot and cold weather.

In 2022, Pilgrim’s Food Masters implemented a new combined heat and power unit at its Carrickmacross facility. This is expected to help remove 299 MT of CO2e from the environment, a potential 4% reduction in the site's total scope 1 and 2 emissions.

In Europe, Pilgrim’s Moy Park was the first poultry company to undertake a commitment to reduce packaging and food waste in its supply chain. The initiative is part of an ambitious campaign to combat the use of plastics and packaging in its business and in the industry. The company plans to lower its global use of packaging by 5% each year, while simultaneously raising the percentage of recyclable packages by 5%. Among actions planned, Moy Park will collaborate with researchers and supply chain partners to develop sustainable packaging for its entire product portfolio and will eliminate single use plastic from its office and restaurants.

At Pilgrim’s UK, we also work with Bright Futures – a co-operative that helps survivors of modern slavery build a new life with a job that pays them a fair and decent wage. Under the Bright Future scheme, victims are offered a four-week paid work placement leading to a non-competitive interview. If both elements are successful, the candidate will be offered a permanent job within the host business. Eight survivors have already been given a chance to rebuild their lives by Pilgrim’s UK, with four still in permanent employment. It is envisaged that more people will secure placements through the program thanks to this new structure.

Through an industry-funded Ph.D. studentship, Moy Park and QUB partnered to investigate alternative strategies to hatching and managing broiler chicks and the lifetime impact of these practices on chick health, welfare, and performance. With birds reared in the Moy Park Performance House, the study evaluated a range of alternative systems including in-house hatching, several variations of in-hatcher feeding and drinking, and a wet starter feed offering upon placement, all alongside typical commercial practice as a control. Ultimately, the study found that the alternative systems did not improve bird performance and provided inconsistent and often poorer outcomes compared to commercial practices. However, out of the alternative systems evaluated, in-house hatching was observed to be the most promising. The second trial conducted as part of this thesis investigated if current industry standards for chicken house lighting during the first 7 days of life provides the optimum environment for chicks. This research question was posed based on the observation that traditionally chicks spend significant amounts of time under the mother hen, shaded from the external light. A large-scale commercial study was undertaken to evaluate three treatments, including a standard lighting program that is typical across the U.K., increased darkness duration in the first 7 days, and treatment that allowed the chicks optional access to shelter/covered area that provided darker areas for the first 7 days. This study ultimately suggested that long day lengths during early life are not essential to maintain production performance in broiler chickens. It also presented a novel approach to environmental enrichment using dark shelters, which appears to have benefits for bird leg health.

In addition to capturing the positive behaviors that our birds exhibit every day, Pilgrim’s Moy Park continues to try to find new ways to encourage new opportunities for the birds to display natural behaviors – one such behavior is ‘feed running’. Although the name can cause confusion, it is essentially when a birds picks up small novel objects such as chick paper or large pieces of straw, and runs with the object whilst other birds quite often try to ‘steal’ it. The QUB are in process of patenting an enrichment object that will stimulate this behavior, last for the duration of the crop, and break down in the litter post-depopulation.

Pilgrim’s UK, alongside its retail partners Waitrose and Co-op, conducted a human rights impact assessment (HRIA) of its integrated pork and lamb supply chains. The assessment was the first-of-its-kind for a livestock supply chain due to its scale and wide-ranging criteria. It spanned Pilgrim’s UK’s outdoor-bred pig farms and lamb farms, as well as the business’ processing and abattoir sites, from which Co-op and Waitrose source the majority of their pork and all of Waitrose’s lamb products. In response to the findings, the businesses have published a joint Human Rights Action Plan, which is designed to raise awareness among stakeholders along the supply chain of health & safety training, mental health and wellbeing, gender discrimination and access to grievance systems. Ongoing worker welfare visits will also continue to take place throughout the year to ensure high human rights standards are maintained. The Action Plan will be updated with progress reported on publicly.

