Fiscal 2023 report, named ’Finest for the Future’, covers operating procedures, projects, achievements and use of resources
Mission Produce hs announced the release of its fiscal 2023 sustainability report, ’Finest for the Future’, the company’s fourth annual sustainability report.
According to the avocado leader, the report is designed to communicate on its operating procedures, projects, achievements and use of resources, with its sustainability strategy centring around the three pillars of people, product and planet.
“Every year, we strive to build on the progress we’ve made to promote a more sustainable future for generations to come,” said Steve Barnard, chief executive officer at Mission Produce.
“We’ve implemented initiatives throughout our global supply chain to help us be more environmentally and socially impactful,” he outlined. ”I’m proud of the positive contributions we’ve made on our surrounding communities and the intentionality we bring to using our resources efficiently and mindfully.”
Water, solar and tree planting
Achievements from fiscal 2023 included reusing 7,700 litres of water at its ripening and forward distribution centre in the UK through the rainwater harvesting system, and the fact that facility received an AA score from the BRCGS Global Food Safety Standard.
In both Mission’s UK and California packing and distribution centres, the company utilised solar power to reduce reliance on grid electricity.
Last year, Mission generated 1.9m kWh for the use of clean energy in its operations, the equivalent of powering 177 homes for one year, according to calculations using the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Equivalencies Calculator.
More than 180,000 trees were planted last year across its farms in Peru, Guatemala and Colombia. In Mexico, Mission concluded a reforestation campaign to plant 3,000 native plants in Michoacán.
Meanwhile, Mission Produce Guatemala partnered with the San Nicholas Village School to plant 350 native trees in areas historically used as refuge heaps.
Plastic goals
The company set a goal in 2020 to implement a reduced plastic bag in 50 per cent of the bags it packed and shipped globally.
In 2023, Mission modified its methodology for calculating progress on this goal, as the company believed the new method of calculation was more accurate based on data available and captured the amount of reduced plastic utilised in the various bagging configurations that the company produced for customers.
Therefore, Mission now calculates based on the quantity of plastic film purchased by the company for use in production.
According to the new methodology, 53 per cent of the film purchased for use in production in 2023 was reduced plastic.
