Our business depends on responsible stewardship of nature, the source of our produce that will sustain our future.

Corn harvest in the US

As a food company, our produce relies on responsible stewardship of nature to sustain our future. We continuously improve our agricultural practices and oversight of growers, and communicate our Environmental Policy to our stakeholders.

As climate change shifts environmental patterns, the Group makes our business more resilient through investment in sustainable agriculture and biodiversity protection which DMPL is committed to.

Del Monte Foods, Inc.’s (DMFI) Research and Development team has been developing new seed varieties that improve yields, reduce water usage and reliance on fertilizer and pesticides.

One important aspect of our sustainable agriculture approach is our seed breeding program. Ninety percent of our green beans and 30 percent of our corn come from seeds developed by Del Monte Foods.

We test thousands of new seed breeding lines every year on pilot plots for product quality, yield, and pest, drought and disease resistance. The strongest lines are tested three more times in progressively larger plots to further evaluate them for nutrient content, disease resistance, machine harvestability and more. Once approved, these varieties are added to our Del Monte Foods Approved Variety List and can be used by any of our growers.

 

Our land-use practices have been focused on improving plantation yield through ecologically friendly land preparation, use of sustainable planting materials, plant nutrient application, efficient water sourcing, drainage and plant disease management.

DMPI complies with environmental regulations and requirements of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Solid and Hazardous Waste Management.

Certification audits are conducted on a periodic basis to ensure the Company complies with the certification standards including environmental audits. GLOBALG.A.P. and PhilGAP certification includes Environment Management System (Site Management, Soil Management, Fertilizer Application Management, Water Management, Integrated Pest Management and Plant Protection Products Management), Food Safety, Quality Management System, and Workers Occupational Health and Safety.

DMPI’s Internal Audit covers environmental compliance as part of its annual audit plan.

DMPI’s close-to-a-century of growing and manufacturing attests to how it has sustained its operations.

 

 

Soil Management

 

Tomato transplanting in the US

 

As efficient management of soil directly impacts our long-term productivity, we focused on regenerating topsoil and improving biodiversity on and below the ground.

1. DMFI proactively works closely with growers on sustainability initiatives. Wysocki Produce Farms, a Del Monte Foods grower for over 40 years, implemented an approach called Farming Full Circle which converts 100 percent of their irrigation systems to low pressure decreasing loss to evaporation by 30 percent, and plants cover crops on their 12 hectare potato fields. 
2. DMFI encourages farmers to work with qualified agronomists to innovate farm practices and technologies to boost crop yields, control pests and weeds, and protect the environment. 
3. Understanding and analyzing the agronomics of a new variety is important for environmental adaptation. 
4. DMFI growers regenerate topsoil by rotating crops, using cover crops and applying organic compost. Growing cover crops in the off-season reduces soil erosion and retains soil nutrients. 
5. More than 50 percent of our growers use cover crops. 
6. DMFI breeds non-GMO (genetically modified organism) seeds that mature faster, generate a higher yield and resist drought. Ninety percent of our vegetable ingredients come from Del Monte Foods-bred or approved seeds. 
7. In the Philippines, DMPI is working on a soil conservation project to maintain land productivity, mitigate topsoil loss, prevent soil erosion and reduce loss of soil nutrients.
8. The Company conducted a thorough review of its Soil Conservation manual and revision was made on canal geometries and water velocities.
9. The Company plants cover crops as ground covers along main road shoulders before the boundary canal and maintains the grass levels on side slopes of permanent waterways to prevent erosion after heavy rains.
10. The Crop Growing Units uses the drone images to dredge ditches, install auxiliary canals and silting basins for each field, and plants along river easement near pineapple fields to prevent soil erosion.
11. DMPI’s Drone Program displays the land topography and monitors the pineapple field in Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental. Drone sensors produce a complete image of a field when planting is completed. Seeds take root and show growth within 2-3 months after planting.
12. The Company has a soil map used by our Agricultural Research Laboratory to regularly analyze soil nutrients except nitrogen and organic matter.
13. DMPI uses a soil and water assessment tool program to monitor the health status of our resources. 
14. DMPI uses Meteoblue high-resolution weather data to measure the five-day and fourteen-day rainfall on location-specific and hourly and daily resolution forecast in each field.
15. The Geomatics team demonstrates near-infrared spectroscopy to detect changes in internal maturity and translucency in fresh fruits using a non-destructive inspection. The team implemented a new workflow for detecting field depression for quality of land preparation after the 2nd pass chopping. By processing topography drone flight data following a specialized workflow, it enables the early detection of possible waterlogging in fields even before planting took place.   

