Upfield, the largest producer of plant-based butters, margarines, creams and cheeses and owner of brands including Flora and Violife, has announced a commitment to support 140,000 smallholder farmers and plant-based entrepreneurs, by becoming a signatory of the Zero Hunger Pledge, led by the Global Alliance for Improve Nutrition (GAIN).
Last month The Rotterdam based company said it had calculated the greenhouse gas emissions its customers have prevented over the past year by purchasing its plant-based products over dairy, claiming the savings are equivalent to around six million metric tonnes of CO2, the same as planting 100 million trees.
Now the global player announces it is investing in two projects in rural Kenya: one focusing on supporting farmers to grow high-quality peanuts, and the second on increasing the resilience of canola supply chains. Both projects form part of Upfield’s broader ESG strategy, with the aims of:
- Encouraging 1 billion people to choose plant-based products by committing to driving plant-based adoption through investments and category expansion.
- Positively impacting 200 million lives by providing healthier, more affordable and more accessible products that are equivalent, if not better than their dairy counterparts in both taste and performance.
- Enhancing 140,000 livelihoods and reaching 5 million chefs by committing to programs, grants and initiatives.
- Achieving “Better than net zero” by 2050 and committing to 95% of packaging to be free from plastic by 2030.
Commenting on Upfield’s commitment to the Zero Hunger Pledge, David Haines, CEO Upfield Group said, “Transforming food systems is essential to achieve food security, improve nutrition and put healthy diets within reach of all. At Upfield, we believe that a collective shift to a more plant-based diet is the shift we need to achieve food system transformation and improve access to affordable nutritious foods. That’s why our newly launched ESG report addresses the areas where we believe we can make the biggest impact, at pace.”
You can read more about Upfield’s commitments at www.upfield.com/purpose
