Our sustainability roadmap has been created in close collaboration with our divisional management, our entities and our sustainability ambassadors. The approach was also discussed at the Board meeting and updates on our progress will be a standard part of the business updates to the Board by our management.
Next to all internal input we have also taken in to account external views on sustainability in the food sector: conversations with experts, learnings form projects we are involved in, knowledge gained at sector-related events or seminars, EU policies and regulations and inspiration we get from other companies.
To select the most important topics, we especially considered the valuable input from our customers, who are also paying increasing attention to ESG (environmental, social, governance). In addition, we carried out our own materiality assessment.
With all this input, we have added new extra targets and stretched our previous commitments to make our sustainability efforts more tangible and concrete. This new set of targets will be embedded across our activities during the current financial year to ensure sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.
With our approach, we can provide a clear and up-to-date status while ensuring compliance with future regulatory reporting requirements. In the course of 2023, we will analyse the requirements of the EU-CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). Although some additional reporting elements may be required, we expect both our sustainability model and our double materiality analysis will be reconfirmed, as they were designed with the CSRD in mind.
Together with our customers, growers and other stakeholders we firmly believe that each step we take in the right direction can create a significant impact. Our Sustainability Roadmap and model will serve as our guiding compass on this journey.
Greenyard acts as a linking pin in the food supply chain, optimising all parts of the chain – from the farms of our growers all the way to the supermarkets or restaurants where consumers enjoy our healthy, plant-based products. Because of our scale and our extensive network of growers we can optimise transport from all over the world to our distribution centres and production sites. Together with our customers, we define their specific needs before every season and connect them to the best possible growers to develop year-round programs. During the growing season we are in constant contact with growers and retailers to match the demand and supply nature is providing us. This way of working ensures an efficient and sustainable food supply chain with a low environmental impact. And as it is optimised and low in waste it is also the most economical way of working, ensuring fruit and vegetables are accessible, available and affordable for everyone.