Pineapple harvest operation in Bukidnon, Philippines

 

One of DMPI drones used in the plantation for monitoring plant health and mapping

 

Bean field in the US

 

New pineapple field ready for planting

 

Water Management

As with any producer of agricultural products, water is one of our largest impact areas. It is critical to our growing and packing operations and access to it is threatened by climate change.

The Group implements the least water-intensive cultivation methods available and encourages the use of more water-efficient irrigation systems. DMPL follows strict protocols around our well water use and sprays discharge for the water used in our manufacturing process.

 

1. Del Monte Foods created a task force to identify and implement ways to reduce water use at our high water-risk areas.
2. The Company proactively manages water use through efficiency measures, including selecting drought-resistant seeds, promoting drip irrigation and recycling water used in production in our cooling towers. We discharge used and treated water into spray fields, where it can re-enter and recharge groundwater stores and local streams.
3. All of DMFI growers in central Washington State use center pivot irrigation so they are able to control their water use using only as much or as little is needed to grow their crops with no waste.
4. Three manufacturing facilities of DMFI operate in areas where the baseline water stress is 80% which is considered extremely high. These are our Hanford and Modesto facilities in California and Puebla plant in Mexico.
5. Over 98 percent of our tomato growers in California utilize drip irrigation to manage water resources more efficiently, especially in drought-prone areas in the western United States.
6. At one of our sites in Yakima, Washington, we installed a water recycling system that reuses the water that conveys our pears, resulting in a reduction in water usage of about 3,800 liters (1,000 gallons) per day.
7. Much of the water that is used to cool cans is recycled in our system. DMFI sources water from municipal sources and our own wells.
8. We recycled the cooling water from our cans to run our cooling towers and reduce fresh water and energy usage.
9. To conserve freshwater usage and avoid water treatment costs, DMPI uses water from steam and pineapple juice of our evaporators and from mill juice from our Reverse Osmosis (RO) system for Ultrafiltration System Clean-in-place (CIP) and Ion Exchange Plants regeneration.
10. Our cannery and bottling plant operations in the Philippines monitor the Water Use Ratio (WUR), i.e. liters of water used per common case. The Group’s combined WUR is 11.06 liters/kilogram in FY22, flat vs. prior year.
11. Our toll manufacturers’ water conservation programs eliminate waste and reduce water consumption. Wastewater discharges of all toll manufacturing lines are within regulatory standards. WUR in beverage and culinary toll manufacturers are monitored and reduced each year.

  

Boom sprayer in Bukidnon

 

Fertilizer and Pesticide Use

We help growers apply the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to minimize pesticides.

Del Monte Foods, Inc. (DMFI) connects our growers and consumers through partnership with the Stewardship Index of Specialty Crops organization and CropTrak™ for their crop data management system, providing detailed information on how vegetables are grown.

1.  In the U.S., CropTrak™ monitors cover crops, which help increase organic matter, reduce wind and soil erosion, sequester carbon, filter water, control weeds, and manage nutrients. 
2. DMFI optimizes fertilizer use to ensure crops receive only as much fertilizer as is needed to produce healthy yields.
3. The Company employs the principles of Integrated Pest Management, including crop rotation and insect-resistant seed selection, to greatly reduce pesticide use, which can affect non-harmful insects.
4. By limiting pesticide use, we reduce the probability of contaminated runoff from fields, protect the health of farm workers, prevent the destruction of beneficial insects and other field organisms, and ultimately decrease the likelihood of pesticide residue on the crop when it is harvested and processed.
5. We have participated in a number of IPM-related partnerships and initiatives to share knowledge and best practice, such as understanding pest life cycles and how to monitor their movement. Pests in our crops are anything undesirable including diseases, insects, rodents, and weeds.
6. DMFI bans pesticide application when pollinators, such as bees, are present. 
7. The Company has reduced its pesticide use in green beans by 96 percent since 1980. 
8. DMFI provides our growers with plants that are naturally resistant to diseases and insects, reducing fertilizer and chemical use in farms. 
9. In the Philippines, Del Monte is working on obtaining Rainforest Alliance certification by FY23. The Company implemented an Integrated Pest Management Program for its pineapple plantation and begun replacing and discontinuing certain hazardous chemicals. The Company is discontinuing seven chemicals. 
10. DMPI installed manure and black light traps as a natural method to control white grubs and installed a Grubs Alert System for more precise targeting of chemical control against grubs.

