Pilgrim's Pride sustainability score: 24/100

Pilgrim's 2024 Sustainability Report discloses that from 2019 to 2024, absolute Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions were reduced by 18.8%, with the Envizi platform implemented as a single global data management system for Scope 1 & 2 data. Third-party limited assurance was obtained for global Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG inventories from 2019 to 2024, satisfying GHG Protocol methodology and independent verification. However, the absolute tonnage figures are not publicly disaggregated in press releases or the sustainability website text — only intensity and percentage change data are prominently reported. Given the large scale (62,000+ employees, $17.9B revenue, food processing across US/Mexico/Europe), the operational footprint is very large — likely in the hundreds of thousands to low millions of tonnes Scope 1+2. The report and verification cover the required period; third-party limited assurance is confirmed. Score is 6 (full Scope 1 & 2, GHG Protocol, multi-year) rather than 8 because granular breakdown by facility or absolute figures are not prominently disclosed publicly.

Pilgrim's 2023 Sustainability Report acknowledges that Scope 3 emissions rose 10% from 2021 to 2023, with purchased goods and services climbing every year since 2021 (up 2.5% from 2022 to 2023). The company obtained third-party limited assurance for its 2021 Scope 3 inventory but has not repeated this for 2022 or 2023. Critically, the company does not account for land use change and deforestation emissions in its Scope 3 calculations, and Agriculture Dive (2024) noted this gap remains material. The Scope 3 target is intensity-based (30% reduction per tonne of product sold by 2030) rather than absolute. Major supply chain emissions from livestock, grain production, and deforestation are identified but poorly quantified. Score is 3: there is awareness and partial quantification of major Scope 3 categories, but the methodology has significant gaps and rising absolute supply chain emissions.

Scope 1 & 2 absolute emissions have been reduced by 18.8% from 2019 to 2024 — this is a genuine absolute reduction over multiple years, verified by third-party limited assurance, which warrants some credit. However, the primary target framing is intensity-based (30% intensity reduction by 2030), and Scope 3 emissions rose 10% from 2021 to 2023. Since the majority of Pilgrim's total GHG footprint is Scope 3 (livestock, grain, distribution), and those emissions are rising while Scope 1&2 improve, total emissions trajectory is not declining. Per the rubric, scores above 4 are capped when Scope 3 is rising while Scope 1&2 improve. The company also acknowledged in its 2023 report that it may not achieve the 2040 net-zero goal. Score is capped at 4.

In 2024, 21.1% of Pilgrim's indirect energy came from renewable sources globally — up from 14.2% in 2023. Twenty facilities use biogas as a renewable energy source, and 100% of Pilgrim's Europe Pork and Prepared Foods facilities source renewable electricity. The company has a target to reach 60% renewable electricity by 2030. However, at 21.1% renewable globally for a large meat processing company with very high energy intensity across dozens of major facilities, the current position is well below where it needs to be. The company is not a RE100 member, and there is no evidence of PPAs or on-site solar at scale across US operations. Score is 3: some renewable progress and a clear target, but current renewable share is low for a large, energy-intensive industrial operation.

Pilgrim's supply chain involves significant deforestation risk: the company sources soy and beef-linked commodities that are leading drivers of deforestation. As You Sow filed a shareholder resolution in 2022 demanding verified deforestation-free supply chains by 2025, citing that Pilgrim's had not achieved this. As of the 2023 Sustainability Report, land use change and deforestation emissions are excluded from Scope 3 calculations. Pilgrim's Europe received a Platinum Business & Biodiversity Charter accreditation from BITCNI, and has planted trees at some facilities, but these are marginal compared to the scale of deforestation risk embedded in the supply chain. No TNFD disclosure has been found. The parent company JBS has documented links to deforestation in the Amazon. Score is 2: aware of key nature risks but no verified deforestation-free supply chain and no TNFD disclosure.

