Sustainability

The supply chains of raw materials of agricultural and livestock origin are our priority, not only because they represent the pareto of our supply in terms of expenditure, but also understanding that the probability of diverse risk materialization related to the violation and non-compliance with our guidelines, principles and corporate values, is high. We have suppliers of different natures, sizes, origins and position in the chain, and aware that we have a great responsibility in its positive transformation, we developed together with Earthworm Foundation, the Responsible Sourcing Strategy as a framework for the assurance and development of our suppliers, based on the alignment with our Policy Guidelines. One of the main challenges to meet this objective is to achieve a complete traceability to origin that allows us not only to know where the raw material comes from with the geographical coordinates of the production areas, but also to understand under what circumstances it was produced in social and environmental aspects. Thus, we implemented our supply chain monitoring and verification system to identify opportunities and associated risks. These findings become the main input for the Supplier Management Plan, which is how we work hand in hand with our partners -both direct and indirect- in implementing actions that enable the desired alignment and assurance of environmental, social and governance criteria.

• UBUNTU: With the use of satellite monitoring technology, we have analyzed more than 7,851 points between geographical coordinates and palm crops, part of our corporate supply chain, marking a relevant milestone in the acceleration of compliance with our commitment of no deforestation by 2030! With the Supply chain Verification and Monitoring System as a fundamental part of the Responsible Sourcing Strategy, we evaluate 45 topics in 8 different categories, allowing us to timely identify those aspects that require attention to ensure compliance with our principles, values and corporate guidelines. One of the main commitments we declared is that by 2030, 100% of our supply chain will be deforestation-free. Today we have implemented this system for the palm chain and we are working on its implementation in the soybean chain with the support of Earthworm Foundation.

• UBUNTU is the chain’s Monitoring and Verification System, which through the intensified due diligence of our supply chain applied under the risk-based approach, we seek the assurance and development of our strategic allies to comply with our social and environmental commitments stated in the Alianza Team® Policy Guidelines, covering critical environmental, social and governance aspects in agricultural chains, such as NDPE commitments (no deforestation, no peat and no commercial exploitation), application of the HCS/HCV methodology, human rights mitigation actions and compliance, labor practices, complaints and grievance mechanisms, traceability, monitoring and transparency, among others.

• B Corp’s Impact Assessment: For the purchasing categories we manage in the company, we are working with B Corp’s Impact Assessment program to make a corporate-level diagnosis of the sustainable performance of our supply chain. This assessment has been selected by the UN (United Nations) for organizations to measure their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• With this joint effort -on the part of our suppliers, B Corp and us- we will all be able to identify opportunities and risks and act on them. This exercise complements the existing procedures and controls that are used to ensure the needs of quality, timeliness, safety, compliance and other aspects relevant to the operation, providing us with more inputs for better decisions and ultimately contributing to the strengthening, development and resilience of our entire chain. For more information click here. 

• Aliados Somos + Corporate Volunteering: Through this program, which began in the second half of 2020, we complement the efforts of the Responsible Sourcing Strategy with the transfer of knowledge to our supply chain on key issues for the improvement of our volunteer supplier’s operations. With the support of external volunteers who are students in their last semesters at different universities, and internal volunteers who have practical experience in different work areas, we develop support content and tools that participating volunteer suppliers can use to strengthen their day-to-day management.

Main partners we work with:

• Earthworm Foundation
• Solidaridad Network
• B Corp
• CECODES (Colombian chapter of WBCSD)
• Universidad de La Sabana, Los Andes and Externado de Colombia.
• Instituto Tecnológico del Valle de Morelia 
• Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Morelia Campus

Climate change is one of the most important threats we are facing as humanity, and our contribution to its adaptation and mitigation must be forceful and timely. With a thorough understanding of the environmental impacts of our processes, in 2020 we initiated an in-depth review of the measurement and standardization of all our operations in environmental management to outline our future goals. We are currently working with an expert third party to set indicators in line with the international Science Based Targets (SBTi) standard. We are also part of the Ministry of the Environment’s working groups in Colombia for Carbon Neutrality, developing competencies that we are mainstreaming throughout our operation to improve our performance in this area.

In addition, we are aware that our environmental impacts are not limited only to greenhouse gas emissions. We have a series of guidelines and programs related to the management of water, waste, materials, packaging and containers, and food loss and waste, among others. We are also part of collectives in Chile and Colombia to strengthen the recycling and re-use of materials and packaging at the country level, driven by extended producer responsibility (EPR) initiatives, and we participate in different programs in partnership with local environmental authorities to promote environmental culture and a sense of ownership for our planet and ecosystems among our employees, their families and members of the communities in which we operate. We are proud to have different recognitions, credentials, and programs that demonstrate our commitment on this front. Learn more about our credentials here.

