How Dole Is Keeping Its Promises With Transparent Accountability Via Their Sunshine For All Progress Report

Cindy Ayers Elliott from Foot Print Farm | DOLE PACKAGED FOODS

Many companies make bold promises about their social and environmental commitments but very few decide to follow up in a thorough and transparent way to share their progress and hold themselves accountable.

One company who has made these commitments is Dole Packaged Foods, a division of Dole Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd. I covered the announcement of “The Dole Promise,” which aimed to increase access to sustainable nutrition, decrease food waste, plastics in packaging and carbon emissions and grow value for the company’s stakeholders, including farmers and shareholders.

I caught up with Pier Luigi Sigismondi, President of Dole Packaged Foods to find out more about their progress captured in their first Sunshine for All™ Progress Report, one year after announcing “The Dole Promise.”

Afdhel Aziz: Pier Luigi, welcome back to this column. We’ve had the pleasure of covering the Dole Promise previously in this column. Tell us a bit more about why you decided to follow it up with a report detailing how you’ve made progress?

Pier Luigi Sigismondi: It’s great to be chatting with you again. In 2020, we made an ambitious commitment to the people and the planet with the Dole Promise. I’m happy to see very encouraging early wins this year with tangible progress across most areas. We have done the hard work of establishing baselines, creating strategic partnerships and investing mindfully in R&D and consumer research. 

Over the last 18 months, keeping our people safe from the effects of the global pandemic has also been a top priority for us. This meant that our work on the ground initially was forced to slow down but we have accelerated since then, in this ‘next normal’. The report details Dole’s actions, those strategic partners, as well as what will continue our drive towards achieving the ambitious goals set forth in providing nutritional access for all. Really, it marks a major milestone on a highly ambitious journey for us.

Pier Luigi Sigismondi, President of Dole Packaged Foods

Aziz: Thank you for sharing that Pier Luigi. Please tell us some of the achievements you are most proud of?

Sigismondi: We’ve taken actionable steps towards each six goals within the Dole Promise, which is certainly something to be positive about. We’re actively reformulating our portfolio to replace all processed sugars and artificial ingredients while delivering the sensorial experience that our customers expect. 

Globally, we’ve begun repurposing fruit waste into fuel to power new biogas, as well as harnessing the power of sunshine to generate 4 GWh annually with the help of partner Symbior Solar in Thailand. Since 2019, there has been a 12 percent net decrease in carbon emissions across global operations and 34% of energy used in 2020 was purchased or generated from renewable sources. 

In partnership with Solidaridad and focused on our 4,000 smallholder farmers in Thailand, we bring new skills to farmers needed to grow more and earn more, to put farming practices in place that help protect the land and soil fertility, and to help us source more high-quality ingredients. 

On a local scale, Our Sunshine for All Program in Jackson, one of America’s largest food deserts, has provided 15,000+ people with access to healthy foods. The program will launch in Baltimore before the end of the year.

We’ve invested in consumer education with campaigns like Malnutrition Labels, an experiential initiative designed to shed light on the barriers to good nutrition: accessibility, affordability, food waste and the need for education. All of this over the last 12 months gives us a platform to relentlessly pursue our goals going forward with full confidence.

Aziz: What are some of the problem areas where this is still a way to go?

Sigismondi: We are not where we want to be, but we’re no longer where we used to be. 

When it comes to sustainability, we applied agricultural regenerative practices before it became a more widely practiced method. Having said this there are several areas we need to improve in – especially fossil-based plastics. Dole's products rely on high quality packaging, and therefore require innovative solutions that work to protect the planet. In Korea, our products used to come in plastic bags with plastic stickers. Since March 2021, the majority (78%) of our goods are packaged using paper-based straps. Dole’s ambition to eliminate fossil-based plastic packaging by 2025 is a key component of a low-carbon economy and reflects the circular and regenerative approaches underpinning our long-term business strategy. We are currently piloting a breakthrough packaging technologies with hopes to launch soon.

Aziz: That’s encouraging to here. Please tell us about the Dole Sunshine For All $2million fund and who are some of the partners you are awarding grants to?

Sigismondi: The Sunshine for All Fund is our commitment to increase access to good nutrition and reduce waste through partnerships and collaboration. Dole recognizes the need for collaboration with like minded partners to join in the fight against food injustice around the world. Thus, we’re seeking partners – from entrepreneurs, start-ups, strategic thinkers to social impact enterprises, and NGOs – to bring their expertise in food production, nutritional science, compostable packaging, supply chain, logistics, sustainable agriculture and fast-moving consumer goods, to bear. To date, we have seen significant interest from over 40 organizations and start-ups around the world that are aligned to our purpose.

Aziz: Finally, what message do you have for your fellow CEOs as to why they should not just ’talk the talk’ but ‘walk the walk’ when it comes to being transparent and accountable about commitments and results?

Sigismondi: Our kids are holding companies and their CEOs to a new standard today.  It’s no longer good enough to say the right things or bring the bacon home. A stand is only effective when you walk the walk and show concrete actions and results. We can’t kick the can down the road any longer. Doing this comes with a requirement of accountability and transparency. 

As business leaders, we owe it to all our stakeholders – employees, customers, partners and consumers – to show how we are working to do better every day, and the steps we are taking towards a collective goal. Take the Dole Promise for instance, we committed to our stakeholders to work towards some big goals for 2025 and 2030.  But we cannot just rest on this promise.  We just issued our first annual report of progress which looked at areas we did well, and also illuminated areas we still need to work harder on.  The world must see the progress, as well as the issues we face. Partnering with young activists has been a fascinating experience. They are willing to come along with you, rather than only judge your intentions. But we must be transparent along the way and hold ourselves accountable for our actions, our progress, and yes, even our missteps.

The secret of longevity stands behind learning and innovation. Doing something beyond conventional is obviously risky and challenging, but will keep us young and going. Dole has been out there for 170 years and with our actions we will make it last for much longer.

Dole Sunshine for All Progress Review 2020