Fresh Del Monte Produce has announced that it has joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which aims to drive ambitious climate change action in the private sector by enabling companies to set science-based emissions reduction targets.
The company joins SBTi as the first global marketer of fruits and vegetables to commit to reducing its carbon footprint to assist with limiting global warming to well below 2°C.
According to the company, this commitment further showcases its 'sharpened focus' to operating sustainably and implementing sound, science-based practices throughout its global operations.
“We continue to see an increase in the impact of climate change on our lives through unusually active hurricane seasons and deadly wildfires,” said Hans Sauter, chief sustainability officer at Fresh Del Monte. “This year, we joined the Science Based Targets initiative in order to create a more sustainable and equitable future, not just for our company but for the world.
'Climate action is our top priority and I’m honoured to work for a company that is unafraid to make these commitments,” he noted.
Fresh Del Monte said that it would work with SBTi to develop its target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“We believe that achieving the bold challenges outlined in the Paris Agreement five years ago requires not only the cooperation of governments, and NGOs, but also of corporations,' Sauter continued. 'We will not limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius unless the private and public sector start working together and making serious commitments like these.
'We aspire to lead by example and hope others in our industry will do the same,” he added.
As climate action is an ongoing key component of Fresh Del Monte’s sustainability strategy, the company has also released an update to its 2018/19 Corporate Sustainability Report.
The report includes the development and launch of the Environmental Action Tool and database to track company-wide greenhouse gas emissions for the first time in the company’s history.
It also recently made significant investments in six fuel-efficient vessels, two of which launched this year and are anticipated to result in a 10 per cent reduction in Scope 1 CO2e emissions from vessel shipping by 2025.