In 2022, Pilgrim’s Mexico implemented a Circular Economy Program in which five suppliers were invited to participate. The course explained the importance of circular economy practices while simultaneously helping each supplier develop a project to implement on their own operations, aimed at reducing energy, water, and waste.

Across multiple Pilgrim’s U.S. facilities, we partnered with local utility providers and third-party energy consultants to identify energy savings opportunities, audit routine operations, and implement best practices for reducing energy consumption. Sixteen facilities received on-site assistance and as a result realized reductions across a range of interventions – from daily low-cost behaviors to capital-funded heat recovery projects. Today, they continue to engage in other energy saving initiatives.

In our Pilgrim’s Mexico operations, we reduced energy consumption 16% from 2021 to 2022. Throughout the year, the business deployed an intense program to replace old electric motors with high-efficiency alternatives and substitute the use of natural gas in boilers for biogas to produce steam at one facility.

Joel Pounder is the environmental manager at the Pilgrim's complex in Russellville, Ala., and he has been interested in trees since growing up on his family's farm. “Timber is much more than wood and paper,” Pounders said. “Trees stabilize our riparian waterways, provide shade, and help purify air and water around our wastewater treatment fields. And, of course, the local wildlife is only as good as the forest.” Pounders pursued a career and made a living out of his childhood passion, earning an Associate’s degree and also studying environmental biology at the University of North Alabama. Pounders joined the Pilgrim's complex in Russellville in 1990 as a supervisor and now leads environmental programs at the processing plant, hatchery and two feed mills, which include environmental audits, wastewater treatment, groundwater monitoring at 15 locations, stream monitoring at six locations, land application of wastewater via center-pivot-irrigation, and the management of approximately 1,300 acres. At the Russellville complex, in February alone, more than 500 trees have been. “You need to be disciplined about every aspect of sustainability: air quality, water quality, soils, carbon footprint… Trees are a link to all of those things.” With Pounders' help, Pilgrim Russellville has partnered with local schools and organizations to promote environmental education for students, so they learn the importance of taking care of our natural resources from an early age. Pounders has achieved the impressive mark of more than 100,000 trees planted in his lifetime – 60,000 of them during his career in the company – and he's not planning to stop any time soon.

As the environmental manager at the Sanford, North Carolina Pilgrim's facility, Tina Pedley is racing to help her plant be the company's first to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions.  “I'm a very competitive person, so I would love for Sanford to have nothing left to do” to reach net zero, she says.  JBS is committing $1 billion in new capital investment to help achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and has invited team members to submit proposals. Tina’s goal is to identify opportunities that will make the Sanford plant more efficient in its use of energy and water resources. Driven by a thirst for learning and to find answers to problems – even if that involves an unfamiliar technology – Tina often sits up late into the night researching online. She also takes classes at East Carolina University on topics such as boiler efficiency to find new project ideas. “I took one class recently, but [Pilgrim's] has already looked into everything they mentioned. I was looking for some new ideas!” Tina said. Tina's first project was an infrared scanner to help identify miniscule air leaks. Now she is implementing adding flow meters and a device to maintain a constant pressure throughout the facility to better conserve water consumption. Her list also runs to upgrading recycling systems and solar installations. Tina’s drive doesn't just come from her competitive nature. “I have three kids, and I would hate to think that they’ll grow up in a world that's polluted,” she said. “I want the world to be nice for them.” A lifelong love of science is what led Tina to start her career with JBS 16 years ago in the Sanford wastewater lab. By 2016, she had risen to the position of environmental manager, overseeing the sustainability of the facility and minimizing the impact on local ecosystems. Her effort has not gone unnoticed – Sanford won the USPOULTRY Clean Water Award in 2019, an honor proudly displayed in the building’s lobby. Tina's enthusiasm for emission reduction efforts has spread to her colleagues throughout Sanford. Department managers at the plant see the available funding as a pathway to more efficient operations.These “win-win” opportunities, reducing GHG emissions while making the facility function more effectively, are the secret to Tina's success. “If you tell me there's something we need to find, I’m going to work hard at it,” Tina said. “I want them to say ‘there's no money left because Sanford's taking it all!’”

