The leading Second Degree Cooperative in stone fruit, in recent years, has taken remarkable steps in terms of sustainability and the environment, given the need to preserve the natural environment as much as possible.
True to the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact – to make the world fairer for all and end inequalities – and now also committed to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Fruits de Ponent is part of the network to the Global Compact. This aims to work on the sustainability of the planet in all areas: environmental, economic, social …
Self-sufficiency in green energy
The Cooperative Group has just started up a photovoltaic plant on the roofs of the Confection Center that generates a power of 1.3 MW, enough to generate energy to be self-sufficient in industrial processes during this summer campaign, but also during all year. It consists of 3,200 solar panel modules. The intention of the group will be to use the surpluses of this renewable energy to make them available to its partners, thus managing to close the ‘circle’ in a circular economy model.
In a second phase, it is planned to implement this green energy system – through solar panels – to the rest of the group’s headquarters. The objective is for the entire Group to make the leap to renewable energy.
With this project we are advancing towards objective 7 of the SDGs Affordable and clean energy ‘and 13’ Action for Climate ‘. In this first year of operation, greenhouse gases will no longer be emitted into the atmosphere, and by 2021 the Co2 emission will be zero by the Group.
Sustainability in the use of water and materials
Another of the Group’s objectives is efficiency in water management for industrial processes. As detailed in the Group’s Sustainability Report (2018), in the last campaign, 20,372 cubic meters of water were used, when in 2012 some 80,000 had been counted. In addition, with the installation of a water treatment plant, this resource is reused for industrial uses.
And, regarding the use of materials, year after year the change is made towards a more sustainable type of packaging to the detriment of plastic. Also, as reported in the report, the use of the latter material has been reduced in favor of the use of cardboard or biodegradable plastics. An example is the bags used in the Group’s agro-shops, made of biodegradable material. These actions follow other SDGs such as 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).
In short, a Group that in recent years has been making the leap towards a ‘sustainable eco-system that at the same time links to cooperative principles that ultimately work for the protection of the environment and a fairer world in all the senses. We call this Cooperative Motor.
