Omer-Decugis & Cie, specialist in fresh and exotic fruit and vegetables, has announced its first “zero carbon” pineapples ever. Thanks to the measurement and compensation of all its carbon emissions from the plantations in Ecuador to its platform on the Rungis market in France, the “Terrasol” pineapple has achieved carbon neutrality, certified by TUV Rheinland in the first half of 2021, and is already supporting two projects related to environmental conservation in Latin America.
Vincent Omer-Decugis, chairman and CEO of Omer-Decugis &Cie, claims to be “particularly proud to announce the arrival of this first ‘zero carbon’ pineapple in the world, from the farm to its final destination. It is the result of intense work involving the mobilization of all our teams, both in Ecuador and in France. It constitutes a major step towards a more sustainable future, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the UN for the year 2023.”
This extra sweet pineapple, marketed under the Terrasol brand since 1961, has been recognized for several years at the European level for its taste qualities. Grown at latitude zero, on the side of the Andes mountains, it benefits from ideal climatic and pedoclimatic conditions. This pineapple is produced in compliance with the fundamentals of sustainable agriculture, certified Global GAP, Rainforest Alliance and audited by amfori BSCI. Thanks to the measurement and compensation of all the carbon emissions generated by its value chain - production, logistics, transport, the “zero carbon” Terrasol pineapple goes one step further and confirms the Group’s deep commitment in the fight against climate change - Objective n.13 of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the UN for the year 2030.
The emissions produced by pineapple crops were compensated by the conservation of the Tinajilla-Río Gualaceño protected area in Limon Indanza, with which a cooperation agreement was signed in order to preserve 1,986 hectares of primary forest. The forest of the protected area presents a carbon capture index of 3.25 tons of CO2 per year, which helped compensate for 6,454 tons of CO2. The mayor of Limon Indanza, Erik Bustamante, estimates that this cooperation between the public and private sectors for conservation projects is fundamental. “Thanks to the support from private companies, we were able to preserve more than 32,000 hectares within the municipality and conduct concrete actions, such as the monitoring and control of fauna and flora species and the implementation of educational programs focused on preservation.” Tinajilla-Río Gualaceño is a protected area at the foot of the Andes mountains and the Amazon rainforest that is very rich in biodiversity. This forest is home to large mammals like jaguars, bears, cougars and tapirs, as well as birds, reptiles and amphibians, many of which are endemic and endangered.
The logistics, both air and sea (which represents more than 98% of the transported volumes), generates a total of 7,364 tons of CO2, from the production to the delivery of the containers in Rungis. These emissions were compensated as part of a clean development project set up in Brazil and promoted by the United Nations through its carbon compensation program, “Project MDP PPSS Jorge Dreher and Henrique Kotzian - hydroelectric central”, aiming to supply electricity to the national interconnected network of Brazil while reducing the need for fossil fuels.
Calculating the carbon footprint of the Terrasol pineapple also helped define a plan to improve the most important emission areas, with the goal of reaching a reduction of more than 20% of the carbon emissions in the production phase by 2025. Optimizing the tractor fleets and packaging units, developing the efficiency of the pre-shipment refrigeration facilities and selecting the most energy-efficient maritime shipping companies are topics that are all currently under study.
View the presentation video here.
For more information:
Emeline Pasquier
Omer-Decugis & Cie
epasquier@omerdecugis.com
www.omerdecugis.com