Excellence is not just something that Pilgrim's strives for. It’s a mission, an expectation. The Pilgrim's Excellence Awards are designed to recognize and reward Pilgrim's facilities that exemplify the Pilgrim's vision – to be the best and most respected company in our industry, creating the opportunity of a better future for our team members. In order to obtain the Excellence Award, a Pilgrim's facility must demonstrate the successful implementation and sustainability of the Management Method – the winner must show ownership and accountability to drive true improvement. Of 1,000 total points available for the taking, the score is split between two key categories of judgment: pillar assessments and results. Points for pillar assessments are allocated across the company's five pillars, People, Management, Quality, Environment and Maintenance, while points for results are tallied by scoring the execution and outcome of KPIs, both which are calculated on a quarterly basis. Congratulations to Arcadia, Wisconsin, for being selected as the winner of the 2021 Pilgrim’s Excellence Award for the successful integration of the Management Method as part of the culture in Arcadia and their close attention to sustainable processes and results through the use of our pillars. The Arcadia team has proven consistently to be the best, and this award is a direct result of their ongoing efforts. Coming in second place, Cold Spring, Minnesota, was recognized as the runner-up, and Moorefield, West Virginia, secured a third-place achievement. “We are very proud of the accomplishments of the Arcadia, Cold Spring and Moorefield Prepared teams,” said Fabio Sandri, Pilgrim’s CEO. “All three teams leveraged the Management Method and drove sustainable processes and results through the use of our pillars: People, Quality, Environmental, Maintenance and Management.” “I truly believe we have the best team in the industry, and we are very grateful for our people,” Sandri said. “They bolster our vision and share a commitment to keeping our team members safe. I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in 2022.” Pilgrim's Excellence Awards will be given to top performers annually, and we look forward to celebrating these successes and more in the coming months.

In line with our vision, Pilgrim's sponsored a tree planting and education program its Rockingham County facilities and three area elementary schools: John C. Myers, Plains, and Lacey Springs. Pilgrim's team members secured trees and dug the holes, and then students actually helped plant the trees. After assessing the company's properties, Pilgrim's decided to plant screening trees at its Timberville production facility and Broadway hatchery, and then to plant trees in the fields behind the plant to stabilize a riverbed and provide shelter and food for wildlife. While Pilgrim's planted trees on its own property, the company also sponsored an education and planting program at area schools. About 180 local fourth-graders learned about trees and why they are important for our environment. Then each student helped plant shade trees on the school grounds. Additionally, the company provided each student with his or her own seedling to plant at home. Altogether, over 300 trees were planted by Pilgrim's and the students, and the next generation of people in the community now also know how to care for the trees.

STRONG is a proprietary health coaching program the company developed specifically to help team members improve their health and overall quality of life. STRONG participants work one-on-one and in small groups with our team of certified STRONG health coaches. Currently implemented in four of Pilgrim's facilities, STRONG has been proven to improve participants’ biometric measurements, and in many cases, actually reverse chronic conditions like Metabolic Syndrome. STRONG is open to all team members who are enrolled in the health plan and who want to take ownership of troubling health issues like weight management, diabetes, tobacco use, stress, blood pressure or other chronic health conditions.

Pilgrim's upgraded the wastewater treatment facility at the Sumter production facility to remove additional total nitrogen and increase the land application function of the system. The additional wastewater treatment facilities removes more nitrogen and allow for lower nitrogen application rates to be applied to surrounding agriculture fields. This will result in more optimized fertilizer management and reduce total nitrogen loss from those fields. The total project cost was $8 million and has reduced nitrogen applied to land by 63 percent in one year.

