- The Spanish food group presents its roadmap that includes objectives with respect to protecting oceans, the environment and people.
- The objectives will be verified annually by independent bodies and progress thereon can be consulted through the group’s website: grupocalvo.com.
- Calvo is committed to, among other things, having 100% of the tuna the company uses in preparing its products come from responsible and sustainable fishing and be traceable to its source, in addition to ensuring that all waste generated by company activity is valorized.
- In 2025, 30% of the seats on the Management Committee are to be occupied by women.
A Coruña, October 18, 2019.- Grupo Calvo today unveiled an ambitious sustainability program within the framework of Sustainable Brands Madrid 2019, an international event dedicated to sustainability and business. The group’s chief executive officer, Mané Calvo, announced the commitments taken on by the food group in the realm of responsibility in management for the next five years and by means of which he hopes to make Grupo Calvo a more sustainable company.
Through this initiative, Calvo defines seventeen objectives in three key areas for the company: oceans, environment and people. With a compliance horizon of 2025, these targets will set the group’s directives for managing its business responsibly, increasing efficiency and minimizing the negative impacts associated with its activity.
According to Mané Calvo, CEO of Grupo Calvo: “We find ourselves at a key point in the company’s nearly 80-year history. We believe it is possible to create value for society, for the planet and for the business if our management integrates responsibility, innovation and excellence. We’ve been taking steps in this regard for some time now, but we can do better and that’s why we are going to publicly commit to measurable and verifiable objectives. Today, we are taking a big step to make our business more responsible and more sustainable.”
Development of the various programs and fulfillment of objectives will be verified by independent external auditors. The targets set by Grupo Calvo include a commitment to having all tuna the company uses to come from responsible, sustainable fishing and for 30% of the Management Committee positions to be held by women. Efficiency is also a priority and over the next five years Calvo will reduce water and energy consumption needed to manufacture its products by 10%, in addition to valorizing the entire range of non-hazardous waste generated in the process to thereby ensure 0 waste to landfill.
We want to be better and that’s why we’ve decided to set demanding goals and to make them public. We will update our degree of compliance every year and the data will be audited by an independent third party. It is our duty as a responsible company to try to do things better every day,” stated Mariví Sánchez, Grupo Calvo’s CSR director.
Seal of Responsible Engagement
To make its commitment visible, the food group has created a seal that will be featured on all products of the company brands: Calvo, Nostromo and Gomes da Costa.
“We’re making our commitment to responsibility and sustainability visible with this seal. We wish to bring these objectives closer to end consumers and make them participants in this project,” added Mariví Sánchez.
From commitment to action
Oceans, environment and people are the three major areas in which Grupo Calvo has set 17 public and measurable objectives for 2025. In the case of our oceans, in order to achieve adequate resource management and biodiversity protection, Grupo Calvo has established the following objectives aimed at reducing its impact on the marine environment:
- 100% of the tuna used by Grupo Calvo trademarks will come from responsible and sustainable fishing, meeting one or more of the following conditions: being MSC (Marine Stewardship Council)- or APR (Responsibly-Caught Tuna)-certified, included in a robust Fishery Improvement Project (FIP), derived from traditional and selective fishing methods (Pole & Line) or FAD-Free caught.
- 100% of the fishery product will be traceable at source, with it being possible in each case to know the species, fishing method employed, and when, where and by whom it was caught, its port of landing and in which Grupo Calvo factory the final product was prepared.
- Grupo Calvo’s fleet is committed to 30% of its fishing operations to be conducted without the use of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs).
- And to limiting its own number of FADs per vessel to 300 (compared to the legal limit of 450).
- And for 100% of the devices used to be non-entangling and biodegradable in order to reduce their impact on biodiversity.
- Collaborative programs will be designed to improve marine waste management, with particular emphasis on the disposal of plastic.
In the environmental area, Grupo Calvo is committed to:
- Reducing water consumption per ton produced by 10%.
- Reducing energy consumption and emissions per ton by 10%.
- Increasing the use of electricity from renewable sources in company factories and offices by up to 50%.
- Zero waste to landfill.
- Having 95% of the products placed on the market to be recyclable.
- Having 85% of the materials used in the process of preparing products to come from recycled sources or be certified as sustainable.
With respect to People, Grupo Calvo has embraced the following challenges to be met by 2025:
- Thirty percent (30%) of the Management Committee seats are to be occupied by women, and 44% of the middle management positions (team leaders) are to be held by women.
- Thirty-six (36) hours of training are to be conducted per employee.
- Work-related accidents are to be reduced by 10%, in terms of both frequency and severity rate.
- Social and environmental audits to be performed on 100% of suppliers posing critical or high compliance-related risk.
- 100% of the company’s products will continue to be healthy and nutritious.
