At Volm Companies, sustainability is an important part of our business. Over the years we have taken steps to understand our total footprint while also investing in research and development. These efforts are intended to lessen the burden on our environment – and also include innovative equipment and packaging solutions.

For these reasons, it was such a privilege to recently attend the International Sustainability Summit in Vancouver, British Columbia. There, industry leaders met to advance discussions on a standardized approach to sustainability for the global fresh produce sector. Experts from around the world discussed sustainability challenges for our industry, shared their ideas and voiced their concerns.

But this summit accomplished a lot more than simply bringing a group of people together. The Canadian Produce Marketing Association, which hosted the event in partnership with the International Federation for Produce Standards and the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce, organized a fruitful gathering that fostered meaningful discussion. A sustainability charter is now being drafted based on the input provided during these sessions.

Given Volm’s ongoing efforts to drive progress on sustainability, we took a keen interest in this summit. And while many of our beliefs were reinforced at these meetings, we also learned a number of things. For the benefit of our customers, the industry, and consumers at large, we have summarized our key takeaways:

Sustainability is good business – and good business is sustainable. Everyone who plays a role in the fresh produce industry has a responsibility to create and execute an ambitious sustainability strategy. In order to be successful and keep track of progress, approaches should include dedicated staff as well as tangible goals that are routinely measured. At Volm, we continue to ensure that sustainability is a part of our core business strategy. We truly believe that sustainability must be embraced by – and embedded into – all areas of a business, and not treated as a separate task. Going forward, we are committed to making more progress on establishing baseline Environmental Social Governance metrics. Doing so will help us set additional goals, evaluate our plan and pivot where necessary.

Collaboration must trump competition – no exceptions. Making progress on sustainability is not a solo mission, but a collaborative effort where everyone in the industry works together. Through active collaboration with suppliers, customers, retailers, and regulatory bodies, we can help one another to meet goals, create better business practices, and ensure that our packaging meets the needs of the produce industry. At Volm, we are at the table willing to work – and we believe in being a strong partner. We are proud to have 25 industry affiliations, including the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, Western Growers Association, International Fresh Produce Association and Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council, to name a few. These are important industry relationships that help us stay connected, share our learnings, and foster development.

Sustainability is not a sprint, but a journey. Change is never easy, but it needs to happen in a meaningful way. For that to occur, it can’t be as quick and easy as a light switch being flicked. Instead, it needs to happen strategically, collaboratively, and continuously. Continuous is a key word because sustainability is not a goal that you reach, complete, and forget about. It’s something that needs to be consistently prioritized. At Volm, our sustainability journey has no endpoint but is a continuous evolution. We are always striving to do better, recognizing that being transparent is key and knowing when we need to pivot.

The industry deserves a set of universal standards. A complex maze of conflicting rules and regulations will not be of service to anyone. Packaging standards need to apply to everyone, and they need to be applicable everywhere. To avoid confusion and make progress, governments and industry must also use the same terminology. The EU market is learning this the hard way as they deal with a complicated set of certifications that are not standardized. In the U.S., extended producer responsibility, or EPR, will be a key piece to achieving circularity within the packaging industry. EPR is a waste and pollution management concept in which a producer's responsibility extends to the post-consumer stage of a product's life cycle. Overall, this policy approach encourages companies to design more sustainable and recyclable products and manufacturing processes. Currently, this approach is piecemealed together state-by-state. Jurisdictions that have passed EPR bills are California, Oregon, Maine, and Colorado. We are keeping our finger on the pulse to ensure we can help our customers meet the EPR requirements in these areas. In the meantime, we need to advocate for universal standards and ensure the industry is set up for success.

Innovation doesn’t always mean reinventing the wheel. That’s because the industry has already learned many valuable lessons thanks, in part, to jurisdictions that have paved the way. New Zealand, for example, has been a pioneer. The industry there has had success aligning produce supply chain practices with UN sustainability development goals. Of the many lessons learned, New Zealand has shown us the value in having a solid structure to guide progress. Another reality that continues to be reinforced through learned experience is that packaging performs a critical function. As the industry continues to innovate, we need to be mindful that food waste is an ongoing concern. All decision makers must keep this factor in mind as we plot our path forward.

All of these are helpful takeaways, but how does any of this translate into meaningful change? A summit report and Fresh Produce Sustainability Charter will be created to promote the importance of sustainability, advocate for support, accelerate the adoption of actions and make additional progress. All of this will help the industry move together in a more cohesive manner so that we can support each other going forward.

Critical change is also happening at the individual business level. At Volm, we take tremendous pride in doing our part. As part of our efforts, we believe that no measure is too small. In fact, we are accelerating progress so that we can continue to be an industry leader. In particular, we have:

• Hired dedicated personnel that focus exclusively on sustainability.
• Developed a comprehensive Supplier Code of Conduct.
• Published our first Corporate Social Responsibility document.
• Created a robust supplier qualification process to ensure transparency within the supply chain.
• Verified that Volm products are all PFAs compliant so that customers can have confidence in knowing that our packaging meets all regulatory requirements.
• Conducted energy audits of several buildings.
• Begun to track emissions in scope 1 and 2.
• Implemented a Lean training program to help reduce tangible and intangible waste.
• Created the Volm Innovation Center to help expand our sustainable product line and ensure that all new products are designed with circularity in mind.
• Continued to expand our industry affiliations to ensure we’re sharing our great ideas and staying connected.
• Continued to develop innovative equipment and packaging solutions that prioritize sustainability.
• Created a Community Involvement page to showcase how Volm gives back to the communities in which we operate and to encourage our customers and suppliers to do the same.

The road ahead may include some difficult junctures, but Volm remains committed to all parts of the journey. By choosing leadership and collaboration, we believe we’ll be able to continue serving our customers, suppliers, communities and each other. After all, making change is not only about working hard – but also working together.
 

Leah Lex
Sustainability Manager
Volm Companies