McCain Foods has achieved 69% onboarding of its global potato acreage to its regenerative agriculture framework while reducing absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 28% since 2017, according to the company’s 2025 Global Sustainability Report released last week.
The frozen potato manufacturer announced the completion of its third Farm of the Future, a 202-hectare commercial-scale research and innovation site in North Yorkshire developed in partnership with the University of Leeds. The facility completes a commitment made in 2021 to establish three Farms of the Future across diverse growing regions by 2025.
McCain continues to advance its commitment to implement regenerative agriculture across all acreage used to grow potatoes for the company by 2030. The report indicates that 44% of global acreage has reached “Engaged” status or higher on McCain’s Regenerative Agriculture Framework, with 30 innovation farms for regenerative agriculture established globally.
“Farm of the Future UK marks an important step in how we are scaling regenerative agriculture across our global Farms of the Future effort,” said Max Koeune, president and CEO of McCain Foods. “Each site helps us test real solutions with farmers, understand what works, and share that knowledge across our grower network.”
Circular nutrient system piloted at UK site
The North Yorkshire site will apply practices including controlled traffic farming, year-round soil cover and biodiversity building. It represents the first Farm of the Future location to pilot a circular nutrient system developed in partnership with the University of Leeds National Pig Centre.
The circular system uses pig manure to enrich soils and reduce waste, demonstrating how mixed farming systems aim to improve soil health and biodiversity while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. With this approach, livestock waste management is integrated with crop production to create closed nutrient loops.
McCain operates major production, retail and corporate operations globally with 49 production facilities on six continents, partnering with 4,400 farmers and generating annual sales exceeding 16 billion Canadian dollars. The company employs approximately 22,000 people.
Updated science-based targets and 2030 commitments
The 2025 report outlines strengthened 2030 commitments and updated Science Based Targets initiative targets aligned with the latest climate science. In particular, the company is reinforcing its focus on nature and human rights alongside climate resilience and resource-efficient operations.
“We are pleased with our progress,” said Charlie Angelakos, vice president of external affairs and sustainability at McCain Foods. “As we look to 2030 and beyond, we recognize the years ahead will bring challenges and the journey will not be easy. We must build on our lessons learned as well as deep partnership and collaboration with our partners across the value chain.”
On resource-efficient operations, McCain reported that 60% of total electrical energy consumption now comes from renewable electricity sources. The company achieved 98% of packaging designed to be recyclable across its product portfolio.
For food safety and quality, 98% of McCain-owned facilities and 99% of tier 1 ingredient supplier facilities achieved GFSI-recognized certification. A further 97% compliance was reported across its portfolio with McCain’s Global Nutrition Policy and a 6% reduction in sales-weighted average sodium in McCain branded appetizer products since 2018.
