Primafruit Sustainability Report
It's vital that we do the correct thing at every step of the supply chain, before our fruit reaches the customer. This is something we're firmly committed to and passionately believe in.
This report provides details on our progress against our Sustainability Pillars - People, Environment, Sourcing, and the Challenges and Opportunities.
2021-2022 Report2020-2021 Report
Sustainable packaging
The long-standing partnerships between Primafruit, Waitrose & Partners and our growers enables us to invest in future varietal work, while developing our sustainability packaging programme.
Primafruit is at the forefront in developing fresh produce packaging, and one of our innovations was to help Waitrose & Partners to become the first retailer to move from plastic to cartonboard punnets within the Grape category. Primafruit has continued to expand this innovation into other product categories, and has also designed and developed several new packaging concepts for the Duchy Organic brand, in a bid to reduce waste and plastic.
Reducing environmental impact
Primafruit continually strives to reduce its environmental impact and manage its environmental responsibilities. In 2021, we were proud to achieve ISO14001 Environmental Management accreditation.
ISO14001 Environmental Management System enables Primafruit to enhance its environmental performance by minimising impacts on land, water, air, biodiversity and carbon emissions. EMS also enables us to use resources such as utilities, packaging and raw material in more efficient way by assessing environmental risk and opportunities, meeting compliance obligations and achieving our objectives and targets. The process enables Primafruit to strive towards achieving green credentials in both environmental and sustainability now and in the years to come.
Zero to landfill
Our environmental performance matters to our people and our community.
Primafruit takes great care with regards to our environment performance. We send no waste to landfill and seek the most productive ways of waste disposal - recycling wherever possible and reducing the overall level of waste generated by our site each day. We even donate any surplus fruit that is not fit for human consumption to the local farmer who will use this as cattle feed and compost material.
Social projects at source
Primafruit proudly works with Fairtrade Banana growers making sure there is a fair price set to cover the cost of a sustainable production, meaning the farmers are able to plan for their future. There is also the Fairtrade Premium which is an additional sum of money paid to workers and farmers to be spent on improving social, economic and environmental conditions in the best way possible. All of our bananas are Fairtrade, and in 2021/22 we contributed over $1.6 million via the Fairtrade Premium.
Waitrose & Partners Foundation
With Primafruit also partnering with the Waitrose & Partners Foundation programme, we are able to be part of the solution towards building a sustainable livelihood for the people and families who grow, pick and pack the produce. Each time a customer purchases a product with the Waitrose Foundation logo, a portion of the sale is invested back into the community where that product was sourced. Our Foundation products are currently sourced from: Costa Rica (Pineapple), South Africa –(All Primafruit sourced Citrus, Grape, Stonefruit, Blueberries and Figs), Zimbabwe (Stonefruit), Namibia (Grapes)
FareShare
We take pride in supporting FareShare, providing fruit to frontline charities and community groups. We are committed to providing fruit and being able to continue making a difference.
Between May 2021 – April 2022, Primafruit gave 503 tonnes of fruit which is the equivalent of 1,199,601 meals. This included 479 tonnes (1,140,947 meals) during the Give A Little Love campaign undertaken in partnership with Waitrose & Partners between August 2021 and February 2022.
Modern slavery
The exploitation of workers is always a risk in the fresh produce industry, both home and abroad. We want to raise awareness and make sure we tackle the issue head-on.
Primafruit holds regular awareness training sessions for staff regarding this issue. If you have any concerns or want further information please click on the link below or call the Fresca Feedback line on 08000 55 64 99.