Palm oil offsets, Costco’s more sustainable seafood and Del Monte’s wrapped bananas
Kellogg’s buys GreenPalm certificates
The world’s biggest producer of breakfast cereals, Kellogg’s, is the first in the food industry to buy GreenPalm certificates to offset 100% of its palm oil use.
Kellogg’s uses about 0.1% of the global supply of palm oil. GreenPalm estimates that only 6% of the world’s supply is sustainably grown, and most of the world’s supply comes from various plantations and mills across the globe that are mixed at each stage of production, making it very difficult (and expensive) to trace. Currently, sustainable palm oil is only available in Europe, and the palm oil Kellogg’s requires is not yet available in sustainable supply.
Through Kellogg’s purchase of these certificates, palm oil producers can earn a premium for using sustainable production processes, which will encourage greater use of sustainable practices and help reduce deforestation.
Kellogg’s has also committed to buying segregated, sustainable palm oil once it’s available in sufficient and financially viable quantities.
“GreenPalm certificates allow companies to take action now and create the market demand so that palm oil suppliers will take the necessary steps to construct a segregated supply chain and achieve the economies of scale in a much quicker fashion,” says Dave McLaughlin, vice-president for agriculture at WWF. “Kellogg’s has recognised this, and its efforts should be applauded.”
Costco improves seafood-purchasing policy
After eight months of intensive campaigning, Greenpeace has persuaded Costco, America’s largest membership warehouse club chain, to stop selling over a dozen red-listed unsustainable species including Atlantic cod, Chilean sea bass and bluefin tuna.
Greenpeace started scrutinising Costco’s seafood policy in 2008 during its retailer-ranking project. “Costco had never demonstrated any sort of progress towards adopting a sustainable seafood policy or even acknowledging these issues,” says Greenpeace senior markets campaigner Casson Trenor. “Coupled with the massive presence that the Costco Corporation has in the seafood industry, it became clear that this company’s actions and the reality behind their seafood operation needed to come to light.”
Costco has committed to pursue better practices in aquafarming and help establish a more sustainable canned tuna industry. The company also partnered with WWF to reassess its wild-caught species and how to acquire a more sustainable alternative.
Still, Costco’s seafood policy isn’t perfect. For example, Greenpeace would like it to strengthen its purchasing policy for high-volume aquaculture products, such as farmed shrimp and salmon. But it’s certainly moving in the right direction.
Kaiser Permanente’s open hospital design contest
Kaiser Permanente (KP), a not-for-profit healthcare provider, has launched an open hospital design competition to develop a revolutionary small hospital that can deliver high-quality healthcare in an eco-conscious and tech-savvy setting.
Traditionally, KP operates large medical campuses that include a large hospital and several outpatient buildings. The competition resulted from a real business need in southern California, where many members live far from KP’s larger medical facilities, making access to care difficult. Smaller hospitals will help fill this void in both new and underserved markets.
KP is looking for designs that are innovative, reduce life-cycle costs, can adapt to other locations, improve efficiency, and foster an atmosphere that nurtures the mind, body and spirit of patients, their families, and staff.
Finalists receive $750,000 to further develop their designs, and the winner will be eligible for a contract with KP to see the project come to fruition.
“The competition demonstrates Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to both sustainability and innovation, and we are hoping it sends the larger message that what’s good for the environment, is good for health, and good for business,” says John Kouletsis, executive director of strategy, planning and design at Kaiser Permanente.
Del Monte goes bananas
In what many would call a fruity move, Del Monte Fresh Produce is introducing individually plastic-wrapped bananas to the UK market.
Del Monte is the world’s third largest marketer of bananas. The new product, branded a “natural Energy Snack on the Go,” uses unique controlled ripening technology (CRT) in the packaging to extend bananas’ shelf life by several days, as the banana is sealed when it’s still green and thus ripens more slowly.
The packaged bananas will be sold in non-traditional venues including small convenience stores, petrol stations and vending machines, thus offering consumers “a fresh and healthy alternative to the typical snacks linked to the growing obesity epidemic in many western societies”, according to Dionysios Christou, vice-president for marketing for Del Monte Fresh Produce.
