Pet companies report progress in sustainability and impact initiatives

As sustainability becomes a key metric in business, pet players across food and veterinary health are ramping up their initiatives, focusing on energy and water consumption, waste management, and carbon footprints. Companies also reported on their social impact.

Innovafeed

French insect producer Innovafeed has released its 2025 Impact Report, outlining progress toward its 2030 impact strategy built around climate change, biodiversity, local socio-economic impact and food security.

Under the climate pillar, the company reported a 12% reduction in its annual carbon footprint in 2025, keeping its operations below its 30-kiloton annual emissions cap. Carbon intensity per production unit also improved, declining 9% toward its target of a maximum 600 kg of CO₂ per metric ton of protein produced.

Energy consumption in 2025, which comprised 50% recycled energy, decreased by 65%, while water consumption decreased by 49%.

On waste management, Innovafeed reported diverting 60,000 metric tons of biowaste from landfill, while waste generated declined by 62%.

Partnerships also played a key role in Innovafeed’s impact strategy. Through a collaboration with Barentz Animal Nutrition, a Dutch specialty ingredients solutions provider, the company reduced CO₂ emissions by up to 80% via its industrial symbiosis model.

Under this setup, its insect production site is directly connected to a neighboring starch manufacturer, allowing agricultural by-products used to feed the insects to be delivered through a direct pipeline. This eliminates transportation and significantly lowers overall emissions.

Last year, Innovafeed was recognized as a Top Performer (International) by the Pet Sustainability Coalition for the second consecutive year.

Post Holdings

In its 2025 Sustainability Report, Missouri-based packaged foods company Post Holdings detailed progress toward its environmental targets, particularly in emissions and resource efficiency.

The company is targeting a 30% reduction in Scope 1 (direct GHG emissions) and Scope 2 (from the use of purchased energy) emissions by 2030 and has already achieved a 15% decrease compared to its fiscal year (FY) 2020 baseline, amounting to over 600,000 metric tons of CO2e.

In terms of scope 1 and 2 GHG intensity (the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per economic activity, based on production volume), the company reported a 25% decrease compared to the FY2020 baseline.

The company also reported lower electricity and water intensity across its operations. Total water use declined 8% from the 2020 baseline across legacy sites and newer operations, while water use intensity improved by 19% over the same period.

Mars

In January, Mars Veterinary Health released its 2025 Science Impact Report, highlighting advancements across its global pet healthcare network.

In 2025, the company conducted 142 clinical trials, including internal medicine, surgery, anesthesiology and pain management, oncology, ophthalmology, neurology and cardiology. The business also authored more than 500 manuscripts across 19 countries within its global care network.

On the environmental front, the company reported avoiding 200 tons of waste by expanding a reusable shipping tote container program in partnership with one of its largest distributors.

The initiative was rolled out to more than 1,300 US clinics within 12 months. In addition, Mars collected 3 tons of plastic waste for recycling over the same period that would have otherwise gone to landfill.

Nestlé

Nestlé, the Swiss multinational that owns Purina, reported a 24.5% reduction in net GHG emissions in 2025 compared to its 2018 baseline.

The company also recorded a 32.4% decrease in Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions generated across the value chain) related to Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) against the same baseline. In addition, Nestlé reduced its absolute Scope 1, 2 and 3 energy and industry-related GHG emissions by 17%.

The company also reported that 27.6% of its key ingredients were sourced from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices. Despite being low, the figure expands the target of having at least 20% of key ingredients regeneratively sourced by 2025.

Certifications

American pet food manufacturer Freshpet announced that its full product portfolio in the US and Canada has received the Clean Label Project’s Purity Award. According to the company, this marks the first time a pet food brand has been certified under this program.

The Clean Label Project is a nonprofit organization that screens consumer products for more than 100 environmental and industrial contaminants not typically disclosed on packaging, including heavy metals and pesticide residues, to assess ingredient quality and safety.

Additionally, German chemicals company Symrise achieved high scores from the CDP, an independent disclosure platform that rates corporate environmental disclosure and performance.

In 2025, Symrise earned an A- rating for climate change, an A- for water security, and a B rating for forest stewardship.

According to the company, these ratings help companies and their stakeholders translate complex environmental data into decisions. The CDP’s current evaluation covers more than 23,100 companies worldwide.