MONTEREY, CA – Agriculture industry consultant Measure to Improve is teaming up with Greener Fields Together (GFT) to launch a new sustainability program to reduce waste across the supply chain. Ten of PRO*ACT’s top suppliers have already signed the Waste Reduction Pledge to help reduce waste sent to landfills from their facilities.

“Based on our experience helping the Ag companies tackle their waste challenges, we see GFT’s new Waste Reduction Pledge program as a game changer,” said Nikki Rodoni, CEO and Founder of Measure to Improve. “Rather than dictating change, this unique collaboration will help identify solutions that are economically and environmentally beneficial across the supply chain.”

Instead of conducting surveys, Measure to Improve and GFT’s new approach will focus on diverting waste throughout the entire fresh produce supply chain. By starting with supplier participants and expanding to distributors, foodservice, and retail business, Greener Fields Together is able to target each component of the supply chain to offer practical tools and resources to divert waste.

“At Ippolito, we believe sustainability is not a destination, but an investment in our continuous improvement. It becomes a culture as opposed to words on paper,” said Dan Canales, Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Processing at Ippolito Interntaional.

Participants will work together to make sustainability improvements, collaborate on the toughest waste problems in the industry, and ultimately work toward Zero Waste both within individual organizations and across the supply chain.

Participating organizations include the following:

• Church Brothers Farms
• Coastal Fresh Farms
• HMC Farms
• Ippolito International
• C. Watson Packing Co
• Mann Packing Co
• Mission Produce
• NewStar Fresh Foods
• Sunkist Growers
• Taylor Farms

“We are proud to work with our National Farm Partners that are leading the industry in incorporating sustainable practices into their operations, demonstrating a commitment to responsibly supplying their communities for generations to come,” Joe Cimino, Vice President of Procurement at PRO*ACT, said in a press release.

Reducing waste that ends up at landfills is not only good for companies, but also is important for communities. Currently, waste in the agriculture industry impacts food security, resource conservation, and landfill methane emissions, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that less than 35 percent of the 258 million tons of waste generated in the United States in 2014 was recycled or composted. Benefits of reducing waste across the supply chain include this list:

• Collectively solving some of the most challenging packaging issues
• Meeting buyers’ sustainability expectations
• Cost savings
• Supporting and extending food safety programs
• Engaging and educating employees
• Reducing environmental impacts

For more on initiatives and sustainable action taking place in the produce industry, keep checking back with AndNowUKnow.

Measure to Improve PRO*ACT Greener Fields Together