By: Carlos Fernandez
EVP & President, JBT Diversified Food & Health
Earth Day is a time to reflect on all that nature gives us, but also on what we can do to give back to our planet. The food and beverage industry has not historically been known for being eco-conscious or putting sustainability first. However, as I reflect on the past few decades, I have good reasons to be optimistic. And while it is certain that there is much more to be done, I am proud of the strides JBT Corporation has made in making our technology solutions more sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective, and in turn, helping each of our customers around the world operate more sustainably now and, in the years, to come.
Our purpose at JBT is to help our customers succeed in the marketplace by providing them with solutions to make better use of the world’s precious resources. We recently launched our first comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report that outlines JBT’s key achievements in four focus areas – Sustainable Solutions, Operations, People, and Governance – which showcases how we ultimately enable our customers to do better and, in the process, make our world better.
I am particularly proud of our portfolio of equipment, services, products, and technical support programs that enable our customers to make a positive environmental impact, including increasing yields, conserving water, ensuring food safety, facilitating the use of alternative fuels, and automating processes. Today, we estimate that close to 50% of our product revenue is coming from equipment that has an environmental benefit for our customers.
We also apply our technical expertise and passion for relentless improvement to improve our own operations. In doing so, we leave a lighter footprint, reduce operational costs, and authentically deliver on our mission. Our commitment includes:
- Making health and environmental considerations a priority in existing and future products, facilities, and processes
- Using energy and natural resources efficiently and intelligently
- Striving to reduce our climate impact
- Encouraging constructive communication with our suppliers, customers, neighbors, and shareholders on managing environmental issues
The steps we are taking today at JBT are helping companies in the world take meaningful steps toward addressing the need to feed a growing global population, reduce food waste and provide comprehensive solutions throughout the food production value chain. Today on Earth Day, I am honoring what’s already been done and committing to continue making sustainability a priority at JBT.
JBT is ready to help customers of all sizes take the next steps in their sustainability journey.
Please visit https://www.jbtc.com/about-us/esg/ to learn more about JBT’s ESG efforts.