Conagra crowns 2025 Sustainable Development Awards winners

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Conagra crowns 2025 Sustainable Development Awards winners

17 Nov 2025

Annie Hollon

Annie Hollon is a journalist, copywriter and social media strategist from the Dallas, Texas area. She found a love for magazine writing during her time at the University of Alabama where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in public relations and English. Beyond writing, you can find her expanding her library, attempting to teach herself the guitar and trying new hobbies.

CHICAGO — The winners of Conagra Brands’ annual Sustainable Development Awards have been announced. This competition, engineered to encourage sustainable practices throughout the company, highlights five key areas — climate change, water reduction, waste reduction, packaging and responsible practices — as well as an Award of Excellence recognition.

“At Conagra Brands, we’re inspired by the ingenuity our employees bring to advancing sustainability across our operations,” said Christine Daugherty, VP of sustainability at Conagra Brands. “The Sustainable Development Awards celebrate their innovative ideas that not only make our operations more efficient and responsible, but drive cost savings, reinforcing our ongoing commitment to environmental progress and leadership.”

Cross-functional employee teams were encouraged to submit projects, which were evaluated by a panel of peers. Each winning team, chosen by Conagra sustainability leaders, received a $5,000 grant from the Conagra Brands Foundation to invest in their respective communities.

The 2025 Sustainable Development Awards winners are:

Award of Excellence: Conagra’s Maple Grove, MN, team took home the grand prize for its closed-loop recycling system for paper rolls that didn’t meet quality specifications. By returning these rolls for reuse, the organization diverts 50 tons of waste annually.
Climate Change: The Omaha, NE, and Chicago Inbound Logistics Teams improved transport efficiency by consolidating underutilized shipments into full truckloads using Oracle Transportation Management tools. As a result, this project saved nearly $250,000, eliminated 241 truck trips and reduced 123 metric tons of CO2e.
Water Reduction: The Irapuato, Mexico team optimized palm oil line cleaning to make the process more sustainable and cost-effective. With a new method that reduces both palm oil and water usage, cleaning frequency decreased 75%, with palm oil and water use diminishing by 82,540 pounds and 53,280 gallons annually, respectively. This cleaning method not only saves the company about $78,000 per year, but it also reduces waste and backs Conagra’s deforestation commitments.
Waste Reduction: The Waterloo, IA, plant reduced landfill waste by further controlling microbial activity through steam quality monitoring, digital audits and cross-functional reviews. With a $70,000 investment, it achieved $1.29 million in savings, diverted 948 tons from destruction, improved reliability, and created a scalable, data-driven sustainability model.
Packaging: Teams in Omaha, Chicago and Fayetteville, AR reduced frozen meal bowl thickness by 25% and removed ink for Evol and Gardein. The simple changes created $63,000 in annual savings and reduced paper use by 31%.
Responsible Practices: The Waterloo, IA, team upcycled sunflower seeds that didn’t meet production standards, donating them to the Prairie Rapids Audubon Society for bird feeders. To date, about 1,200–1,800 pounds of seeds have been donated, with benefits including reduced disposal fees, support of local biodiversity and stronger relationships with local non-profits.

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