Del Monte Fresh Produce announced that the its banana operations in Costa Rica (33 farms and 41 packinghouses, totaling 26,324 acres) achieved carbon neutrality certification by SCS earlier this year. The company also celebrated Earth Day by stating its continued commitment to conservation through its reforestation and conservation programs in all its farming operations worldwide.

The carbon neutrality certification obtained covers the entire custody chain from Del Monte banana farms up to the loading port in Costa Rica. Greenhouse gas emission audits were conducted by SCS Global Services and were based on the following four, widely accepted, standards:

• World Resources Institute’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting & Reporting Standard (Revised Edition)
• Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting & Reporting Standard: Supplement to the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting & Reporting Standard
• Draft Costa Rican Standard 2013 “Metodología para la Cuantificación y Verificación de Remociones Forestales — Borrador”
• SCS’ Carbon Neutrality Requirements (a proprietary standard by SCS Global Services), June 2014

“We are very excited that our banana operations in Costa Rica achieved carbon neutrality status and were certified under these very stringent standards," Hans Sauter, vice president corporate research and development and agricultural services of Del Monte, said in a press release. "With these satisfying results, we are now looking into replicating this experience in other operations. This certification validates the effectiveness of our environmental sustainability efforts and it comes on the heels of our recent Sustainably Grown certification by SCS of our banana and pineapple operations both in Costa Rica and Guatemala.”

As part of the company’s commitment to offset its carbon emissions, Del Monte Fresh Produce continues to invest significant resources in maintaining nature reserves as well as planting trees in its operations worldwide.  It is estimated that by the end of 2015, a total of 18,725 acres will be under protected status or reforested. This is in addition to the thousands of trees, many of them local species, which are donated every year to the schools and employees in communities where Del Monte Fresh Produce operates.