Sustainability isn’t new to Rich’s; in one form or another, it’s been part of the business since our company was founded in 1945. In 2008, we began taking a more-formal approach by creating a long-term sustainability strategy and a Rich’s Center of Excellence to raise awareness and prioritize actions across the company.

Our goal is to drive continuous improvements that are good for business and good for the environment, with a focus on long-term, efficient use of resources; reducing waste; and creating products that delight our customers and have minimal impact on our surroundings.

In our manufacturing facilities, we’ve been implementing practices aligned with the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standards. To reduce our environmental footprint, we are collaborating and sharing best practices across our network, specifically in the areas of:

• Energy efficiency
• Water management
• Waste reduction

Throughout our distribution network, we are looking at ways to reduce total energy use and food miles. At our world headquarters, we are implementing a variety of initiatives to reduce our environmental impact, from greening IT systems to reducing waste in our own foodservice operations.

Rich’s Global Procurement Group continues to implement packaging improvements and procurement strategies that meet rising customer expectations for performance and safety, while also reducing waste, cost and our environmental footprint. Our “Guiding Principles for Environmentally Preferred Purchasing” ensure that sustainability-related factors are taken into consideration when buying decisions are made. View a current copy of our guidelines.