In its first integrated ESG Strategy and Roadmap as Morliny Foods Luis Cerdan Ibanez states that the company’s responsibilities extend beyond business performance.
“We are accountable to our people, to the animals in our care, to the environment we share, and to the long-term resilience of our company,” he said in the ESG report just published for the 2025 financial year.
Part of China-based WH Group, which also includes Smithfield Foods in the U.S., Morliny Foods is based in the United Kingdom. A vertically integrated producer of poultry, pork and processed meats, the company also has operations in France, Spain, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.
For its first report, Ibanez says that the firm has defined clear priorities on climate action, animal welfare, resource efficiency, good jobs, food safety, and strong governance. Furthermore, it has formulated measurable targets, which include reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions, moving to lower greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain (Scope 3), saving energy and water use, increasing renewables, and transitioning towards zero waste to landfill.
These developments involve investment in modernizing and making more efficient its facilities, sourcing responsibly produced feed, and strengthening animal welfare and biosecurity. At the same time, Morliny Foods will maintain robust food safety, quality and environmental systems, and ensure it meets its commitments to its workforce and local communities.
While 2025 represents the first year of the company’s standalone sustainability reporting journey, Ibanez said that the group’s European operations have making progress in these areas over recent years under the Smithfield Foods’ sustainability global program.
For Dana Brindescu Iovanov, chief sustainability officer of Morliny Foods, ESG strategy should be part of the simple premise that care and responsibility should run through all operations from farm to fork.
For example, she highlighted the need to apply science-based solutions for the environment, including better feed, improved manure management, smarter equipment, and more automation.
“For people, it means that safety comes first, always,” she stated. “This report is both a snapshot and a starting point. It shows where we are today, but it also sets out where we want to be in the future. We will not get everything right at once, and we will need to adjust as we learn.”
More on Morliny Foods
Formerly known as Smithfield Europe, the Morliny Foods entity was created by WH Group almost two years ago.
Latest addition to the Morliny Group is Wolf Group, one of Germany’s largest producers of sausages, convenience foods, and ready meals. This was acquired early in 2026.
According to the latest ESG Report, Morliny Foods has around 18,500 employees at 29 production units in Europe. It operates more than 50 of its own farms, and works with 950 contract growers. It also has nine feed mills.
The group comprises four main business areas.
Contim in Romania and Animex in Poland belong to the group’s hog/pork production operations, while Animex represents its poultry business. Packaged/meat processing activities are carried out in Poland, Romania, Spain, and Slovakia & Hungary.
Comprising the fourth “other” business division are rendering plants and heparin/casings plants in both Romania and Poland, pet foods in Poland, and commercial operations in the U.K.
Latest financial report for Morliny Foods Ltd in the U.K. covers the 12 month-period to December 31, 2024. In that year, the company recorded overall turnover of more than GBP184 million (US$251 million), and operating profit was almost GBP2.4 million.
