By Ron Chen, Correspondent ASEAN Region

Fresh Del Monte Produce has been honored first place in the Green and Environmental Stewardship category at PR Daily’s 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. The win is a reflection of the company’s sustainability commitment and recent achievements across its operations.

The highly respected PR Daily awards recognize global corporations that have executed the most successful and impactful CSR campaigns. The awards highlight both the communications surrounding sustainability and the initiative itself. For the Green and Environmental Stewardship category, Fresh Del Monte Produce presented its achievement on carbon neutrality in its tropical farms.

Currently, Fresh Del Monte Produce owns and conserves 9,400 hectares of forest across its pineapple and banana operations in Costa Rica. The land is home to a rich and diverse set of plants and animals, including vulnerable and endangered species, which are all under the company’s protection. In 2019, Fresh Del Monte Produce was formally recognized by SCS Global Services after achieving its goal of carbon neutrality in these operations, and since then has launched a series of communications campaigns on its sustainability efforts.

“Now, more than ever, it is important for companies to become a force of good in the world” said Chief Sustainability Officer of Fresh Del Monte Produce, Hans Sauter. “Sustainability is one of our key pillars and is deeply embedded in our company DNA. We are thrilled to have our efforts recognized by PR Daily and will continue to work arduously in achieving our sustainability objectives and communicate them accordingly.”

Working towards a bright and fresh future, the company intends to achieve carbon neutral farms across all of its global operations, as well as continue its long-standing tradition of reforestation in the regions where it operates. Every year as part of its stewardship efforts, Fresh Del Monte hosts tree-planting programs to educate local communities about the importance of the natural world and how to work together to plant trees that are native to the region. In just three years, the company has planted over 700,000 trees in its local communities, and hopes to plant 2.5 million by 2025.