Greenyard : Improving life. Greenyard raises the bar and launches ambitious Sustainability Roadmap 2025

Improving life. Greenyard raises the bar and launches ambitious Sustainability Roadmap 2025

Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium, 14 September 2021

Today, Greenyard published its fourth Sustainability Report and introduced its Sustainability Roadmap for 2025. The company's approach for the coming years is built on three key pillars and includes a new ambitious set of commitments, enabling it to further accelerate its sustainability journey and embrace its responsibility to be a driving force to improve life.

The impact of climate change is undeniable. More than ever before, we are confronted with extreme weather conditions, droughts, heat waves and declining biodiversity. Yet, everyone can directly, and easily, contribute to a more sustainable food value chain. If we want to continue feeding the world's growing population, while respecting the natural boundaries of our planet, a shift towards a more plant-based diet is the only way forward. It is an elementary part of the solution. As a global leader in supplying fruit and vegetables, and together with its customers and growers, Greenyard aims to make a significant and positive impact on this transition.

Three pillars to improve life

Greenyard's Sustainability Roadmap is built on three pillars that are crucial to create more sustainable food value chains and it is crafted around the concept that is unique to Greenyard: connecting fork to field.

Matching demand with supply is key. Everything starts with the consumer demand - what people want to eat, how, where, and when. Greenyard managed to create an unprecedented approach, turning around the classical trading system based on pushing crops into the market, and transforming it into jointly established production plans, together with its customers (large retailers and food service companies) and growers.

This results in optimised supply and a route to market that is as short and efficient as possible. It is quintessential to the Greenyard Sustainability Roadmap, and the three pillars that serve as its foundation:

1. Building sustainable food supply chains - ensuring the highest environmental and social standards
   This means good and fair working conditions for all workers in our value chain, while taking good care of our planet. Greenyard only sources products from growers who work according to its high quality, environmental and social standards.
2. Improving Greenyard's own environmental footprint - working towards a lower carbon and water footprint
   Fruit and vegetables have an exceptionally low carbon footprint and lower water consumption compared to other food categories. Still, Greenyard continuously works on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting water footprint, throughout the entire value chain.
3. Teaming up with its customers - promoting healthy and sustainable food concepts
   Only by teaming up with its customers, and connecting them to its growers, Greenyard can make a real difference. It starts with its plant-based food offering: together with its customers Greenyard can provide consumers with healthy fruit and vegetables. Through innovative convenience products in fresh, frozen or prepared form the company ensures that a healthy diet is an easy and accessible choice, for all. Also, thanks to its unique "fork to field" approach, and the unique integrated customer model it applies, Greenyard can ensure a very low percentage of food waste in the entire food value chain.

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Each of these pillars is translated into tangible targets, based on the commitments Greenyard has already been working on, and raises the bar with higher goals:

1. Climate change
2. 1. A 50% reduction of its CO2 emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 2025 compared to 2019 and develop a net zero strategy by 2050 in line with Science based Targets initiative.
   2. Inform and motivate 75% of its supplier base (scope 3) to implement a Science Based Targets approach on climate change in line with Science Based Targets.
3. Minimise food waste
4. 1. Reduce any avoidable food waste in Greenyard's own production by 25% by 2025 (and 50% by 2030).
   2. Valorise all residual streams and by-product flows of Greenyard's own food production by 2025.
5. Lower the water footprint of fruits and vegetables
6. 1. Assess the water risks of all growers by 2025.
   2. Set up projects to optimise water usage in Greenyard's own operations and reduce primary water- intensity by an extra 10% by 2025.
7. Minimise the environmental footprint of its packaging
8. 1. Realise 100% recyclable packaging by 2025 and match packaging with recycle schemes in key markets to ensure actual recycling.
   2. Reduce the amount of packaging used and optimise packaging footprint without reducing shelf life (target to be defined).
9. Ensure responsible and sustainable sourcing
10. 1. 100% of Greenyard's grower base in high and medium risk origins certified by 2025.

Greenyard's ambitious Sustainability Roadmap 2025 goes beyond positively impacting our planet. Better forecasting, limiting waste throughout the food value chain and reducing energy automatically translates into a more efficient cost structure. These are concrete opportunities. Thanks to Greenyard's integrated business model, increased digitalisation, and joint efforts, the company has the capability to further maximise these synergies. Needless to say: ecology can go hand in hand with economy.

Nature as the sole source for a healthier future

Everything Greenyard does, starts with nature. The company, and the entire industry, depends on what nature can provide. Climate change in combination with the loss of biodiversity has become impossible to ignore. It is a very serious issue for the industry as it is confronted with falling yields, field losses due to water scarcity, seasonal droughts, late spring frosts, heavy rainfall, and a loss of biodiversity. Sustainable business is not an option, it is essential for life on earth. Greenyard needs strong collaboration throughout the entire food value chain if they want to make a real change for the better. Transition towards fully sustainable industries, in line with planetary boundaries will not happen overnight. It will require time and investments. It calls for a strong commitment from all stakeholders in the food value chain, including the end consumer: their choice for healthy and sustainable options is equally important as it is part of the global solution. It is simply a path Greenyard cannot take alone.

Hein Deprez, co-CEOGreenyard: "Today, there is an increased awareness of healthier lifestyles and a growing attention for sustainability as an integral part of the health equation. For Greenyard, this has been part of our DNA since we started. We are right in the centre of this reality. Our unique position in the food value chain brings opportunities. It allows us to leverage on the business we have built over the past decades: we deliver plant-based products to consumers, based on their needs, and driven by health and sustainability. It also comes with a major responsibility. We want to be a catalyst for change towards ever more sustainable food value chains. We embrace both, we raise the bar, and we are confident we will meet our ambitious sustainability targets and deliver on our promise to improve life: for people and for nature."

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Marc Zwaaneveld, co-CEOGreenyard: "To come to a truly sustainable solution, we need everyone in the food value

chain. Part of the solution lies with the end consumers: they will also need to recognise the actual value of fresh produce, for their health and for the planet. It is part of our responsibility - together with our customers - to inspire, educate and convince them to pay a fair, inclusive, and true price for their products. The transition to more sustainable food production will simply require investments from our generation, to safeguard our planet for future generations. Guided by our ambitious Sustainability Roadmap and by the nature of our products, we are dedicated to actively drive this change. For the better."

Discover the full Sustainability Report here.

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For additional information, please contact Greenyard:

Cedric Pauwels, Group Communications Director T [phone] [e-mail]

About Greenyard

Greenyard (Euronext Brussels: GREEN) is a global market leader in fresh, frozen and prepared fruit and vegetables, flowers and plants. Counting Europe's leading retailers amongst its customer base, Greenyard offers efficient and sustainable solutions to customers and suppliers through best-in-class products, market leading innovation, operational excellence and outstanding service.

Its vision is to make lives healthier by helping people enjoy fruit and vegetables at any moment, easy, fast and pleasurable, while fostering nature. With around 9.000 employees operating in 19 countries worldwide, Greenyard identifies its people, and customer and supplier relationships, as the key assets which enable it to deliver goods and services worth around €4,4 billion per annum.

www.greenyard.group

REGULATED INFORMATION - 14 September 2021 - 7.45am