Sustainability
Sustainability is at the heart of our business.
Owned by a farming co-operative, our entire operation is built on sustainable agricultural practices. We are part of the Royal Cosun group and care about our farmers and their land. We are committed to efficient supply chain management and work continually to drive production efficiencies that minimise waste and harm.
Our business focuses on delivering the highest yield of good quality fruit and vegetables to our customers. We work hard to make sure we give something back. Whether that is to the land and the soil, our people or our farmers, we seek out and implement sustainable initiatives that reduce the impact of our business on nature and society.
To us, sustainability is more than just a commercial need, it is an essential responsibility.
To support this strategy, we have achieved EcoVadis gold ranking and are active members of SAI Platform and Sedex.
Framework and Vision
Our sustainability program underpins the entire SVZ business, across three core areas of agriculture, operations, and people – our customers and our teams.
…because the future of our business depends on the long term availability of safe, high quality fruit and vegetables.
At SVZ, we control our supply chain and our experienced teams ensure we produce fruit and vegetables using responsible agricultural techniques. From training our farmers to thinking of our environment and caring for our ecosystems, we are also responsible for making sure the food and beverage ingredients we produce are safe and of the best quality.
SVZ is proud to be a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) platform, where we can share our knowledge and align ideas for future sustainable methods with colleagues across the food and drink industry.
…because we can increase our supply chain efficiencies while reducing our environmental impact.
Harvesting and processing our fruits and vegetables directly at source optimises taste, colour and nutrient retention. Being close to the source and producing from fresh reduces our dependency on transport and supports our sustainable methodology.
Our programme of waste, water, energy, packing and transport management initiatives drives further sustainable efficiencies.
…because we care. We value our people, who are passionate about meeting our customers’ needs.
Our people are knowledgable, engaged and focused on our customers. We ensure a safe working environment and invest in recruiting and retaining the best in the business through our comprehensive training and development program. As part of the Royal Cosun co-operative, we adhere to the Cosun Code of Conduct of good employment practices.
We work in close collaboration with our customers to deliver the high standard of service and premium quality ingredients they expect. Combine all this with our dedication to quality control throughout the supply chain and, together with our growers, we deliver the highest quality, safe and healthy fruits and vegetables to our customers.
Sustainability Activities
We are actively involved in a major water efficiency collaboration with an SAI Platform working group of food and drink companies, retailers and the NGO WWF to improve water governance in the Parque Nacional de Donaña in Spain, one of Europe’s most important wetland nature reserves and a UNESCO world heritage site.
As the world’s second largest producer of strawberries, Spain’s strawberry cultivation depends on efficient irrigation which puts areas like Donaña under strain. The collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of sustainable and efficient practices for better water management by the strawberry growers in the region.
We support a significant water efficiency project pioneered by one of our customers in the Donaña region that measures the amount of water used at each and every stage of strawberry production. The data gathered is used to calculate total water usage and determine new strategies to save water, which are shared with farmers in the region.
Our investment in farmers was born many years ago, when our expert agronomists began to share their knowledge of best practice surrounding the use of pesticides and fertilizers and improve the farming practices of our grower smallholdings. We sought to guarantee transparency throughout the entire supply chain for our customers, as well as enabling our partner growers to be self-sufficient in maximising their agricultural output.
Today, the programme has grown to include biodiversity, soil management and protective measures. More than 3,000 farmers a year attend our training programme at our key growing region in Poland, through which we’ve seen small farms grow from humble roots into flourishing businesses. A series of workshops covers topics including how to increase yield, the importance of hygiene, food safety and the latest global news and regulations relating to crop management. The success of our programme means we can continue to deliver our expert knowledge and invest in our farmers.