Greenyard has published its fourth sustainability report and introduced its sustainability roadmap for 2025.
The company’s strategy for the coming years is built on three key pillars and includes a new ambitious set of commitments, enabling it to further accelerate its sustainability journey and embrace its responsibility to be a driving force to improve life.
One of the commitments include a 50% reduction of its CO2 emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 2025 compared to 2019 and develop a net zero strategy by 2050 in line with Science based Targets initiative.
Greenyard's Three Pillars
As a global leader in supplying fruit and vegetables, Greenyard aims to make a significant and positive impact on the transition to a more sustainable business model in association with its customers and growers.
Greenyard’s Sustainability Roadmap is built on three pillars that are crucial in creating more sustainable food value chains and it is crafted around the concept that is unique to Greenyard – connecting fork to field.
The first of the three pillars of its strategy include building sustainable food supply chains to ensuring the highest environmental and social standards. This means good and fair working conditions for all workers in the value chain, while taking good care of the planet.
Greenyard only sources products from growers who work according to its high quality, environmental and social standards.
Second is improving Greenyard’s own environmental footprint, which includes measures to acheive a lower carbon and water footprint.
Fruit and vegetables have an exceptionally low carbon footprint and lower water consumption compared to other food categories, the company noted.
However, Greenyard continuously works on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting water footprint throughout its entire value chain.
The third pillar comprises teaming up with customers to promote healthy and sustainable food concepts.
This begins with Greenyard's plant-based food offering. In addition, the company ensures that a healthy diet is an easy and accessible choice by offering innovative convenience products in fresh, frozen, or prepared form.
Also, thanks to its 'fork to field' approach, and the integrated customer model, the group can ensure a very low percentage of food waste in the entire value chain.
Tangible Targets
The company has set tangible targets for each of these pillars, based on the commitments Greenyard has already been working on.
These targets focus on reducing CO2 emissions, minimising food waste, lowering the water footprint of fruits and vegetables, minimising the environmental footprint of its packaging, and ensuring responsible and sustainable sourcing.
Hein Deprez, co-CEO of Greenyard, said, "There is an increased awareness of healthier lifestyles and a growing attention for sustainability as an integral part of the health equation. For Greenyard, this has been part of our DNA since we started. We are right in the centre of this reality.
"Our unique position in the food value chain brings opportunities. It allows us to leverage on the business we have built over the past decades: we deliver plant-based products to consumers, based on their needs, and driven by health and sustainability. It also comes with a major responsibility. We want to be a catalyst for change towards ever more sustainable food value chains. We embrace both, we raise the bar, and we are confident we will meet our ambitious sustainability targets and deliver on our promise to improve life: for people and for nature."
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Fresh Produce news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
