Caring for the planet
Pillar 3 of our sustainability strategy
Our commitment to the environment is a fundamental pillar of our long-term strategy. We want to take meaningful steps to mitigate the environmental risks associated with packaging use. We demonstrate resilience and adaptability, while remaining determined to make the necessary efforts to meet sustainability challenges.
As a leader in North America’s food and beverage industry, we produce a significant amount of packaging each year, mainly polyethylene terephthalate (PET), multilayer cardboard, glass and aluminum packaging. Making our packaging more sustainable is a strategic imperative to meet the challenges of sustainable development and remain competitive. We want to take meaningful steps to mitigate the environmental risks associated with packaging use and respond effectively to growing consumer and regulatory concerns.
Our 2024 achievements
- We reduced the size of many polypropylene labels in the United States, resulting in a weight reduction of around 56 000 kg.
- Installation of new 200 ml juice production lines that use 44% less polyethylene film. The process of the new lines has been optimized, reducing the width and thickness of the film used to wrap the 8 and 10 packs of 200 ml beverages.
- For our SunRype brand, we reduced the weight of our 96 oz. and 64 oz. PET bottles by 12% and 3%, respectively. We also eliminated the plastic wrap on our fruit bar boxes and replaced it with a tamper-evident device.
We increased the percentage of recycled content in our PET packaging. (Based on purchase volumes in fiscal year 2024 for all our branded and private brand products.)
We increased the recyclability of our primary and secondary packaging in line with the best practices of the Golden Design Rules and Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR):
- In Canada we replaced hot-melt adhesive on some of our packaging with an alkali-soluble adhesive, making it easier to separate labels during the recycling process.
- In the United States we eliminated the majority black bottle caps and replaced some box sleeves with an option that complies with APR guidelines.
Historical recycled content data based on purchase volumes for that fiscal year. Recyclability and recycled content percentages are calculated based on packaging weight. We use our suppliers’ annual averages for recycled content and our annual purchase volumes of recycled and virgin PET granules. Paper straw percentages are based on our branded product sold in Canada and the US during the year in question.
For more data, see our Sustainability Report 2024.
Lassonde established a data collection and validation process that was reviewed by external experts. The figures may be adjusted in the future as our processes change and the quality of available data improves.
2. Our recyclability and recycled content targets are based on production volumes at December 2025 (rather than on annual purchase volumes) to better reflect our situation at the end of 2025. We report the average percentage of recycled content each year based on annual purchase volumes in order to allow comparison with previous years.
3. Primary packaging is in direct contact with the product and is usually intended for the end consumer. Secondary packaging contains several primary packages to provide additional protection and facilitate transportation.
4. Packaging is defined as recyclable if it can be diverted from the waste stream through available processes and programs and collected, processed and reused as raw materials.
5. Adjusted retroactively as part of the data validation process.
6. Our priority primary packaging materials are PET, multilayer cardboard, glass and aluminum.
7. Adjusted retroactively as part of the data validation process.
8. This target was reduced from 20% to 15% to better reflect the context in which we operate.
9. This target was reduced from 50% to 20% to better reflect the context in which we operate.
We recognize the seriousness of climate change and the urgent need for collective action. Reducing our carbon footprint is a priority for our organization. Climate change is affecting and will continue to affect all aspects of our operations, from raw material sourcing to product manufacturing and distribution.
Scope 1 and 2 emissions are the direct and indirect emissions associated with our production processes. We are focusing our efforts on those two types of emissions to reduce our carbon footprint and make our operations more sustainable.
In 2024 we began a preliminary review of our operations and processes, accompanied by energy audits at certain plants, to identify levers of action that could help reduce our emissions. Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction plan focuses on energy efficiency initiatives, the reduction of natural gas consumption, and the use of renewables.
Scope 3 emissions include all indirect emissions upstream and downstream of our operations. In 2024 we completed our first Scope 3 emissions inventory to gain a more practical understanding of our impact beyond our own operations (we started this first inventory in 2023 using 2022). For that initial analysis, we reviewed all emission categories to identify the most material among the 15 categories defined by the GHG Protocol for our industry.
We then used the information from that inventory to identify our priority areas of action and guide our preliminary decarbonation strategy:
- Optimize our sourcing: We are currently exploring ways to reduce the impact of our fruit, concentrate, sugar and packaging purchases (see this report’s “Improve the sustainabilityof our packaging” section for more information about our packaging goals).
- Improve transportation and logistics: In addition to our optimization efforts, we plan to explore more sustainable transportation alternatives and encourage our partners to adopt low-carbon solutions.
- Engage and collaborate with suppliers: Engaging and collaborating with our suppliers is critical to achieving our goals. We will initiate discussions to understand their climate-related approaches, with the aim of obtaining more accurate data for use in our inventory.
Our 2024 achievements
We completed our first Scope 3 emissions inventory and prepared preliminary action plans and levers for decarbonation.
We confirmed our reduction targets for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
We upgraded our GHG calculation tool and improved the quality and completeness of our data.
Energy efficiency experts audited our two beverage plants and our two food plants in Quebec. As a result of the audits, we installed energy metering systems and identified a number of initiatives that have the potential to significantly reduce our natural gas consumption.
We announced the construction of a new plant in New Jersey and inaugurated a new aseptic juice production line in North Carolina, investments that will help modernize our processes and make us more energy efficient.
We replaced the boilers at our concentrate plant in Wapato, Washington, helping reduce the plant’s GHG intensity by an average of 18%.
We installed a new purging system for the autoclave’s heat exchanger and a new condensate line at our Boisbriand plant in Quebec, helping reduce the plant’s GHG intensity by an average of 16%.
Reduce our absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 20% against our 2022 baseline.
Reduce our Scope 3 emissions by 20% in intensity against our 2022 baseline.
The quality and availability of drinking water are global issues. They affect everything from the cultivation of our raw materials to their processing. As well as being an important ingredient in our products, we use water to sanitize our equipment, an essential aspect of maintaining the safety and quality of our products.
Our 2024 achievements
The ratio of water withdrawn from our Quebec food plants dropped to 5.4 L/kg, 14% less than in 2023, meeting our 2026 target. This reduction was made possible thanks to a new water-cooling system and a condensate recovery and reuse project.
At our Kelowna plant in British Columbia, we upgraded the pasteurizers and reduced the amount of water withdrawn by the plant by 20%.
At our Hendersonville plant in North Carolina, we installed a new single-serve aseptic juice production line, a technology that uses less water during production than a hot fill line.
*Adjusted retroactively following the correction of a calculation error at one of our plants (figure reported in the 2023 report: 2.2).
**For the purpose of this target, “food plants” excludes the Boardman plant in Ohio, which was acquired in 2024.
Our strategy is guided by the importance of creating a zero-waste culture that promotes reduction at the source, reuse and recycling. With the commitment of our teams, the development of partnerships with local recyclers and the implementation of innovation projects, we will be able to effectively manage our waste and reduce our environmental impact.
Breakdown of our residual materials by destination
One of our 2024 achievements
We established a new, expanded working group that includes a representative from each of our North American plants.
100% of our organic waste from fruit processing is diverted from landfill. This represents approximately 28,832 metric tons, or 69% of all the waste we generate.
Learn more about our initiatives for caring for the planet in our 2024 Sustainability Report.