In an effort to use more sustainable electricity through use of solar power, Pilgrim's partnered with one of the largest energy suppliers in North America to implement our first U.S. solar energy project in Texas. West Texas has some of the greatest solar and wind power potential in the country thanks to the area's abundant open land and sunshine. The Pilgrim's West Texas solar project is a 15-year agreement that is expected to supply our rural Pilgrim's locations in Nacogdoches, Waco and Lufkin with 786,938 megawatts of renewable electricity, displacing a total of 334,070 MT CO2e annually. To put this in perspective, that is the equivalent of taking more than 80,113 cars off the road for a year. When compared to common carbon offsets, the amount of displaced CO2e from this project is also equal to the amount of carbon sequestered by more than 393,024 hectares of forest in one year or more than 5,567,836 10-year old tree seedlings. Renewable electricity projects have historically been led by our Pilgrim's UK facilities, whose electricity needs are 100% met by renewable sources. As solar power continues to become a more available source of renewable electricity, we believe it can help us reach our global goal of net-zero GHG emissions and meet the energy demands of our facilities.

Pilgrim's expanded its Cold Spring, Minn., facility, a move that will boost employment by about 10 percent or 130 people – and give central Minnesota growers a larger market for their chickens. The $75 million expansion added 50,000 square feet to the existing processing plant, including a new cafeteria, larger break room, lunchroom and bathrooms. The expansion will increase daily production of chicken products, including Pilgrim's Just Bare chicken brand. As part of its Hometown Strong initiative, Pilgrim's also invested $575,000 in the city to help bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, including creating outdoor recreation areas, constructing an emergency services training room and donating to the local Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

In response to the growing popularity of online marketplaces and delivery services among retail brands such as Instacart, Pilgrim's sought an additional partnership to help push more online sales their way. Pilgrim's was placing ads within the Instacart marketplace, however, after consulting with E-commerce analytics platform and Instacart Ads partner, CommerceIQ (CIQ), they have seen significant successes in optimizing their presence in digital aisles. Since using CIQ's artificial intelligence-driven advertising platform, Pilgrim's has experienced big success: impression increases of 40 percent, 19 percent growth in market share and 53 percent improvement in media efficiency. According to a LinkedIn post (https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6851575222466953216/ ) by Himanshu Jain, CIQ's vice president of product management, “usually these things don’t go hand in hand, but it is possible with [CIQ's] tech-led approach that cuts back on wasteful ad dollars and automatically reinvests in incremental growth areas.” CIQ leverages machine learning, analytics and automation holistically across supply chain, marketing and sales operations to accelerate brand growth with online retailers. They help fast-moving, consumer goods companies win at the moment of purchase and drive profitable market share growth. “Consumer adoption of online grocery shopping has accelerated tremendously and Instacart is a leader in this rapidly growing space,” said Rizwan Akbar, Head of E-commerce at Pilgrim's. “We knew that increasing awareness of Pilgrim's products directly at the online point of purchase would be a critical part of our growth strategy in the coming years.” To read more about Pilgrim's ongoing partnership with Instacart and CIQ, click here: https://www.instacart.com/company/instacart-ads/working-with-instacart-ads-pilgrims-pride-commerceiq-success-story/ 

To celebrate Arbor Day, the Russellville, Ala., facility brought together team members, the community and USDA agents to plant trees in the area. “Quite a few of our facilities own timber land, pastures for processing wastewater, and grazing land for cattle, so you can’t just think about chicken, you have to think about all of it,” said Joel Pounders, Pilgrim's Russellville environmental manager. Pilgrim's team members planted more than 500 trees on its property, including half a dozen large oaks at the hatchery entrance to provide a screen from the road, shade for neighboring cattle and shelter for wildlife. The hundreds of seedlings planted on the borders of grazing land near the processing plant will also provide habitat, screening benefits and absorb more than a ton of carbon from the air annually. The trees are a different variety of pine from previous plantings and will introduce important diversity into the canopy. Pilgrim's Russellville also partnered with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to teach students from three local elementary schools about the importance of trees. Students learned how trees help cool us in the summer, warm us in the winter, feed us, shelter us and provide a range of products from chocolate to life-saving medicines. The students received seedlings to take home and plant, as well as helped plant larger shade trees on the school grounds.

