15 черв. 2022
We all know that great food starts with great ingredients. But how can we ensure that quality is matched by trust and accountability? From sourcing to end of life, as an industry, we all need to take responsibility for the environmental impact of the products we create. That’s why, at Puratos, we’re committed to actively taking steps to improve the health of our planet. It’s one of our commitments to you and to future generations – an obligation we take very seriously.
And we’re proud to say it’s working – our latest Sustainability Report highlights the important progress we made last year across our ambitious sustainability activities. Read on to discover how we’re working every day to hit our environmental targets and help shape a better planet for everyone.
Doing our bit: Our sustainability promises
To keep us accountable, in 2016 we set in motion a selection of clear, measurable sustainability goals. These needed to focus on not only the ingredients we chose, but also the impact of our transport, manufacturing processes and packaging materials. They are ambitious, but so are we. Our commitments included carbon neutrality, water saving, energy and waste management, and sustainable ingredients sourcing – to name a few. By no means an exhaustive list, we set these goals to be time-sensitive and challenging, but achievable. And we are proud of how far we’ve come, especially during 2021.
The road so far
Our new Sustainability Report outlines the progress we made last year in these areas, as well as the other pillars of our sustainability strategy, Better Health and Better Life . We have continuously measured our successes against our goals, making changes where appropriate to ensure we hit the mark for every aim. So how are we doing so far?
We want all Puratos’s direct operations to be carbon neutral by 2025. Last year, our facilities in Vietnam, Thailand and our chocolate factory in Brazil achieved that, showing excellent progress. Plus, we reduced our scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 30%, a 10% improvement on 2020! We also achieved the energy efficiency target by reducing CO2 emissions per ton produced by 8%. But carbon emissions aren’t the only goal – so is green electricity. And now, in 15 of our operating countries, 100% of our purchased electricity is renewable. In addition, to contribute to a Better Planet, 180.000 trees were planted in the Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Ivory Coast and Uganda. So we’re on track to reach this target globally next year, as planned.
The earth is made up of 71% water, so it’s important that we take care of it – which is why we aim to become water-balanced by the end of this decade. Since 2020, we’ve managed to reduce our water consumption by 9% per tonne of product we manufacture, setting us well on the way to our goal. What’s more, we invested €1.1million last year in water saving and wastewater treatment projects, helping to do our bit on a wider scale.
Did you know that almost two million acres of land have been lost to landfill sites in the US alone?[1] We believe that’s far too much, so are committed to sending zero waste to landfill, and correctly sorting everything that is not recyclable or reusable, by 2030. To reach these ambitious targets, last year we began collecting data on the type of waste we create and how we handle it across our global operations. This will allow us to understand our impact better, enabling us to implement the very best waste management solutions.
[1] https://www.colorado.edu/ecenter/2021/04/15/hidden-damage-landfills
Protecting our planet’s resources goes further than operations – it requires sustainable practices right down to ingredients sourcing. That’s why we pledged to only purchase sustainably sourced, Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil by the end of 2025, and end deforestation caused by cocoa growing for the Belgian chocolate sector by 2030. We made great progress with palm oil in 2021 and continue this transformational journey, spurred on by our palm oil sourcing policy which is provided to our main suppliers. To build on our aim to halt cocoa-related deforestation, we are actively investing in forest restoration and agroforestry as next-gen farming practices to grow cocoa without damaging our forests and ecosystems.
Proud to be Puratos
At Puratos, we're proud of the work we do – not just our products, but also our practices. The journey to a better planet is a long one, but we’re determined to lead the way for the baking, patisserie and chocolate industries and beyond. Want to know more? Download the full Sustainability Report here , or get in touch with our team of experts.
