Bonduelle Fresh Americas Joins Walmart Commitment to Halve Food Loss and Waste

IRWINDALE, Calif., Sept. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Bonduelle Fresh Americas, home of Ready Pac Foods, announced that it has joined Walmart in the groundbreaking "10x20x30" initiative to root out food loss and waste from the supply chain. 10x20x30 is led by Walmart and more than 10 of the world's biggest food retailers and providers, each having committed to engage at least 20 suppliers in a "whole supply chain" approach to cutting food loss and waste in half by 2030. Bonduelle Fresh Americas supplies Walmart with Ready Pac Foods Bistro^® Bowl Salads and salad kits.

"Bonduelle Fresh Americas, along with the entire Bonduelle Group, is committed to preserving our planet's resources. Among our commitments are specific and measurable actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the reduction of food waste and loss," said Mary Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Bonduelle Fresh Americas. "We are driven by the belief that 'Nature is our Future,' and we are determined to continually evolve our business model to build a better company for the world."

Bonduelle Fresh Americas commits to a 50% reduction target in its own operations, to measure and publish its food loss and waste inventories, and to create actionable strategies to reduce this waste. This includes reducing the amount of food waste we create in our facilities, increasing product donations to communities in need and providing food for animal feed.

The food retailers and providers behind 10x20x30 include AEON, Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, IKEA Food, Kroger, METRO AG, Migros (Turkey), Pick n Pay, The Savola Group, Sodexo, Tesco, and Walmart. Among them are 6 of the largest food retailers in the world, the world's 2^nd largest food service provider, and leading food retailers in regions such as southern Africa, the Middle East, and Japan. Combined, participants operate in more than 80 countries.

10x20x30 was publicly launched at the 2019 annual food loss and waste summit hosted by Champions 12.3, a voluntary coalition of executives from business, government and civil society committed to raising ambition and motivating action to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which call for a 50% reduction in food loss and waste worldwide by 2030.

"Reducing the more than 1 billion tons of food that's lost or wasted each year would bring big social, environmental and economic benefits – but bringing these benefits to scale requires action across the entire supply chain," said Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute, which serves as Secretariat for Champions 12.3. "I'm encouraged to see so many leading food retailers and suppliers committing to bold action. It's exactly what the world needs to achieve the target of 50% reduction by 2030."

Each year, one-third of all food produced in the world – around 1 billion tons of food – is lost or wasted every year, with significant environmental, economic, and food security impacts. Each year, food waste and loss is responsible for nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and approximately $940 billion in economic losses – even with 1 in 9 people undernourished worldwide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency of addressing food loss and waste. Farm-level losses have increased in many countries as distribution has been disrupted and restaurants and other hospitality businesses have reduced operations. Addressing food loss and waste in supply chains is a key strategy for ensuring both a sustainable business and food future. 

10x20x30 is aligned with the goals Bonduelle Fresh Americas is engaged in to improve sustainability. For example, Bonduelle Fresh Americas is also working to achieve zero waste in all of its manufacturing facilities by 2025. This means the goal is to divert more than 90% of waste from landfill and incineration.

ABOUT BONDUELLE FRESH AMERICAS

Bonduelle Fresh Americas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bonduelle (BON.PA). With four processing facilities throughout the U.S., the business unit focuses on fresh vegetables, salads and fresh meal solutions for the Americas. Acquired by Bonduelle in 2017 as Ready Pac Foods, the renamed Bonduelle Fresh Americas is the newest of the company's five business units. The company manufactures a complete range of products featuring fresh produce and protein under the company's Ready Pac Foods^®, Bistro^®, Ready Snax^®, Cool Cuts^®, and Bonduelle Fresh Picked™ brands. Offerings include fresh-cut salads, fresh-cut vegetables, snacking and fresh prepared meals available where consumers buy groceries and in restaurant chains across North America. Visit Bonduelle Fresh Americas or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT BONDUELLE

Bonduelle, a family business, was established in 1853. Its mission is to be the world reference in "well-living" through plant-based food. Prioritizing innovation and long-term vision, the group is diversifying its operations and geographical presence. Its vegetables, grown over almost 120,000 hectares all over the world, are sold in 100 countries under various brand names and through various distribution channels and technologies. An expert in agro-industry with 56 industrial sites or owned agricultural production sites, Bonduelle produces quality products by selecting the best crop areas close to its customers. Visit www.bonduelle.com/en for more.

ABOUT CHAMPIONS 12.3

Champions 12.3 is a coalition of leaders across government, business and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward achieving Target 12.3 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Target 12.3 calls on the world to "halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses" by 2030.

The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and World Resources Institute serve as co-secretariats of Champions 12.3. For more information, visit www.Champions123.org

Contact:
BONDUELLE FRESH AMERICAS
[email protected]
(626) 678-2222

SOURCE Bonduelle Fresh Americas

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