The Opportunity
Help a global fresh produce leader reduce its environmental footprint, quantify results and support an efficient circular supply chain.
The Solution
Partner with CHEP to incorporate pooled (shared and reused) pallets into the supply chain and produce certifiable metrics on progress toward zero waste.
The Del Monte name is synonymous with delicious fruits and vegetables. Del Monte Fresh Produce is the world’s leading fresh pineapple marketer, and also supplies retailers with bananas, melons, oranges, lemons, avocados … and much more. Throughout its global operations, Del Monte strives to minimize its footprint and improve sustainability.
“We want the Del Monte symbol to be a symbol for quality throughout the supply chain,” says Brent Fedor, Sr. Sustainability Programs Coordinator, Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. “We’re always working to minimize our carbon footprint – and our water footprint, and our packaging footprint. Del Monte can’t produce the best bananas and pineapples and peppers and melons if we’re continually draining resources.”
Brent Fedor Sr. Sustainability Programs Coordinator, Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc.CHEP’s ability to articulate the sustainability metrics brings added value. We can say we’re working toward a goal, but being able to put that in terms of what CHEP achieves speaks louder.
As part of its sustainable operations, Del Monte uses CHEP’s pooled (shared and reused) 48x40-inch pallets in the U.S., Central America, South America and Europe.
“CHEP provides packaging that is reused, vs. one-shot packaging that goes into a landfill,” says Fedor. “When we’re able to take a circular CHEP pallet through our system 10 times, well, that’s amazing.”
Fedor says Del Monte appreciates working with partners who shares its values, particularly when it comes to sustainability. CHEP and its parent company, Brambles, are helping customers eliminate waste, eradicate empty transport miles and cut out inefficiency through a collaborative new approach, Zero Waste World.
Since 2012, Del Monte has achieved significant sustainability savings by using 12.7 million CHEP pooled pallets.
CHEP’s 48x40-inch pooled pallets are part of Del Monte’s complete supply chain. For example, in Central America, heat-treated pallets go directly from a CHEP production facility to a Del Monte farm, where they are loaded, wrapped, packed onto a container, shipped to ports in the U.S. and then delivered to retailers. Given the timeliness of shipping fresh produce, the smooth movement of the CHEP pallets throughout the supply chain is critical.
Fedor says he values the successful, circular nature of the CHEP business model, and CHEP’s ability to quantify results.
“We ship CHEP pallets throughout the world, and we want to know we are vertically integrating sustainability from bottom to top,” says Fedor. “Having the numbers – such as CHEP’s use of 99% certified timber – helps. It shows that we’re going beyond what we do in our operations to preserve and conserve natural resources. We’re sourcing from suppliers who are also conservation-based and share our values.”
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