As part of its global sustainability journey, Bonduelle Fresh Americas, an Irwindale, Calif.-based wholly-owned subsidiary of Bonduelle, France, published its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy, identifying the goals the company will target to reach over the next five years.
“We have long been committed to ensuring the well-being of people and our environment,” says Mary Thompson, chief executive officer. “Our company is driven by this commitment, and publishing these goals and inviting our customers and consumers to join us on our journey are exciting next steps for us.”
The goals will support five CSR objectives launched by Bonduelle in 2011—promote sustainable agriculture, reduce environmental impacts, encourage all employees to drive a culture of CSR, feed people well and feed them sustainably and promote the well-being of employees and communities.
“We are excited to launch this comprehensive strategy at Bonduelle Fresh Americas, covering issues ranging from water use and packaging to human rights and labor,” says Mathew Caldwell, senior manager of CSR. “We are prioritizing the right issues, committing ourselves to improving in these areas and engaging all stakeholders in these actions—employees, customers, consumers, communities and suppliers.”
Bonduelle Fresh America’s CSR goals for 2025:
● Water: ○ Identify water challenges within growing areas to implement improvement projects with growers.
○ Reduce water intensity by 25% in all production plants.
● Energy: ○ Cut energy intensity by 25% in all of production plants.
○ Adopt more sustainable energy sources in 50% of production plants.
● Waste: ○ Achieve zero waste in all production plants.
● Packaging: ○ Transition to a packaging portfolio that is 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable.
○ Reduce virgin plastic inputs by an average of 25%.
○ Implement How2Recycle labeling on 100% of branded products.
○ Assess for environmental, social and governance risks.
○ Engage suppliers for remediation.
○ Update and translate Code of Conduct into all represented languages by 2021.
○ Train all staff on Code of Conduct and require 100% annual attestation each year.
○ 100% of facilities maintain certification from the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) each year.
○ 100% of direct food suppliers are certified by GFSI.
○ Define diversity and inclusion goals and action plans by mid-2020.
○ Work toward a zero-loss time workplace.
○ Create an environmental management system (EMS) based on International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001.
○ Achieve Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 certification.
○ Administer two annual community volunteer events in each Bonduelle Fresh Americas location.
○ Ensure 100% of production plants complete human rights and labor audits.
○ Assess 100% of significant suppliers for human rights and labor risks.
“Bonduelle is a family company built on the premise that plant-based foods can help create a better future, both in how we manage our resources and how we will feed the world’s growing population in the healthiest way possible,” adds Thompson. “We believe our efforts and transparency will help promote CSR thinking and provide a blueprint for our industry.”
