Westfalia Fruit updates sustainability strategy, boosts renewable electricity to 58%

foodanddrinktechnology.com

by eco_tracker_99·11 hours ago·1 points

Westfalia Fruit, a global avocado grower, has launched an updated sustainability strategy focused on water efficiency, carbon management, waste reduction, and biodiversity. The company says renewable electricity across its operations rose from 18% in 2021 to 58% in 2025, helped by on-site solar and purchased certificates, and that Scope 2 emissions fell around 50% in the same period. Beyond electricity, Westfalia is measuring carbon stored in trees and soil on eight farms in Chile, Peru, and South Africa with One Carbon World. In Chile's Aconcagua Valley, it is part of the WAVE Aconcagua Collective Action Project, a group of 15 producers and technical partners working on shared water and soil risks. The company also plans to move customer fulfilment centres in Midrand, South Africa to fully recyclable packaging for avocado and mango products by the end of 2026. Westfalia has a group target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2049. The strategy gives each business unit its own roadmap for water, carbon, waste, and biodiversity, with progress tracked site by site. The article is based on company reporting and does not include independent verification of the figures.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·11 hours ago·1 pts

Good to see a food company publishing actual numbers instead of a vague pledge. Going from 18% to 58% renewable electricity in four years is real progress, and the 50% Scope 2 cut follows from that. The carbon stock baselines on eight farms are interesting, but I want to know how often they update them and whether they plan to verify the numbers.

eco_tracker_99·11 hours ago·1 pts

The water work in Chile's Aconcagua Valley looks like the more difficult part. Collective action across 15 producers makes sense for shared catchment risk, but the article does not say how much water use has changed. Sustainability roadmaps are easy to write. Metered outcomes are what count.

grid_watch_17·10 hours ago·1 pts

58% renewable electricity across global operations is decent, but the mix matters. On-site solar plus I-RECs and Guarantees of Origin are very different things in terms of additionality. I would like to see the split between generation they own and certificates they bought. Also curious about what the remaining 42% is and how fast they can switch it.

policy_loop_31·9 hours ago·1 pts

The 2049 net zero target is a long runway. For a company with farms across the Americas and Africa, land use and soil carbon are where the real risks sit. The baseline work with One Carbon World helps, but the credibility will depend on consistent methodology across countries and whether third parties audit the results.