Eddy Foods Sustainability Commitment

Eddy Foods is committed to producing quality products alongside integration of sustainable practices within its food manufacturing operations and distribution systems. Our goal is to reduce environmental impact, support our communities and promote a more sustainable future. We strive to be compliant with local, state and national environmental standards while encouraging our teams and suppliers to identify areas to improve and challenge the status quo. We have 4 pillars of focus for our sustainability efforts and expect all stakeholders to participate in cultivating a culture of awareness, action and accountability.

Water Use

Eddy Foods recognizes water as a precious resource and is dedicated to its conservation and responsible use. We are focused on efficient water management and water reclamation within our operations.

Efficient Water Management

As a food production facility, water is necessary for proper sanitation as well as use as an ingredient. We strive to implement water-saving practices across all facilities. Water use is monitored with our sanitation partner to minimize consumption. Furthermore, production team members are encouraged to reduce water use when possible.

• We recently implemented a water reduction initiative throughout the plant while maintaining sanitary expectations.

Water Reclamation

Eddy Foods maintains a complex water reclamation process. All production-related effluent is captured for reclamation prior to disposition. Modes of disposition once reconditioned include return to municipal processing, use in agricultural production or natural evaporation.

To ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, the services of licensed consultants are employed for continual monitoring of conditions, regulatory updates, use of best practices and overall compliance to all relevant standards.

Routine process monitoring to ensure adherence to standards is conducted weekly via qualified laboratory testing. These test results are regularly submitted to authorities for assurance of compliance.

• We created an ecological system primarily used in agricultural production. Approximately 88 acres are cultivated with ground cover, non-tilled grass watered with clarified effluent the majority of year.

Waste Reduction

Eddy Foods strives to reduce its landfill waste through use optimization, recycling, rendering and packaging improvements.

Recycling of Materials

We are committed to minimizing waste and maximizing resource efficiency through recycling initiatives. Our production teams are more aware of recyclable materials and committing items to this process stream. Beyond recycling materials, efforts include education on proper handling and processing of materials and partnership with local reclamation facilities.

Rendering

As a USDA facility, inedible waste is sent to rendering via a partner committed to repurposing these materials. Rendering significantly reduces the amount of waste that would end up in landfills, helping to reduce the environmental footprint of meat production and converting by-products into useful raw materials such as fats and proteins. It should also be noted, our inedible is monitored daily and efforts are made to reduce this flow as much as possible.

Packaging

We aim to minimize the environmental impact of our packaging while maintaining product quality and safety. We strive to use recycled and recyclable materials in our packaging where feasible. We have completed a broad initiative sourcing more post-consumer recycled materials in our packaging. We also look for ways to reduce packaging sizes and eliminate unnecessary components. For example, we are engaged in specific packaging efficiency projects for display cases, sleeve and tray packaging, case labels and clam shell packages. We also clearly label our packaging with recycling instructions to encourage proper disposal.

Energy Conservation

Many systems in a food production facility require energy to maintain sanitary conditions. We have implemented practices to monitor and reduce our energy consumption across our facilities including electricity, natural gas, heating and chilling systems. We encourage our employees to engage in energy conservation practices and energy-saving behaviors.

• Approximately 12% of our energy comes from renewable sources, including solar and hydropower.

Optimization of Transportation

We recognize the environmental impact of transportation in our supply chain and distribution network. We make every effort to optimize freight loads and transportation routes to reduce trucks on the road, fuel consumption and emissions. Changes we’ve made over the last several years are benefitting our customers, suppliers and consumers and our planet.