MEXICO CITY — Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV has made progress in reaching zero carbon emissions, including reducing Scope 1 carbon emissions by 9% in 2023 behind a sustainable mobility strategy, according to the company’s annual report for 2023 titled “Behind our actions.”

“By the end of 2023, we will have more than 2,690 electric vehicles globally, maintaining our position as the company with the largest electric fleet in Latin America,” Grupo Bimbo said. “As a result, we avoided emissions of more than 22,081 tons of CO₂ per year.”

For Scope 2 carbon emissions, Grupo Bimbo said it reached 100% renewable electric energy by the end of 2023.

“Following up on our commitment to use 100% renewable electricity in our operation by 2025, during 2023, Russia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, China, and South Korea converted their operations to 100% renewable energy by acquiring renewable energy certificates (iRECs) from clean energy,” the company said. “Guatemala joined the list of countries that use 100% renewable energy through a hydroelectric power purchase agreement. In October 2023, our wind farm in Canada (Hilda wind) became operational, making 50% of the operation renewable.”

Finally, Grupo Bimbo said it reduced Scope 3 carbon emissions by 3.7% in 2023 through working with suppliers.

“We continued to work on reducing emissions from our outsourced fleets through workshops and dialogue with our suppliers,” the company said. “To this end, we propose the transition to cleaner technologies, such as electric vehicles with renewable electric power or low-carbon alternative fuels.”

Grupo Bimbo said it plans to make 100% of its electric energy originate from renewable sources by 2025. The company also aims to reduce 50% of Scope 1 emissions and 28% of Scope 3 emission by 2030.

“Since 2012, we have worked to reduce the environmental impact of our operations and prevent the excessive generation of polluting emissions,” Grupo Bimbo said. “To this end, we have focused our efforts on maximizing the use of electricity from renewable sources and optimizing resources in our processes by implementing energy efficiency projects.”

On the packaging front, Grupo Bimbo said 93% of packaging was made from recyclable materials in 2023 and will reach 95% in the coming months. The company added it achieved a “significant reduction” of approximately 272 tonnes of plastic in 2023 through various projects focused on reducing “the thickness and dimensions of packaging.”

Some of the highlights from these projects include reducing packaging weight for hamburger bread for the foodservice sector in the United States, which originate from several brands such as Mrs. Bairds and Rainbo, by 39%; reducing packaging weight of Cruapan Bread in the Iberia region by 25%; reducing packaging weight of products from Bimbo, Fargo, Artesano and Oroweat brands in Argentina by 7%; reducing packaging weight of exported Takis products in Barcel by 3%; and reducing packaging weight for Bagel Thin in the United Kingdom by 29%.

Looking ahead, Bimbo aims to achieve 100% recyclable, biodegradable or compositable packaging by 2025 and 100% packaging that will support a “circular economy” by 2030.

“At Grupo Bimbo, packaging optimization projects are considered a priority and are included in our strategy,” the company said. “We guarantee the quality and safety of every product that reaches the hands of our consumers, while implementing strategies to prevent waste at all stages of our value chain.”

Another area of interest for Grupo Bimbo is regenerative agriculture. The company said approximately 170,000 hectares (420,079 acres) were registered under the company’s regenerative agriculture program.

“By 2023, our goal was to reach 150,000 hectares registered in the Regenerative Agriculture program,” Grupo Bimbo said. “Thanks to our actions and efforts in this area, we exceeded this goal by 13%, with approximately 170,000 hectares. This included 7,000 hectares of corn, 200 hectares of potatoes, and an increase of 163,000 hectares of wheat. These results encourage us to continue working for constant improvement and to redefine our goals for coming years.”

Grupo Bimbo said it aims to register 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres) under its regenerative agriculture plan by 2030 and to source 100% of its key ingredients from land cultivated with regenerative agriculture practices by 2050.

“At Grupo Bimbo, we know that adopting regenerative agricultural practices not only improves soil health and increases biodiversity, but also plays a crucial role in carbon sequestration and other important ecosystem services,” the company said. “By promoting healthy soils rich in organic carbon, we help store carbon in the soil, thus contributing to climate change mitigation. In the long term, this strategy promotes our supply chain’s resilience and ensures the availability and quality of key ingredients for our products.”