How our global sustainability committee reviews progress and targets

Sustainability goals become useful only when people can see how performance is measured, how decisions are made and where corrective action is required. Our Global Sustainability Committee reviews progress and sets targets through a structured governance cycle. Its task is to connect company-wide ambitions with evidence from farms, sourcing relationships, offices and community programmes while giving every material goal a defined owner and review route.

The committee considers a balanced set of indicators rather than a single environmental number. These can include water efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, waste, sustainable sourcing, biodiversity, tree planting, protected-land monitoring, food safety and participation in educational programmes. Together, they show whether resources are being used well and whether activities are producing durable outcomes in the communities and ecosystems where we operate.

Target setting starts with a clear baseline and an agreed boundary. Each proposal is assessed for relevance, scope, measurement quality, timeframe and accountability. Progress is then compared consistently across regions, with local operating conditions considered separately. This distinction matters: a global target may establish the direction, while a regional milestone must still fit local climate, regulation, farming systems and community needs.

Fresh Del Monte’s international reach makes this local-to-global link essential. In Australia, the committee’s lens includes the company’s banana-growing activities in Queensland, the Biosecurity Act 2015 and BICON import conditions, and the requirements of retailers such as Woolworths, Coles and ALDI. It also considers water availability in the Murray-Darling Basin, runoff risks in Great Barrier Reef catchments and the corporate emissions-disclosure benchmark provided by Australia’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme.

A governance cycle built around evidence

The committee provides a forum for consistent oversight across Fresh Del Monte’s agricultural operations and sourcing network. It examines company-wide scorecards, receives updates from regional teams and challenges the assumptions behind proposed milestones. This allows progress to be assessed against both strategic priorities and the practical realities of different markets, rather than as a collection of isolated activity reports.

The governance process also establishes what makes a target acceptable. Proposed goals need a defined measurement method, an accountable owner, a reporting boundary and a process for explaining missed milestones. Supporting detail on company commitments and examples is available through Fresh Del Monte CSR, where programme information can be considered alongside the committee’s broader review framework.

Turning reporting into reviewable evidence

Operational teams supply the data that anchors each review. Depending on the topic, evidence may come from water and energy records, purchasing and supplier data, farm-level production records, biodiversity monitoring, community participation records or educational programme results. The committee looks for trends over time and considers whether the chosen indicator genuinely reflects the environmental or social outcome being pursued.

Data quality receives equal attention. A larger number may look impressive but still reveal little about performance, so reviewers consider consistency, completeness and comparability between periods and regions. Where appropriate, findings can be cross-checked through field verification, supplier engagement, external assessments or independent assurance. Exceptions and limitations are retained rather than hidden, giving the committee a more reliable basis for decisions.

Setting targets that work across regions

Fresh Del Monte’s goals operate at several levels: long-term enterprise ambitions, regional outcomes and nearer-term action plans. This hierarchy connects the direction of travel with the work required on individual farms and in sourcing communities. It also helps prevent a strong result in one market from obscuring underperformance elsewhere.

Targets should be specific enough to compare actual performance with the intended result. The committee therefore considers baseline years, target dates, geographic scope, data ownership and any dependencies outside Fresh Del Monte’s direct control. For example, tree-planting programmes can be assessed partly through survival and habitat outcomes, while sustainable sourcing goals can account for supplier capability, verification coverage and implementation on the ground.

Applying the framework in Australia

Australian plans must reflect conditions that differ from those in other growing regions. Queensland’s banana-growing areas face drought, cyclone and heavy-rain risks, making water security, soil management and resilient distribution central to operational resilience. Imported fruit must also satisfy Australian biosecurity and customs controls, including BICON conditions. Treating compliance as part of a sustainable value chain prevents environmental goals from being separated from the systems needed to deliver safe, reliable products.

Targets must also reach consumers through supply chains serving Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The expectations of supermarkets, independent greengrocers and food-service customers influence decisions about packaging, transport, food waste and sourcing. The committee can therefore test whether a global packaging, emissions or sourcing target produces a realistic result under Australian route-to-market conditions, including warehousing, cold-chain requirements and intermodal transport.

Connecting ecosystems and communities

Environmental and social goals are reviewed together when ecosystems and livelihoods are closely connected. The committee therefore looks beyond activity counts. It asks whether restored areas remain protected, whether water programmes improve conditions for nearby communities, whether sourcing practices strengthen supplier resilience and whether educational initiatives provide useful skills and lasting benefits.

This local-evidence principle can be compared with work such as Clean Water Baltimore, where watershed protection depends on monitoring water quality and coordinating community, government and business action. The lesson for a global committee is not to copy one programme, but to require similarly clear evidence, local ownership and long-term follow-up in every geography while allowing the local design to remain appropriate.

Using accountability to keep targets credible

Progress reports also provide an opportunity to examine why results differ from expectations. The committee considers weather, commodity markets, regulatory changes, data gaps and implementation capacity before deciding whether corrective action is required. If performance is falling short, the response should identify the cause, responsible team, practical remedy and next checkpoint. If a target has become obsolete or its method is flawed, any change should be documented rather than quietly replacing the original commitment.

Accountability extends to the information Fresh Del Monte chooses to publish. Clear reporting explains the scope, method, progress, limitations and next actions behind material performance data. Independent assurance can strengthen confidence in selected indicators, while stakeholder feedback helps identify issues that routine measurement may miss. Customers, employees, growers, non-governmental organisations and communities each provide a different view of whether stated goals are delivering meaningful results.

From review to accountable results

The committee’s role is to keep ambition and performance in step. Its cycle links strategic direction with operational evidence, regional knowledge and public reporting. Reviewing both achievements and shortfalls creates a more credible picture of sustainability performance, while setting and refining targets ensures that company-wide priorities remain connected to action in farming communities and source regions.

The practical takeaway is that a credible sustainability target is one a global committee can explain, regional teams can execute, reliable evidence can test and stakeholders can hold the organisation to.