- In 2021, the Group launched the new eco-designed ‘Vuelca Fácil’ (Easy Flip) packaging that reduces climate impact by 35%.
Nearly 70% of the tuna loins used in the company’s products presently come from certified, sustainable sources—with the aim of reaching 100% by 2025.
99% of its packaging is already fully recyclable and over 50% comes from recycled sources or is sustainable-certified.
100% of Grupo Calvo’s new products introduced to the market either match or exceed health and nutrition standards of previous products.
Women hold 41.6% of the company’s mid-level management positions and women’s presence on the Steering Committee totals 28.6%.
A Coruña, September 26, 2022. On the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the approval of the 2030 Agenda and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Grupo Calvo, which has been working toward achieving the goals for more than six years, since joining the United Nations Global Compact, has presented the company’s progress in terms of environmental and social impact as set forth in its ‘Responsible Engagement’ sustainability strategy for 2025. Noteworthy among Grupo Calvo’s main achievements are efforts to provide consumers with tuna from sources that are certified as being responsible and sustainable. The company also ensures the traceability of every can and has improved the environmental features of its packaging through the introduction of the new ‘Vuelca Fácil’ can with 35% less impact on climate change.
Comprising three major areas—oceans, the environment and people—, the ‘Responsible Engagement’ initiative was launched in 2019 and establishes twenty-one improvement objectives set by the company to be met by 2025 in every country in which it operates.
“We are very proud of the environmental and social advances we have made over the last year at Grupo Calvo to improve our impact on people and the planet. The year 2021 was full of challenges which we approached as a company resolutely out of our conviction that sustainability must be a vital cornerstone in the transformation of our business,” stated Grupo Calvo CEO Mané Calvo.
“In publishing the objectives we have fulfilled within our ‘Responsible Engagement’ program, we seek to go one step further in our transparency as a company. In 2021, we achieved significant milestones in the circular economy framework, through the recovery of 96% of our waste worldwide, certified sustainable fishing and equal opportunities,” added Mariví Sánchez, director of Sustainability at Grupo Calvo.
Committed to providing consumers with certified, sustainably sourced tuna
The first area, ‘Oceans,’ is of special relevance for Grupo Calvo given the company’s commercial activity as a food provider specialized in canned fish and seafood. Worth highlighting are efforts to ensure that 100% of the tuna loins the company uses in its products come from certified-sustainable sources by 2025. At present, the total is 66.8%, and these tuna loins have certifications that include APR (Responsibly-Caught Tuna) and MSC (Marine Stewardship Council), among others.
Thanks to Grupo Calvo’s commitment to providing consumers with clear and transparent information about the origin of the food they consume, the company began developing a food traceability system in 2017. The system amplifies and completes the information found in product labeling and includes tuna species, fishing vessel, catch period, ocean region, port of discharge and production factory. In addition, the system was expanded in 2021 to include mussels so that consumers can verify, among other things, the area where the mollusk was grown and harvested. Currently, 24% of the Group’s products already provide consumers with direct access to all this information.
New ‘Vuelca Fácil’ packaging, with 35% less climate impact
In terms of improving its impact on the environment, three years ahead of schedule, Grupo Calvo has surpassed its goal of increasing the share of electricity from renewable sources to 50%. This represents 84.4% of the total amount of electricity used in the Group’s factories and offices worldwide. Additionally, the company has already managed to recover 96% of its waste, preventing it from ending up in landfills.
In relation to packaging sustainability, the Group also exceeded its goal of ensuring that 95% of the products placed on the market are recyclable; 99% have already met the target. In turn, over 50% of the materials used in products are now of recycled origin or are certified as sustainable. The goal here is to reach 85% by 2025.
Specifically, Grupo Calvo introduced the new eco-designed ‘Vuelca Fácil’ packaging to the market in 2021. The new can lowers impact on climate change by 35% with respect to traditional formats thanks to the use of less metal (resulting in 24% lighter packaging) and a reduction in the use of oil through more precise apportionment (maintaining the amount of tuna and reducing the amount of oil per can by 15g).
Another milestone in reducing the use of single-use materials, especially plastic, is found in the redesign of the packaging—doing away with the plastic lid and fork—in the new line of Foodie Salads.
All these efforts made by the company for nearly twenty years in recovering waste, eliminating single-use plastics and advancing the recyclability of materials that form part of the “Calvo Zero Waste” project were acknowledged in 2021 with the BASF Circular Economy Award in the Large Company category. These awards are granted by the BASF Group and the Club of Excellence in Sustainability.
100% of the products introduced into the market are healthy and nutritious
Among the objectives in the ‘People’ realm, Group Calvo upholds a deep commitment to providing consumers with healthy, nutritious products (i.e., rich in protein, vitamins and Omega 3 and preservative-free). In keeping with this commitment, since 2018, 100% of the products the company puts on the market either match or exceed the standards of previous products.
As far as promoting gender equality is concerned, women hold 41.6% of the company’s mid-level management positions and their presence on the Steering Committee totals 28.6%. Both markers amount to around 95% in terms of fulfillment of the base objectives established.
Finally, the Group allocated more than €572,000 to carry out 59 social action projects to support communities in countries where the company enjoys a presence. In the case of Spain, 1,468 kg of canned tuna was donated as part of the “Everyone on Board with La Palma” solidarity campaign promoted by the Spanish Federation of Food Banks, FESBAL, to help affected families.
Grupo Calvo’s Responsible Engagement objectives are verified annually by independent bodies. The company’s progress in meeting these goals can be consulted via the Group’s website and in the Annual Report.