• Brands with 100% PCR packaging: We are the first food company in Colombia to have an oil container made with 100% post-consumer recycled resin (PCR)! This is a source of pride for our company as we are leading the change by example, but it also encourages us to continue finding new opportunities in the design and manufacturing of our packaging and containers themselves. Today, not only the Gourmet® brand in Colombia has this packaging since 2020, but also several presentations of the SuperFry® brand sold in Panama since the end of 2021. The change of packaging for these two brands allowed us to stop consuming 146.8 tons of virgin plastic in 2021, contributing to the re-use of available materials and mitigating our impacts. We remain committed to the search for alternative materials that ensure the safety and quality of our products, without affecting consumer access due to higher costs of alternative materials. 
• CLosing the cycle with Manos Verdes®: We are pioneers in Colombia in closing the cycle of our main manufactured product: cooking oil. Through this program, which began in 2015, We collect used cooking oil (UCO) and other greasy residues from our Food Service business customers and ensure its proper disposal for the production of biodiesel. In this way, we not only prevent this waste from contaminating water sources or soil, but also avoid carbon dioxide emissions from the use of traditional fuels. Did you know that one liter of oil has the capacity to contaminate up to one thousand liters of water? With the progress of the program in recent years, we have expanded the scope of collection to the final consumer, with 491 disposal collection points the public, along with collection points also in residential complexes. Adding up all these efforts, We have collected a total of 5,976 tons of UCO and greasy residues, avoiding the emission of 11.900 tons of CO2e and saving more than 5,4 million liters of water from possible contamination. Learn more about this program at www.manosverdes.co
• Clean energy: Our operation in Chile has a 100% certified clean energy supply, which allows us to report zero emissions in Scope 2 for the Team Foods Chile S.p.A. facility. Likewise, BredenMaster S.p.A. is in the process of certifying its supply, so we expect to soon achieve a significant reduction in our corporate carbon footprint thanks to this progress. Recalculating our carbon footprint with these certificates, we went from a result reported in our 2021 management report of 103,301.1 Ton CO2e to 102,555 Ton CO2e, representing significant progress in meeting our targets. Undoubtedly, this encourages us to continue to challenge ourselves in the operation of our seven plants, committed to our 2030 Ambition and future environmental challenges.

Main partners we work with:

• Gaia Servicios Ambientales
• CECODES (Colombian chapter of WBCSD)
• Visión 30|30 Collective in Colombia
• GIRO, PROREP and Resimple Collectives in Chile
• Colombian Ministry of Environment
• ABACO (Association of Food Banks of Colombia)

Promoting the professional, personal and family development of the people close to our value chain, starting with our employees and their families, is a clear corporate priority, since talent is one of the levers of growth of our businesses and one of our main competitive advantages. We are a company that welcomes and values diversity, manifested in different cultures, ages, professions, races, creeds, abilities, sexual orientations and thoughts, among others, so we work every day, from the highest corporate governance bodies and throughout the different teams of the different operations, in the comprehensive development of our people, promoting a safe working environment that fosters and enhances the capabilities of our talent. Focused on four work fronts under the Aliados Somos + umbrella, we work on programs, initiatives, and schemes associated with:

Through different benefit and assistance schemes for our employees and their families, and programs with partners, we involve members of the communities surrounding our operation centers, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders close to our value chain, always taking into account the behaviors that are part of our culture as described in our Culture Model. For example, in employment training -a commitment we have been working on for several decades- we partner with experts to develop relevant competencies in our employees, family members and community members, among others, working with SENA in Colombia, Sence in Chile and soon with ICATMI in Mexico. At the corporate level, we also implement our Leadership School hand in hand with Origen, and together with ABACO and other allied foundations in different countries, we work constantly to support food security for vulnerable populations through product sales and donations, additionally supporting the goal of reducing food losses and waste. 

As a result of this conviction, and the coherent and consistent work over time, in 2021 we obtained in the category of companies from 301 to 1500 employees in Colombia the number 12 position in Great Place to Work and during the month of March 2022 we obtained the number 5 position in Great Place to Work for women. We are continuously monitoring changes in our environment in order to respond to the needs and expectations over time according to our capabilities and organizational objectives to continue being a great place to work and an ally for the development of people.

• Facilities Social Development Programs: In 2021 we formalized under an organizational program the different social development initiatives that had been implemented under the leadership of each facility in 4 work fronts: training for employment; entrepreneurship; food security; health, education and housing. We have different focuses, ranging from training with SENA and job assurance in the internship stage, to cooking and food preparation workshops with community mothers. In Barranquilla, the Gastronomic Laboratory is being consolidated as a space for members of the community to learn, explore and strengthen their culinary skills to enhance their enterprises. In Bogota, we are working with 9 ICBF community homes to support the food security of more than 154 children and 11 community mothers, and in Buga we are carrying out a diagnosis of the social conditions of our employees in order to improve their quality of life and that of their families. 
• Alianza Team® Leadership School: Since 2012, we began training in leadership competencies with Origen, convinced that transformational leadership is based on self-knowledge, and that we all have a great responsibility to promote this positive transformation from each of our roles. Starting in 2020 and taking advantage of digital tools, the School expanded its scope to link leaders from all the countries where we operate with leaders from the communities surrounding our facilties. To date, more than 422 leaders, 376 employees and 46 community leaders have been trained, strengthening the competencies and confidence of the participants to achieve the objectives in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous context.

Main partners we work with:

• SENA (National Apprenticeship Service of Colombia)
• Sence (Chile)
• Origen Leadership Network
• ABACO (Association of Food Banks of Colombia)
• Ana Restrepo del Corral Foundation (Col)
• Comedor Santa María (MX)
• Aldeas Infantiles (MX)

Click here to see the list of organizations with whom we work supporting food security through donations.