Thanks to a sizable donation from Pilgrim's Moorefield (W.Va.), Hardy County volunteer firefighters can now enlist the help of advanced technology to aid in their fire management and rescue efforts. Using Pilgrim's Moorefield's generous gift of $20,000, the Moorefield Volunteer Fire Company 46 secured one of two high-tech drones, which will enable increased surveillance of the surrounding area. “Pilgrim's is very excited about the drone project with the Moorefield Volunteer Fire Company,” said Tracy Sherman, human resources manager at Pilgrim's Moorefield Fresh. “This state-of-the-art drone will help our fire department to provide additional and enhanced safety measures for the entire Moorefield community.” The drones are outfitted with state-of-the-art features, such as infrared cameras and heat-sensing technology, and will expand the capability of the team at night and in hard-to-reach areas. “If there's a water leak or sewer leak at night, [the crew] can take that drone up and see different temperature changes where the water is coming out of the ground,” Hardy County Clerk Gregg Ely told the Moorefield Examiner. Company 46 has served the Moorefield community for nearly 90 years and answers an average of 200 calls annually.

The Pilgrim's Broadway, Va., team celebrated reaching 5 million safe man hours without a lost time accident. The teams from safety, medical and maintenance departments, including the management team and hourly team members, worked together every day to be proactive about safety. “Our team is truly the backbone to our safety culture, and we are totally committed to results,” said Jim Robertson, Broadway Complex safety manager. “Every team member is empowered to take appropriate measures when it comes to safety, and I believe that a safety culture does not have a beginning date or an end date.” The celebration included a meal and apparel commemorating the accomplishment.

The IMPACT Program, which stands for Industrial Maintenance Program & Accredited Course Training, is an aggressive in-house and branded Pilgrim's program that trains maintenance team members on an individual level in a practical setting. With key focuses on safety awareness, mechanical skills, leadership skills and equipment, the program promotes a safety-first-culture, addresses an internal demand for knowledge and serves as a valuable resource for maintenance reliability concepts. For the first time ever, the IMPACT Program lays out a clear career path for every maintenance team member and allows for true ownership and self-direction. The success of the program can largely be attributed to its practical settings and the individual nature of its trainings. Additionally, to ensure team members receive a meaningful and applicable experience, IMPACT utilizes hands-on modules, including learning technology with Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Pilgrim's support of maintenance training and development also provides students a potential career path that does not require a four-year degree. Currently, two Pilgrim’s facilities, Marshville, NC, and Russellville, AL, are working with local high schools and colleges, developing internships and trying to create interest in skilled craft careers. IMPACT will always be a fluid program, but we assure our team members that the three hours per week they can dedicate to training will be forever part of their careers at Pilgrim's. It is part of who we are, part of our culture and falls in line with our vision of creating the opportunity of a better future for our team members.

The Pilgrim's HR team participated in the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE), the world's largest annual poultry, meat and feed industry event of its kind. IPPE focuses on innovation – introducing state of the art advances in technology – as well as education and networking. Students majoring in Animal Science, Poultry Science and Engineering also attend the event for opportunities to speak with industry human resources and corporate executives about their future careers. Pilgrim's hosted a hospitality room themed “Create Your Career,” that included an interview space and a luncheon feeding nearly 600 students. More than 200 students visited the interview space and discussed opportunities with Pilgrim's team members.

