The Sustainable Impact You (and Your Pet) Can Make at Mealtime

Every day, we make choices that directly affect our environmental impact as individuals. From choosing to drive an electric car or ride a bike to work, to setting up recycling or composting stations at home, we can all do our part to reduce carbon emissions and limit waste.

At Purina, we know we also have a role to play in protecting the environment at every phase of our operations, which includes 21 factories across the U.S. That’s why the company is pursuing a more sustainable future - from farm to pet food bowl. Committing to finding renewable resources in every step of the process, and reducing Purina’s footprint, is at the forefront of our decisions. Here are a few ways we’re putting this priority into action:

Walk the Talk

1. We are working with farmers to encourage regenerative agricultural practices and support conservation practices on farmlands where key ingredients for our pet foods are grown. Purina partners directly with climate smart agriculture organizations like Truterra that works directly with farmers and their trusted crop advisors to encourage adoption of regenerative agriculture stewardship practices. Truterra has an insights tool, which provides farmers with actionable changes that can demonstrate potential crop outcomes, allowing the farmer to make better informed financial and operational decisions.
2. At each Purina factory, we have identified solutions and improved processes to minimize waste and water usage along the production process. We are also using renewable electricity in >all of our factories with a goal to have all our operations following suit by 2025.
3. Our vision is that none of our packaging ends up in a landfill. Today, 90% of our packaging in North America is designed for recycling. We expect 95% of our packaging to be designed for recycling by 2025, and we are actively working to develop innovative solutions for the remainder of our packaging. Success in a circular economy for packaging materials depends on infrastructure for collecting, sorting, reuse and recycling. The recycling infrastructure gap is significant, and we are joining with other companies and stakeholders to accelerate progress in this area.

More Ways to Decrease Waste

I recently had the chance to exchange ideas with Jenna Helwig, food director at Real Simple. She provided some helpful insights about her efforts to reduce waste in her family’s kitchen. She asked me about the environmental impact of the food we give to our pets. If you want to know more about Purina’s efforts (and get some helpful tips for what to do with those extra veggie and herb scraps) check out our interview.

Nida Bockert, Senior Director of Portfolio Innovation, Optimization and Sustainability, at Nestlé Purina

Nida Bockert has worked at Purina for over 22 years and currently serves as the Senior Director for Portfolio Innovation, Optimizations and Sustainability. In her role, she leads portfolio communication strategy around Sustainability, partnering with our sustainable sourcing, packaging, recipe, manufacturing and logistics team, to bring to life sustainable solutions. Nida has been inspired by a quote from author Rick Swan that said “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it,” and has made it her personal mission to educate and challenge the organization to make a positive difference for the planet through our actions across departments. In her free time, Nida practices Yoga and enjoys spending time with her family, including her 3 kids, 2 cats and 2 dogs.