Pilgrim's Mexico has implemented circular economy solutions: all organic processing waste (skin, bone, feathers, blood, giblets) is sent to rendering plants and converted to protein-rich farine for pet food. Biogas from wastewater treatment powers facility operations. Pilgrim's Europe maintains zero-waste-to-landfill across all its facilities. Packaging reduction initiatives are in progress. The Envizi platform tracks waste data globally. These represent active, documented waste minimisation and resource recovery efforts. However, no global verified waste metrics with year-on-year targets are publicly disclosed, and the company's core business (intensive poultry processing) generates very large volumes of organic waste and pollution. Score is 4: active waste minimisation with some documented circular measures, but no comprehensive circularity programme with verified metrics at global scale.

In 2024, Pilgrim's used 14.8 billion gallons of water globally, with water use intensity increasing 1.3% from 2019 to 2024 — the company is behind on its target to reduce water use intensity by 15% by 2030. Pilgrim's Mexico treated 100% of its wastewater at dedicated treatment plants in 2024. Pilgrim's Europe signed the WRAP Roadmap Towards Water Security in 2024. Pilgrim's U.S. wastewater undergoes daily pollutant assessments. However, the company settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit in 2017 for $1.43 million — the largest citizen suit penalty in Florida history — for 1,377 days of violations at the Live Oak, FL plant. Water use intensity is still rising since 2019. Score is 3: monitors water use, has some management measures and wastewater treatment, but water intensity is not falling and the historical pollution record is a concern.

Pilgrim's has self-set targets: 30% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 GHG emission intensity by 2030 (from 2019 baseline), 60% renewable electricity by 2030, and a net-zero by 2040 goal. However, the Scope 1 & 2 target is intensity-based rather than absolute. The net-zero 2040 goal is listed as an 'opportunity' rather than a commitment, with the company explicitly stating in its 2023 Sustainability Report that it 'may not be able to achieve net zero by 2040.' No SBTi-validated targets exist: Pilgrim's pursued SBTi initially but its 2023 report states it is now pursuing environmental goals outside the SBTi framework due to new agricultural requirements. Some UK subsidiaries (Moy Park, Pilgrim's UK) have SBTi-approved targets. Scope 3 target is intensity-based. No offset strategy or high-quality removal programme is documented. Score is 3: some specific measurable targets exist but the primary Scope 1&2 target is intensity-based, the net-zero goal is explicitly uncertain, and no SBTi validation for the parent entity.

Pilgrim's publishes an annual sustainability report and maintains a dedicated sustainability website. In 2024, the Envizi platform was implemented as a global data management system across all operations, with Board oversight. A double materiality assessment was conducted in late 2024 under parent JBS, aligned with ESRS. The COO's compensation is linked to emissions reduction targets. Third-party limited assurance covers Scope 1 & 2 (2019–2024). The 2023 sustainability report was published in October 2024 (approximately 10 months after year-end). GRI and CDP frameworks are referenced. However, the company falls short of full CSRD-aligned disclosure, absolute scope 3 emissions are not annually verified, and the report cadence is slow. Score is 5: dedicated sustainability function, Board oversight, some executive compensation linkage, and third-party assurance — but not yet full TCFD/CSRD-grade disclosure with all-scope annual verification.

Starting at 8: (1) Upheld regulatory action / significant fine: Pilgrim's settled a Clean Water Act lawsuit in 2017 for $1.43 million — the largest citizen suit penalty in Florida history — for 1,377 days of violations at a Florida processing plant, deducting 2 points (score to 6). (2) Credible greenwashing criticism: The New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit in 2024 against parent JBS USA (which markets products under the Pilgrim's Pride brand) for misleading consumers about its net-zero 2040 goal; the NAD previously found JBS's net-zero claims unsubstantiated; Mighty Earth also filed a separate greenwashing lawsuit in Washington D.C. These constitute credible regulatory and NGO-documented greenwashing criticism directly implicating the Pilgrim's brand, deducting a further 2 points (score to 4). No active lobbying against climate policy found in federal lobbying records ($0 lobbying in 2024 per OpenSecrets). No infrastructure or materially complicit structural deduction applies. Final Q10 score: 4.