The Green and White Society is an annual function put on by Broadway High School and Pilgrim's Broadway to give high school seniors a chance to be recognized in a unique way. Each year, school teachers nominate students who they feel have made a positive difference in themselves, show leadership and school spirit and demonstrate humility. Three high school faculty members and a member of the Pilgrim's Broadway management team vote on the nominees, who are then asked to write an essay about the person who was the biggest influence in their life. In honor of the nominees, Broadway High School and Pilgrim’s hold a dinner offsite for the students, their parents, the teacher who nominated them and the subject of their essay. During the event, each nominated senior reads his or her essay and presents a framed copy of the essay to the individual who influenced them the most. Additionally, the students are presented with a cord to wear during their graduation ceremony, and a member of Pilgrim's management gives a speech.

In honor of Earth Day, Pilgrim’s team members planted a row of trees in front of the Pilgrim's Live Operations offices in Marshville, NC. The mix of red and sugar maples were planted along US 74 and will provide a beautiful border in the summer and vibrant red colors in the fall. In addition, each tree will absorb carbon dioxide from the air, releasing oxygen and sequestering carbon in the trunk of the tree. According to American Forests, a mature tree will absorb almost 50 pounds of carbon dioxide a year and capture dust, smoke and other pollutants. Two trees will release all the oxygen an average person needs to breathe. Pilgrim's Marshville is proud of its record of sustainable poultry production and is constantly working to reduce its environmental footprint through more efficient production methods. Planting trees is another way we can help save the planet, and to top it off, they are beautiful!

As part of Pilgrim's Mexico’s commitment to the PROFEPA (Federal Office of Environmental Protection) Environmental Audit program, the company completed Clean Industry certification audits at its Central complex. The audits conducted at the complex's Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Tepeji del Río processing plants, and Querétaro, Saltillo, Colón and San Luis Potosí prepared food plants were satisfactory, and the facilities are now continuing on in the program to get certifications.

Pilgrim's and JBS USA have created the Center of Innovation & Technology for Excellence (“CITE”). This initiative is an example of the company's commitment to embrace new tools and technologies that would have an impact on our competitive advantage, especially in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics Process Automation (RPA), Business Intelligence (BI), Virtual & Augmented Reality (VR/AR), and Blockchain. In order to become customer-driven and embed intelligence and digital capabilities into all of the company's processes in the era of digital transformation, CITE will: Support business units in getting more value from their data so they can improve their bottom line; Bridge technical and organizational boundaries by working between business units wanting to improve their insights using data; and Shorten the information lifecycle by sharing best practices and guidance during project executions. Additionally, CITE will partner with business units to move more quickly and cost-effectively with technologies by: Standardizing the platforms architecture, maintenance and administration; Leveraging training and managing relationships with partners; Measuring performance, guiding and maintaining a roadmap for each business unit; and Enhancing collaboration between business units through alignment of people, processes and technologies with business goals. At Pilgrim's, innovation is driven by consumer insights, customer needs and market growth opportunities. We are confident that CITE will contribute to our global sharing of trends, innovative solutions and technology advancements to leverage our collective expertise and lead category growth.

Pilgrim's doesn’t just market delicious products, but a few Pilgrim's Pittsburg team members also have what it takes to make award-winning food…for a great cause! In October, the Pilgrim’s Pittsburg Community Engagement Committee took home some hardware at the annual “Paint Pitt Pink” Chili Cook-Off in Pittsburg, Texas, held in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to raise money for a local hero whose life has been impacted by breast cancer. Out of 12 competitors, the Pilgrim’s team’s trophy-worthy chili recipe won 2 of the 3 awards: Judge's Choice and People’s Choice awards. “The Paint Pitt Pink Chili Cook-Off was a fun way to not only make some delicious food, but also support a good cause,” said Karen Campbell of Pilgrim’s Pittsburg. “We were thrilled to win two awards our first year competing, but we were even more excited to help raise money to support a local breast cancer survivor!” The Paint Pitt Pink Chili Cook-Off ultimately raised $1,400 for breast cancer survivor and beneficiary, Brandy Kinard.