A new partnership announced on April 5 between the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation and H-E-B will work toward preserving wildlife habitats and natural resources in the Lone Star State. According to a press release from H-E-B, the retailer’s Field & Future brand supports the mission. The partnership is part of their dedication to “beautifying” Texas and protecting the state for future generations.
“H-E-B is an iconic Texas company, and this new partnership with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation, our official non-profit partner, is incredibly exciting,” Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Executive Director Carter Smith said in the press release. “It’s fitting that the Field & Future line of products will benefit conservation projects across Texas, and we’re deeply grateful for this new partnership.”
Support from H-E-B will help conservation efforts along the Gulf Coast and efforts to restore the black bear population in West Texas. The support will also help the Foundation establish the newest state park in North Texas, Palo Pinto Mountains State Park. According to the press release, the new park is set to open sometime next year.
H-E-B employees will be volunteering at outdoor events and community cleanups leading up to Earth Day on April 22 to show further support. Several storefronts across the state will also host events within their communities.
Winell Herron, H-E-B Group vice president of Public Affairs, Diversity, and Environmental Affairs, said its customers also care about sustainability and protecting Texas land.
“We know H-E-B and our customers have a shared commitment in protecting the land, water, and air of Texas for generations to come,” Herron said. “As H-E-B works to reduce our packaging footprint and increase packaging recyclability, we also look for ways to support community access to recycling. We’re excited to partner with Keep Texas Beautiful and the City of Ingleside to make recycling available for the first time for 65,000 Texans.”
H-E-B also lets customers show support online by donating $1, $3, or $5 to their annual campaign. The campaign runs from April 13 to May 24 and will benefit EarthShare of Texas. The nonprofit raises money to support over seventy conservation groups in the state.
“The April tear-pad promotion is a bit different as it enables H-E-B customers to bolster the diverse environmental program work of more than three dozen EarthShare of Texas’ organizations,” the EarthShare website states. “The customers’ dollars will go directly to these organizations, benefitting both the Texas environment and economy.”
The campaign has donated more than $1 million so far.
According to H-E-B, the company has raised over $20 million for more than five hundred organizations since 2012. That figure includes $2 million in grants given to the Texas Conservation Fund, Keep Texas Beautiful, the Nature Conservancy in Texas, and similar organizations.
H-E-B has also been recognized for its other conservation-related efforts, including minimizing waste, planting trees, recycling, and cleaning up communities.
In 2021, the grocery chain recycled over 636 million pounds of food waste, cardboard boxes, plastic, truck tires, and office paper. The recycling efforts saved the equivalent of 11 million trees and enough power to run more than 83,000 homes for a year.
