Sara Lee Improves Environmental Performance

Sara Lee Corp. releases the company's annual sustainability report, titled "Sara Lee Now...For the Future," available at www.saralee.com, reporting that it has reduced its water usage by more than 21 percent in four years. This was the result of the company's global focus on water reduction, which included facilities around the world conducting water audits, performing preventative maintenance on boilers and cooling towers and implementing dry clean-up techniques. In addition, the company reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill by 18 percent over the past four years by focusing on increasing the amount of waste byproducts that are recycled, which lessens their impact on the environment.

 

"Fiscal 2009 marked another milestone year for Sara Lee's sustainability efforts," says Audra Karalius, Sara Lee Corp.'s vice president of sustainability, environment and safety. "Our annual sustainability report highlights our progress in our three key areas -- environment, wellness and nutrition and social responsibility. With better reporting processes and goals in place, we look forward to continuous sustainability improvement in the future."

 

Select highlights from this year's report include:

 

- In April, Sara Lee opened its new North American innovation campus, The Kitchens of Sara Lee, a 120,000-sq-ft research and development center located at the company's headquarters. One of the features of the state-of-the-art facility is a packaging lab, which saves both time and materials and is helping Sara Lee drive its sustainability strategy throughout the packaging function.

- Sara Lee donated more than one thousand tons of food to Feeding America, which then distributes to its more than 200 network members throughout the United States. This is equivalent to more than 1.7 million meals.

- Sara Lee launched Lower Sodium premium deli meats, which have earned the American Heart Association's heart check mark.