Darling Ingredients Signs Commitment Letter to Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Continues Advancing 2050 Net-Zero Goal
Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR), the world's leading company turning food waste into sustainable products and renewable energy, has signed a commitment letter for the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign, and has initiated the process of setting near- and long-term, science-based targets to further reduce its climate impact in line with the latest climate science.
"Our commitment to setting science-based targets is another step toward achieving our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050," said Randall C. Stuewe, Chairman and CEO of Darling Ingredients. "Our work with the SBTi will help create a clear pathway to achieving our greenhouse gas emission-reduction goals. All the while, Darling Ingredients will continue its leadership position of delivering the two things the world will need more of, food and energy."
A global collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments, the SBTi defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses and approves companies' targets.
Darling Ingredients has made progress toward its short-term ESG goals. In the company's ESG report published in September 2022, it reported the following:
Formed an ESG Committee within its Board of Directors;Invested $25 million in energy and water efficiency improvements;Is 36% of the way toward achieving its 2025 global water intensity goal; andIs 18% of the way toward achieving its energy intensity per unit processed goal in its collagen business. The latest climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – described by the UN as "code red for humanity" – shows it is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, but society is dangerously close to that threshold. Darling Ingredients has responded to the SBTi's urgent call for corporate climate action by committing to align with 1.5°C and net-zero through the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign. Participation in the campaign establishes Darling Ingredients' net-zero targets will be aligned with the SBTi's Net-Zero Standard, the world's first framework for corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science.
"Darling Ingredients recognizes climate risk is investment risk. We have invested a considerable amount of time, effort and resources toward improving our environmental sustainability," said Suann Guthrie, Vice President of Investor Relations, Global Communications and Sustainability. "But we recognize this is a journey and more work must be done. Working with the SBTi will help us strengthen our emissions reduction targets while we continue our critical work to provide the world with sustainable feed and food ingredients and decarbonization solutions."
More details on the company's ESG efforts are available at darlingii.com/csr/esg.
About Darling
Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) is the largest publicly traded company turning edible by-products and food waste into sustainable products and a leading producer of renewable energy. Recognized as a sustainability leader, the company operates more than 260 facilities in 17 countries and repurposes approximately 15% of the world's meat industry waste streams into value-added products, such as green energy, renewable diesel, collagen, fertilizer, animal proteins and meals and pet food ingredients. To learn more, visit darlingii.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Darling Ingredients Contacts
Investors:
Suann Guthrie
VP, Investor Relations, Sustainability & Communications
(469) 214-8202;suann.guthrie@darlingii.com
Media:
Jillian Fleming
Director, Global Communications
(972) 541-7115;jillian.fleming@darlingii.com