Baked For Nature
As part of the world’s largest baking company, we strive to be leaders in sustainability, recognizing our obligation to protect and preserve our planet for generations to come.
If you would like more specifics about what our parent company, Grupo Bimbo, has been exploring on environmental issues, visit Grupo Bimbo's website to learn more about their Sustainability Strategy.
Last updated 4/08/2026
Our ambition:
- Achieve Net-Zero emissions by 2050
- * Achieving net-zero by 2050 is an overarching goal of our parent company Grupo Bimbo. For more information on how Grupo Bimbo is measuring Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions, its third-party verification, and how it is measuring interim progress, see its Annual Report (pages 116-131) here.
- Work Towards Zero Waste by diverting waste from landfills and improving packaging sustainability
- Work with suppliers, farmers and other relevant stakeholders to understand, advocate for and support regenerative agriculture practices
We are committed to:
towards zero waste
Bimbo Bakeries USA strives for zero waste across all operations, it is critically important to our world in two specific areas – packaging and food waste. We know the negative impacts non-recyclable packaging, like plastic, has on our environment. We also realize the significant food insecurity that exists across the U.S. and our role to help those that are food insecure.
Bimbo Bakeries USA continually looks for ways to optimize our manufacturing process to help prevent waste during the baking process and supply chain to reduce the time it takes to get our products on store shelves.
WORKING TO ENSURE OUR PACKAGING SUPPORTS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY BY BEING REUSABLE, RECYCLABLE OR HOME COMPOSTABLE
Bimbo Bakeries USA is committed to sustainable packaging and partners with How2Recycle to help consumers better understand how to properly recycle our packaging. Through clear, standardized labeling, we make it easier for individuals to identify which parts of our bread, bun, bagel, and English muffin packaging are recyclable, supporting our goal of reducing waste and promoting a circular economy.
Bimbo Bakeries USA is also a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition.
Improve systems to DIRECT surplus product is directed to food banks
In 2025, Bimbo Bakeries USA donated more than 30 million pounds of surplus product to Feeding America food banks across the nation. This not only helps to keep product out of landfills, but also supports our communities by ensuring that even those who can’t afford to purchase our products still have access to it.
Net Zero Carbon Emissions
Achieving Net Zero Carbon Emissions is critical to help reduce the effects of climate change around the world. That’s why Bimbo Bakeries USA has multiple carbon reduction strategies to meet the needs of all of our facilities across the United States.
Bimbo Bakeries USA follows the framework outlined by the Science Based Target initiatives (SBTi) for GHG emissions. Scope 1 are direct GHG emissions occurring from sources that are owned and controlled by our company. Primary Scope 1 contributors are natural gas, vehicle fuels, and refrigerants. Scope 2 are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity
In 2023, Bimbo Bakeries USA initiated Strategic Energy Management (SEMs) programs at our bakeries and is working with Cascade Energy and local utilities to improve energy efficiencies.
SCOPE 1 SUMMARY
THERMAL OPTIMIZATION
Bimbo Bakeries USA aims to use energy effectively and efficiently. High-efficient boilers have been installed at our Escondido, Placentia, Montebello, Sacramento facilities and we have Heat Recovery systems at our Lehigh Valley, Rockwall, Topeka, Elkhart, and Albany bakeries. Bimbo Bakeries USA ovens also have enhanced oven controls to optimize natural gas usage.
EXPANDING OUR ALTERNATIVE FUELED FLEET
Bimbo Bakeries USA utilizes a robust fleet of alternatively fueled vehicles, including:
- 600+ LPG/CNG vehicles
- 60+ Electric route truck vehicles
- 1100+ Hybrid passenger vehicles
SCOPE 2 SUMMARY
INCREASED EFFICIENCIES
We continue to implement practices to improve our energy efficiencies. This includes installation of high-efficient lighting, high-efficient air compressors systems, and improved cooling efficiency.
Continue to supply 100% of our electricity needs with renewable electric energy
Wind Energy: In addition to purchased energy credits, Grupo Bimbo and Bimbo Bakeries USA entered into a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Invenergy. Through this VPPA, Grupo Bimbo and Bimbo Bakeries USA invested in a wind farm to receive 100 megawatts of renewable, wind-generated electricity.
The purchased energy credits and the electricity produced from the wind farm, produces enough renewable energy to match the electricity used by all our operations throughout the United States.
