Kraft Heinz Inks Deal with BHE Renewables to Invest in Renewable Energy to Help Power U.S. Operations
Virtual power purchase agreement helps position Company to achieve global environmental stewardship goal of procuring the majority of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025
PITTSBURGH & CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC) (“Kraft Heinz” or the “Company”) today announced a virtual power purchase agreement (“vPPA”) with BHE Renewables, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy business, for its operations within the United States, which make up the largest part of the Company’s North America Zone. This agreement is designed to enable Kraft Heinz to achieve its aspiration of procuring the majority of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, a key focus area of the Company’s net-zero emissions plans.
“As one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, we are committed to contributing to global efforts to reduce the ongoing threat of climate change,” said Kraft Heinz CEO and Board Chair Miguel Patricio. “In 2020, we committed to buy the majority of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025. This agreement with BHE Renewables helps put us on track to accomplish that aspiration and brings us one step closer to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.”
By the end of 2022, Kraft Heinz plans to purchase enough renewable energy from BHE Renewables to offset more than 15 percent of the energy usage at its U.S. manufacturing sites; and by the end of 2025, this amount is expected to increase to approximately 60 percent. The renewable energy is planned to come from BHE Renewables’ 158-megawatt Gopher Creek wind farm in Scurry County, TX.
“We are proud to support Kraft Heinz as it carries out its commitment to create a more sustainable environment,” said Steve Rowley, Vice President, Renewable Development and Energy Markets at BHE Renewables. “Kraft Heinz has an ambitious goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and we look forward to working with them to meet their renewable energy needs.”
This agreement is the latest in a series of renewable energy initiatives by the Company, including solar projects at three Kraft Heinz manufacturing sites in China – Qingdao, Foshan, and Shanghai – which are expected to prevent approximately 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year for the next two decades. These initiatives also include Kraft Heinz’s recent vPPA with Repsol in Spain.
Kraft Heinz continues to prioritize environmental stewardship by pursuing renewable energy opportunities around the world through utility-scale power purchase agreements (PPAs) and vPPAs.
Download the latest ESG report to learn more about Kraft Heinz’s climate ambitions and progress at www.kraftheinzcompany.com/esg.
About The Kraft Heinz Company
We are driving transformation at The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC), inspired by our Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the center of everything we do. With 2021 net sales of approximately $26 billion, we are committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. We leverage our scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of six consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, we’re dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways. Learn more about our journey by visiting www.kraftheinzcompany.com or following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About BHE Renewables
BHE Renewables is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy that owns and operates over 4,000 megawatts of renewable resources across the United States. The company owns solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric projects that produce energy from noncarbon resources to reduce the environmental impacts of energy creation and meet the varying needs of customers.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words such as “accomplish,” “achieve,” “come,” “commit,” “continue,” “contribute,” “cover,” “design,” “enable,” “expect,” “focus,” “help,” “increase,” “meet,” “offset,” “plan,” “position,” “prevent,” “prioritize,” “procure,” “purchase,” “reduce,” “will,” and variations of such words and similar future or conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts and are based on Kraft Heinz’s current beliefs, expectations, estimates, and projections. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond Kraft Heinz’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to, Kraft Heinz’s ability to achieve the intended benefits of the agreement and the risk factors set forth in Kraft Heinz’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Kraft Heinz’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Kraft Heinz disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update, revise, or withdraw any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
Contacts
Chelsea Slaggert
Chelsea.Slaggert@kraftheinz.com