Many NGOs are up in arms about the new product, saying it merely contributes to the pressing environmental problems of growing landfill waste, litter and pollution.
Del Monte says the packaging will actually help reduce carbon emissions by cutting the number of deliveries (as the CRT bananas will stay fresher longer) and help reduce the 1.6m bananas thrown away daily in the UK, which naturally emit methane. The packaging is also recyclable.
But critics will say that Del Monte created these plastic-wrapped bananas to sell more bananas with vendors that would not previously carry them. The company has therefore added a new product to market and expanded its distribution, not reduced it. The claim that it is cutting carbon emissions by delivering fewer bananas only rings true if it is replacing delivery of unwrapped bananas with the wrapped ones (which doesn’t look to be the case). These bananas have the whiff of greenwash.
New public-private coffee partnership
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Fair Trade USA have joined together in a two-year initiative to educate Brazil’s coffee-growing communities about Fairtrade practices and help them reap the benefits.
The Sustainable Sourcing Partnership Project will provide farmers with technical assistance and increase their understanding of and compliance with Fairtrade environmental standards, to help protect biodiversity and boost farmers’ incomes.
According to Rick Peyser, director of social advocacy and coffee community outreach at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the initiative addressed several strategic goals. For one, the company sought to expand its supply of Fairtrade coffee and the partnership’s focus on Brazil opened a viable new market. The project also met the company’s corporate responsibility criteria, whereby coffee-community support initiatives must directly touch farmers and their families. Lastly, the matching USAID contribution enhanced the scope and influence of the programme beyond what the company could commit alone.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and USAID each contributed $200,000 to fund the initiative, while Fair Trade USA is providing on-the-ground expertise.
The partnership builds on the success of the Responsible Sourcing Partnership Project, which focused more on “foundational” activities in Brazil such as certifying farmers and providing access to the Fairtrade marketplace.
“This partnership has long-term implications – it is not just something we just send a cheque for and sign off on,” Peyser says. “By bringing these resources together, we are laying a foundation for a long-term impact on farmers and on our supply chain. We believe that it provides a good model for how coffee companies can engage with the public sector and NGOs to make a difference in coffee-growing communities.”
UK charity website takes off
Do you remember reaching the checkout and being asked to drop your remaining change into a small, slightly ratty container beside the register for a needy charity? The Pennies Foundation is taking this tradition into the 21st century with Pennies, the electronic charity box.
In 2010 UK residents used their debit and credit cards 7.9bn times. Pennies enables individuals to donate their change to charity electronically both in store and online using their bankcard. You’ll simply be asked whether you want to round up your purchase by a few pennies, and you can accept or decline the offer with the touch of a button.
Participating retailers select the charities of their choice, which will receive the majority of the donations. The remaining money will be distributed to a range of UK registered charities nominated by The Pennies Foundation trustee board. The entirety of the proceeds will be donated.
Pizza chain Domino’s was the first retailer to sign on, followed by Italian restaurant group Zizzi and budget hotel company Travelodge.
“If there was ever a need to prove that every single penny counts, we now have over £57,000 worth of evidence,” says Alison Hutchinson, chief executive of the Pennies Foundation. “Many of the donations are literally a penny or two, but it all adds up and this is real money that will help charities deliver services to real people in need.”
Tetley Tea brews Facebook campaign
To promote its commitment to sourcing 100% Rainforest Alliance certified tea by 2016, the world’s second largest tea company, Tetley, is taking its mission to the masses through a new Facebook campaign, The Farmers First Hand.
The aim of the campaign is to provide consumers with an insider’s view of the company’s journey towards Rainforest Alliance certification by connecting them directly with Tetley’s tea-producing farmers. The campaign will also coincide with the launch of the first Tetley tea packs to feature the Rainforest Alliance seal.
The Lujeri tea estate in Malawi will be the company’s first Facebook farm. Consumers can review profiles of the local estate workers, peruse images and videos, and exchange posts.
To help drum up a following, Tetley will donate £1 to Malawi schools for every person that “likes” its Facebook page during the first two weeks of the campaign.
UKshoppers can expect to see RA-certified tea in stores this spring, while tea lovers in the US and Canada will get the product later this summer.