 

Del Monte Entomologist and corn scout taking samples of insects

Grape vineyard in California, USA

  

Clean-up drive in the plantation

 

Waste Management

Del Monte Pacific aims to reduce the overall consumption of raw materials in our operation, encourage the reuse of materials, and promote responsible disposal. The Group actively seeks ways to divert food waste from landfill, including through upcycling. A dedicated task force finds new uses for waste streams.

 

 

1. In the U.S., we benchmarked our waste management practices and compared landfilling to recycling rates to ensure efficient management of waste streams.
2. DMFI received upcycle certificates for its Blue Lake® Petite Cut Green Beans, Blue Lake® Farmhouse Cut Green Beans and Fruit Infusions. Previously discarded small cuts and ends of green beans have been upcycled into these two new products, while excess pineapple juice from our canned pineapple processing gets repurposed in our new Del Monte® Fruit Infusions.
3. The Company is evaluating ways to repurpose previously unused excess syrup from our boba product lines into new products.
4. DMFI continuously works to reduce the footprint of our packaging by investing in new materials and redesigning existing materials. The majority of our products come in steel cans, which have the highest recycling rate of any material. We ship and protect products in corrugate, which contains 33 percent recycled content. Our paper-based products are 100 percent Sustainable Forestry Initiative® or Forest Stewardship Council® certified.
5. We participate in the How2Recycle initiative of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition® to inform consumers how to recycle our recyclable packaging correctly.
6. Since 2009, we have been reducing our use of plastics and metal by light weighting our packaging. We are currently developing a compostable fruit cup using bioplastics as well as a fruit cup that contains post-consumer recycled content.
7. As members of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition® and Consumer Brands Association, we support improving recycling infrastructure and exploring new packaging options that are more widely recyclable and use a higher proportion of recycled content.
8. We are actively involved in the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a collaborative effort between the Consumer Brands Association (formerly Grocery Manufacturers Association), Food Marketing Institute, and National Restaurant Association.
9. Over the years, DMFI partnered with Feeding America to divert peach pieces and process them into canned peach chips. Small cuts of peaches that previously went to waste through our sliced peach production process are turned into peach chips which are provided to those facing food insecurity.
10. We treat wastewater discharged from our agro-industrial facilities.
11. In FY22, DMPI reduced about 90 MT of plastic packaging materials and generated savings of about US$ 400 thousand. The Company reduced rigid plastic and flexible usage by 10% and 4.4%, respectively.
12. Del Monte pursues packaging sustainability goals to reduce packaging carbon footprint. We implement ongoing plastic packaging reduction initiatives and have set a goal to use biodegradable PET bottles by FY2026.
13. Solid wastes and recyclable materials in the plantation community are segregated and sold to fund community projects.
14. All toll manufacturers in the Philippines practice waste segregation and management. DMPI ensures that all our toll manufacturers comply with water and smoke discharge regulations.
15.  The DMPI office in Manila is LEED Silver-certified, a green building symbol recognized around the globe. The building system conserves water and employees practice waste segregation.

Solar panels in Hanford facility in California, USA

 

Climate Change Adaptation and Energy Efficiency

Climate change is a business risk, from altering the growing season to delaying shipments due to extreme weather and increasing costs for resilience measures. To reduce carbon emissions, we have undertaken initiatives to explore more efficient energy sources, strengthen energy conservation in worksites, and reduce process waste.

