Our Journey

 

Throughout our 97 years of history, our Company has strived to operate a sustainable business that produces quality products, creates jobs, acts with integrity and contributes to the economic, environmental and social well-being of the local communities we serve.


 

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Our pineapple plantation in Bukidnon, Philippines

 

Sustainability has been firmly embedded in our annual plans and is one of five pillars driving our long-term strategic blueprint for growth. This commitment is reinforced by a dedicated function at Group level that reports to the Board of Directors. Each part of the Company is responsible for integrating sustainability in its operations and proposals.

We believe in building future long-term resiliency for our business. New challenges and threats emerge. Our Company needs to continually understand these global issues and engage our stakeholders to identify key issues which affect our customers, the community where we operate, our employees, the environment, and our ability to deliver a fair return to our investors. We continue to remain mindful of the impact of our activities on the future of our planet.


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 Donation to community pantry

 

Our Sustainability Pillars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21_0096 Del Monte SR2021_Sustainability Pillars

 
 

COVID-19 Pandemic Response and the Sustainable Development Goals

Despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company was able to continue operating throughout the community quarantine period since its products are considered to be essential goods and its farming and manufacturing activities are based in Mindanao, where the quarantine measures allowed the Company to continue operations while adhering to the minimum health standards set by the Government. The Company activated its BCP with the aim of:

  • continuing operations to ensure that people have a steady supply of healthy food products to meet the surging demand for food, strengthen their immune system and help fight the spread of the disease; and
  • safeguarding the health and safety of its employees and labor force through various work schemes and safe work practices.

Since the start of the pandemic, DMPI, through the Foundation, has partnered with over 400 non-governmental organizations to provide food to over 200,000 people in indigent communities as well as frontline workers in over 50 medical facilities.

The Company linked its pandemic response to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The United Nations issued 17 SDGs in 2015, a 15-year agenda created by world leaders up to 2030. The SDGs are a call to action by all countries to promote prosperity while sustaining the planet and its people. The SDGs recognize that economic growth should also address social needs and environmental protection.

Del Monte took a step forward in incorporating sustainability to strengthen our core business. The Group went through the process of identifying our material Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors to prioritize the most important issues of our stakeholders. Identifying our sustainability priorities with respect to products, people, the environment, and governance issues relevant to our operation helps the Company prioritize what we need to work on that is relevant to our stakeholders. We engaged the services of a global independent consultant, a sustainability specialist firm, to ensure the independence of the material assessment process.

Our Company stands by our commitment to grow our business in a manner that sustains a healthy balance among the diverse interests of all our stakeholders — our employees and their families, business partners, customers, and host communities.

Sustainability is not just a business strategy, it is essential to our success. It is essential in strengthening our core!