ISS Guckenheimer Further Improves Animal Welfare Standards with New Pork Supply Policy

ISS announced today that its North America food business, ISS Guckenheimer, has adopted a new policy to source gestation crate-free pork across the majority of its locations. The new policy went into effect on May 1. The company’s new provider is Clemens Food Group, one of the largest gestation crate-free pork producers in the U.S.

“Improving animal welfare is extremely important to us and our clients and the individuals we serve,” said Paul Fairhead, CEO of ISS Guckenheimer. “Our commitment to sourcing gestation crate-free pork is part of our broader efforts to improve animal welfare and consciously contribute to a more humane, and socially and sustainably responsible food cycle.”

Under the new gestation crate-free pork policy, sows are housed in open pen environments with at least twenty-four square feet of space during gestation, which lasts about 114 total days. This compares with conventional methods, which confine sows to individual stalls that restrict movement during that time.

The company’s pork policy is the latest in a series of recent actions to improve animal welfare standards. Last year, ISS committed to sourcing 100% of shell and liquid eggs from cage-free farms by 2025. Through the end of 2022, the Americas region sourced 89% of its eggs from cage-free farms.

Earlier this year, the company joined the Beans is How coalition to encourage more plant-protein consumption, promote soil health, improve nutrition, and provide increased access to food at a lower cost while doing so. For the second consecutive year, the company also earned the #1 rank for protein sustainability by The Humane Society of the United States, which noted its commitment to making 55% of menu options plant based by 2025.

Other recent sustainability-focused achievements and milestones for ISS have included: committing to reaching full net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, signing the Cool Food pledge, halving food waste in the coming years, adopting a program to reduce hunger and divert surplus food.

The integrated facilities management service mix for ISS includes the provision of food, technical, workplace, and cleaning services, among others. The company provides these offerings across major industry segments, including life sciences, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, banking and professional services, and aviation.