1. The Group takes a holistic approach to managing and mitigating risks posed by climate change by working across our value chain to measure climate impacts and implement adaptation initiatives.
2. About 90 percent of DMFI’s vegetables, fruits and tomatoes grown in the United States. The Company mitigates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by locating processing plants near our growers, on average, less than 100 miles apart, resulting in lower fuel use and fresher products.
3. The Company installed a new refrigerant system in its Yakima facility that replaced chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons with ammonia, an alternative system that does not use refrigerant gases which have a global warming potential. The system has resulted in electricity savings and lower operating costs.
4. In Hanford, the Company abides by the state’s cap and trade program, which requires a year-on-year reduction in emissions. DMFI installed a solar power plant in Hanford.
5. In FY22, the Company reduced its total energy use by 35,345 megawatt-hours despite increasing total production. Part of the reduction is the use of solar panels in Hanford that produce 401 megawatt-hours of electricity.
6. In Hanford, we purchased a previously leased solar power generation installation in order to reduce our energy cost and emissions.
7. Our Modesto plant in California implemented multiple initiatives to minimize the impact of climate change. As part of continuous improvement efforts, the plant installed a combined heat and power system, selective catalytic reduction unit, condensing economizer, and backpressure turbine generator in the boiler system. These upgrades cut natural gas use by 20%. Lighting, compressed air, and other electric efficiency upgrades also reduced energy use by 12%.
8. In the US, the Company increased shipments by rail by over 3 million miles, an increase of 38%, which eliminated 8,086 MTCO2e or the equivalent of 133,703 seedlings grown for one year.
9. Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) became one of the few companies in the Philippines to be certified as carbon negative for scopes 1, 2 and 3 (air travel and fuel used by vehicles) for its pineapple operations. The quantification and reporting of the GHG emissions have been independently verified by the British Standards Institution (BSI) against ISO 14064-1:2018 specifications. The verification activity has been carried out in accordance with ISO 14064-3:2019 and the principles of ISO 14065:2020.
10. The Company’s sequestration from its vast 26,000-hectare plantation and around 630,000 trees planted to increase the forest cover around its plantation more than offsets DMPI’s carbon emissions.
11. The Company has disaster recovery and business continuity plans to minimize the adverse effects of environmental incidents and initiatives to mitigate the effects of El Niño and La Niña.
12. Del Monte’s waste-to-energy facility converts the cannery’s wastewater into renewable energy. The facility generates 2.8 MW of electricity and cleanses water discharged at coastal waters of Macajalar Bay, which has Biochemical Oxygen Demand levels better than government mandated levels of 100 mg/liter.
13. The waste-to-energy facility ensures 100% wastewater treatment and serves as a shield against unstable power supply and power cost increases.
    a.This plant complemented the job performed by an eco-effective but power-intensive aerobic treatment plant
    b.We are committed to reduction of greenhouse gases in compliance with the Clean Air Act of the Philippines
    c. The waste-to-energy facility produced 17% of the cannery’s power requirement in FY22

14. DMPI’s bottling plant and Manila office purchase their electricity from a Retail Electricity Supplier (RES) to save on costs. Part of the electricity purchased from RES came from renewable sources.

 

The cannery's waste-to-energy facility in Bugo, Cagayan de Oro City

  

Foundation volunteers participated in the reforestation at Mt. Kalatungan

 

Environment

1. The Del Monte Foundation pursued tree-growing efforts by partnering with schools and organizations in the plantation vicinity to gather tree-planting volunteers. 
2. Our tree planting program in Mindanao, Philippines uses mostly endemic tree species sourced from nurseries sustained by local indigenous people. 
3. We have planted around 630,000 indigenous and commercial trees, including about 23,000 planted in FY22 in different areas of Bukidnon by the Del Monte Foundation, Plantation Operations, DEARBC cooperative, Xavier Science Foundation and Local Government Units for reforestation and soil conservation. 
4. Our new employees plant trees in Mindanao. This practice increases the employees’ awareness to take care of the environment. Training program beneficiaries also plant trees in community tree parks before their graduation.

 

DMPI inaugurated its first native tree arboretum at its Plantation facility

5. The Foundation has a 7-hectare agroforestry project with the Indigenous People community in Mt. Kitanglad that grows coffee and bamboo for livelihood in order to protect the forest from denudation.
6. An IP organization, MAMACILA, and the Foundation inked an agreement to expand the latter’s nursery of native tree seedlings in Claveria, Misamis Oriental. The Foundation extended financial assistance for nursery establishment, which shall be repaid by MAMACILA in the form of seedlings. These shall be used for the reforestation of about 10 hectares assigned by the LGU to DMPI equivalent to 1% of the land that the company is leasing in the town.

 

MAMACILA tree nursery

7. We are mindful of the diverse flora and fauna around the plantation and ensure they are protected and cared for.
8. Part of the Company’s employee engagement in Bugo is the annual coastal clean-up of the shoreline of Macajalar Bay in Bantiles, Bugo, Cagayan de Oro City. 
9. Part of the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of our toll manufacturers are the Waterbody Program and quarterly Clean-up by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 
10. The Company has a risk management plan and corporate compliance report that includes potential risks and issues raised by stakeholders concerning people, communities, the environment and the business. 
11. We encourage our stakeholders to inform the Company of any environmental, regulatory and social issues. Issues brought to the attention of management are discussed, and mitigating actions are conveyed to the concerned stakeholder, accordingly.

 DMFI volunteers participated in the California Coastal Clean-up day