In 2022, BBU joined the U.S. EPA Green Power Partnership. This voluntary partnership encourages companies to use green power to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use.
Solar & Battery Power: Each of Bimbo Bakeries USA’s bakeries in California are outfitted with solar microgrids with battery storage, including: Escondido, Montebello, Placentia, San Luis Obispo, Sacramento, South San Francisco and Oxnard. These systems combine solar generation with battery storage to improve energy resilience, manage peak demand and reduce reliance on the electric grid. Across the California portfolio, these microgrids generate renewable electricity that supplies more than 20% of the facilities’ combined annual electricity usage and are expected to reduce Bimbo Bakeries USA's carbon footprint in the state by approximately 25%. By investing in locally sited renewable energy, we are strengthening operational reliability while advancing Grupo Bimbo’s long-term goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
CONVERT REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE
To contribute to a more sustainable food system, we must give back more than we take from the land. This means evolving agricultural practices to keep soil resilient, healthy and productive for the long term, while supporting the farmers and suppliers who make our food system possible.
Together with Grupo Bimbo, Bimbo Bakeries USA is partnering with wheat suppliers, flour millers and farmers on multiple regenerative agriculture pilot programs spanning more than 700,000 acres in the United States. These pilots serve learning platforms to test and refine practices that improve soil health, strengthen biodiversity, reduce carbon emissions and support resilient farming communities.
By measuring impact and applying insights over time, we aim to expand successful approaches across regions and commodities, helping protect the long-term productivity of agricultural systems and the future of the food supply.
LEADERS IN THE INDUSTRY
ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence
Grupo Bimbo and Bimbo Bakeries USA has earned the EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for seven consecutive years (2018-2024) for superior leadership, innovation and commitment to environmental protection through energy efficiency. In 2025, we achieved certification of 16 facilities across North America and met the ENERGY STAR Challenge at two bakeries, continuing to be the leader for the most ENERGY STAR certified plants of any company in any industry.
International Baking Industry Exposition BEST in Baking Awards
The International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) named Bimbo Bakeries USA a 2025 BEST in Baking award winner, recognizing leadership across areas such as sustainability, workforce development, sanitation, packaging innovation, plant efficiency, and automation/robotics. BBU earned the Plant Efficiency Award for its Strategic Energy Management and Net Zero Carbon initiatives, which combine energy efficiency, operational excellence, and renewable energy to reduce waste and emissions while strengthening resilience across its bakery network.
BBU was recognized in three categories:
- Plant Efficiency – Received Top Honors in this category for our efforts to enhance efficiency in our bakeries, reduce energy waste, optimize utility performance, and accelerate BBU’s decarbonization efforts.
- Sustainable Packaging Innovation – Recognized for our Arnold Organic 22 Whole Grains and Seeds bread packaging being made up of 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials.
- Automation and Robotics – Received recognition for our Digital Transformation & New Manufacturing Management Model.
RE100
Grupo Bimbo is a member of RE100, committing to using 100% renewable electricity across all countries. In the United States, Bimbo Bakeries USA delivers on this commitment through a combination of renewable energy credits and electricity generated from BBU’s wind farm, producing enough renewable power to match the electricity used across all U.S. operations.
LEED Certification
The United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) programs are the most recognized green building standards in the world. BBU has adopted the LEED standard for all new construction and renovations. Our bakeries in Rockwall, TX and Lehigh Valley, PA, and our Distribution Centers in Allenwood, PA and Alburtis, PA, have all earned LEED certification. To earn certification, the locations each implemented standards to reduce energy and water while taking advantage of efforts to improve indoor air quality and use high amounts of recycled content in the building material.
EPA GREEN POWER PARTNERSHIP TOP 100
As a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership - an initiative of more than 1,700 organizations that promotes the use of renewable electricity - Bimbo Bakeries USA ranks among the top 100 largest green power users in the nation. In 2024, Bimbo Bakeries USA matched 101% of its total electricity consumption with renewable energy, demonstrating a strong commitment to expanding clean energy use. This achievement reflects our continued leadership in reducing environmental impact and advancing more sustainable operations.
Denver and Commerce City Bakeries Receive Environmental Leadership Award
Our Denver and Commerce City bakeries were awarded the Silver Environmental Achievement Award by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Environmental Leadership Program. The bakeries were recognized for going beyond compliance with state and federal regulations and for our commitment to continual environmental improvement.