Agroponiente celebrates B Corp accreditation

Almería’s Agroponiente Group has been recognised as a B Corp company for its compliance with high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and corporate responsibility.

The B Lab accreditation is based on performance in five areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers.

CEO Imanol Almudí said the recognition was “a great success that comes after many others and that precedes a great future in the short and medium term for the company”.

Agroponiente said in a statement that it was proud to join a growing community of companies that are contributing to redefining the meaning of business success: a success that is measured not only by economic benefits, but also by the well-being of people, communities and the planet.

Around 9,400 companies have achieved B Corp status worldwide, including well-known brands such as Camper, Nespresso, Hijos de Rivera, Illy, Danone, Ben & Jerrys and Unilever.

Agroponiente said it had worked tirelessly over the last year to achieve B Corp accreditation and was proud to become one of the few Spanish companies to join the community. It has managed to reduce its water consumption by 71.4 per cent and its electricity consumption by 27.4 per cent, while its carbon footprint has shrunk by 68.7 per cent.

The company now utilises 96 per cent of its fruit waste, while 88.2 per cent of its packaging is plastic-free or sustainable. “And we proudly display a 0 per cent wage gap: there is no such discrimination in the company and, in addition, women represent 60 per cent of the workforce,” Agroponiente said.

Around 200 workers attended a celebratory party last Friday, during which Almudí praised the effort and work of the company’s 2,300 employees.

Belén Viloria, executive director of B Lab, said: “we are delighted to welcome Agroponiente to the B Corp community. This community works to reduce inequality, respect and regenerate the environment, strengthen communities and create high-quality jobs, with dignity and purpose. Agroponiente is a new member of the B Corp community, which demonstrates by example how these results can be achieved”.

Almudí commented: “in the company we have worked globally and transversally to achieve this recognition, which for us was important because it adds to the path we have been drawing for years, of being a pioneering and reference company both in the Almería economy and in the fruit and vegetable sector at origin in general.

“The specifications, objectives and work areas of B Corp coincide in a thorough and precise way with our corporate philosophy, with that ‘conscious agriculture’ that we have been talking about for so long, with the care and respect for our environment, for considering people at the centre of all processes and all strategies and for taking care of our products, services and processes with the care of those who consider that only excellence leads to success.

“For Agroponiente, having become a B Corp company is important because it demonstrates our commitment to sustainability, the wellbeing of employees, the community and the environment.

“This differentiates us from other suppliers by showing that we are not only concerned about profitability, but also about the positive impact we generate in the world. As a customer, by choosing the products of a B Corp company like Agroponiente, you are supporting an ethical and sustainable supply chain that contributes to the well-being of people and the planet”.