2023 Impact Awards winner: Conagra Brands Canada

The goal for Conagra Brands is to use packaging materials that are renewable, recyclable, or compostable. It is taking action to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills. 

“We are committed to reduce our environmental impact through continuous improvement, both now and long term,” says Michael Fazio, Canadian head of sustainability. “Our teams consistently strive to meet environmental challenges head on, underscoring Conagra’s commitment to nourishing and restoring the planet.” 

In 2022, Conagra expanded its product recovery partnership with international recycling leader TerraCycle, offering a free recycling program to Canadian consumers of its popcorn brands. To help keep hard-to-recycle packaging out of landfills, the partnership gives consumers the opportunity to recycle empty Angie’s Boomchickapop ready-to-eat popcorn bags, microwave popcorn bags, outer plastic packaging, as well as packaging used by its other popcorn brands.

Consumers can sign up, mail in the popcorn bags and other accepted packaging using prepaid shipping labels. Once received, the popcorn bags and packaging are cleaned and separated by material type.

The materials are then recycled into raw formats that can be remolded to make new products. This program has diverted 412 lbs of waste since 2020 and saved over 222 kgs of CO2eq—the same as four flights from New York City to Toronto.