SALINAS, CA - With the arrival of the 2024 Earth Day, I see a great opportunity to spotlight the sustainability efforts of companies across our industry. Naturipe Farms is celebrating a variety of successful initiatives as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and support a circular economy.

“Our growers have worked hard to set a standard for sustainability while giving back to the communities they grow in,” said Janis McIntosh, Director of Innovation and Sustainability at Naturipe Farms, digging into the company’s storied legacy of sustainability leadership. “As they continue to pioneer advancements in sustainability at all levels, Naturipe Farms must prioritize and sustain the long history of the family farms, the nucleus of our business.”

As of 2024, 28 percent of the berry provider’s products are packed and/or cooled using renewable energy, helping to lower the company’s overall carbon emissions by 100,000 metric tons. With solar installations already in New Jersey, California, and Chile, the provider is set to celebrate the installation of its largest solar project to date next month.

Alongside a variety of renewable energy projects, Naturipe Farms is also tackling increased sustainability through its packaging, which continues to have a high level of Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) content, including certified ocean-bound plastic. Two years ago, the company committed key real estate on its brand label to prompt consumers to recycle, recognizing that PCR is critical to the circular economy.

Naturipe growers contribute to the protection and growth of pollinator communities, a press release explained. Additionally, the grower enriches its soils by composting organic waste and optimizes regenerative growing processes—such as cover cropping and chop and drop pruning—to feed and preserve the biological structures of the soil. Judicial use of water has been part of their growers’ system plan for decades, utilizing metered drip irrigation, as well as capture and reuse techniques, such as tiling.

These initiatives serve as the foundation of Naturipe’s Cultivate with Care™ program, which symbolizes the company’s commitment to operate in a way that minimizes its environmental impact and uplifts the communities it grows in.

Cheers to Naturipe on these successful sustainability strategies!