Moving our processing plant boilers beyond coal

Fresh Del Monte is committed to phasing out coal in our processing plant boilers. Our aim is to keep process heat reliable while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the air pollution associated with coal combustion. The work is more than a fuel purchase: it affects plant safety, production continuity and the trust placed in us by communities near our operations.

Coal-fired boilers generate the steam used to wash, heat and thermally process fruit. Moving to cleaner heat requires us to understand each site’s steam demand, grid conditions, equipment and workforce. It also means protecting water and soil while creating dependable alternatives. Across our global operations, local conditions differ, so the engineering pathway must be built around each plant rather than copied unchanged.

A coal phase-out tied to real operations

Our wider sustainability framework, including responsible sourcing, tree planting and environmental programmes, is set out on our CSR website. The coal phase-out belongs within that framework because energy use shapes almost every environmental target we pursue. Treating it as part of the whole operation helps avoid claiming progress on one front while ignoring another.

Coal combustion releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, along with nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and fine particles that can affect nearby air quality. Those impacts are especially relevant to facilities near homes, farms and waterways. A responsible transition must address emissions and pollution, not simply move fuel purchasing to a lower-carbon option elsewhere.

Each processing site needs a different route because boiler age, available fuels and grid capacity are not uniform across tropical operations in Costa Rica, Kenya, the Philippines and other markets. Our approach starts with facilities where we manage boilers and fuel supply directly, then builds a plant-specific path from coal to cleaner steam. Local communities, suppliers and employees must be part of that planning.

Cleaner steam for fresh produce processing

Most processing lines need steam at specific temperatures and pressure levels, and fruit production cannot simply stop while a new boiler is connected. Technical options include high-temperature electric boilers, heat pumps, heat recovery, improved insulation and steam controls. Efficiency measures can reduce fuel demand first, making the next stage of the energy transition easier to finance and operate.

Where electricity is clean and reliable, electrification can decarbonise steam production without relying on fossil combustion at the plant. In other locations, sustainable biomass, renewable gas or another low-carbon fuel may be more practical, provided its full supply chain is credible. Biomass is not automatically climate friendly: feedstock origin, land use, harvesting practices and transport all affect its performance.

Engineering choices must match actual production demands. Cleaning, heating and thermal processing loads can vary through the day, while extreme weather may affect fuel deliveries and grid reliability. Local engineers, equipment suppliers and plant teams should test new systems under real operating conditions before the old unit is retired, with training and maintenance plans established in advance.

Building a practical boiler transition pathway

A credible pathway begins with a clear baseline. For every boiler, we need to know fuel type, consumption, steam output, operating hours, greenhouse gas emissions and maintenance condition. This information reveals where efficiency can cut demand and whether a boiler should be replaced, converted or retired. Without reliable data, progress claims remain difficult to verify.

The sequence should move from demand reduction to cleaner fuels and then to equipment that avoids combustion where practical. Procurement should test renewable energy options against safety standards, local infrastructure and whole-life cost. Any fuels labelled low carbon need evidence about their production, while biomass needs controls for biodiversity and community impacts. Capital decisions should reflect performance over the boiler’s full life, not the cheapest initial contract.

The people operating these systems are central to a just transition. Employees and contractor crews need training in new technology, safe handling and maintenance, and time to adapt to changed processes. Community consultation should begin before major equipment or fuel changes, especially where a new energy source could affect traffic, water demand or local air quality. Technical change succeeds when it is safe and workable, not merely new on paper.

Protecting water and surrounding ecosystems

Energy decisions also have consequences beyond the boiler house. Coal dust, combustion pollutants and site runoff can affect surrounding soils and waterways. Replacing coal should therefore be paired with sound chemical management, erosion control and stormwater planning. The value of practical catchment work is illustrated by stream cleanup efforts, which connect community participation with cleaner water and stronger local habitats.

Australian farmers in the Murray–Darling Basin often talk about water entitlements and environmental flows, the managed releases of water intended to sustain river ecosystems. Downstream communities rely on the same rivers for irrigation, drinking water and recreation. Protecting water near a processing plant is part of maintaining healthy relationships with neighbours and respecting a shared catchment.

Tropical growing regions also face heavy seasonal rainfall, which can carry sediment and nutrients from orchards into streams. Careful soil management, vegetated buffer zones and responsible fertiliser use matter alongside cleaner energy. Cleaner energy must sit within a wider approach to watershed protection, so that reducing carbon does not obscure biodiversity pressures or transfer risks to nearby communities.

Making progress measurable and transparent

Progress needs to be expressed in measures that people can understand. Useful indicators include tonnes of coal consumed, boiler energy by fuel type, steam used per tonne of produce, renewable heat supplied, greenhouse gas emissions and the number of coal-fired boilers still operating. A mixture of absolute and efficiency measures shows both real reductions and changes in production.

Reporting must also explain what happened between reporting periods, including delays, revised baselines and equipment that did not perform as expected. Independent assurance can strengthen confidence in the underlying data. The same discipline extends to land: our approach to disclosing land impacts is explained in our land use report, which sets out why transparency about location and land use is necessary.

Clear goals need a dated roadmap, accountable owners and resources for delivery. If a plant cannot meet a milestone, the reason and revised pathway should be visible. Supplier information is equally important because agricultural supply chains influence both fuel choices and land decisions. Reliable reporting turns a boiler replacement programme into a measurable management system rather than a collection of separate technical projects.

What the transition means in Australia

Australia provides a demanding and useful context for this work. The country’s energy system was built around coal-fired generation, although renewable capacity is expanding quickly. In Australian business conversations, “green power” often refers to contracted renewable electricity, which is different from saying that a factory boiler runs on renewable energy. For facilities covered by the national Safeguard Mechanism, carbon performance also affects how industrial emissions are managed.

Regional realities are equally important. Tropical fruit growers around the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland work through wet seasons, cyclone risk and constrained local grids. Refrigeration, irrigation and processing loads all need dependable power, while backup generation and cold-chain continuity remain critical. A boiler transition must fit those conditions instead of assuming a metropolitan grid can supply every hour of demand.

The Australian market also changes how companies prove their claims. Australian supermarket buyers and export customers increasingly seek evidence on emissions, water, labour practices and sourcing across the supply chain. That evidence reaches beyond the electricity tariff to the fuel burned at the plant and the practices of growers supplying it. Cleaner boilers can strengthen commercial resilience, but only when performance data is credible and communicated consistently.

Taken together, these steps show what practical decarbonisation requires: reduce wasted energy, replace coal with cleaner and safer heat, and plan each technical change around people, communities and local ecosystems. The transition must fit local grids and fuel systems rather than rely on a single global formula. Clear measurement and honest reporting keep the work accountable.

What readers should remember is that our commitment to phasing out coal in our processing plant boilers is an operational responsibility, not a marketing phrase. It must show up in measured fuel use, credible engineering choices, safer workplaces, protected waterways and transparent progress updates. That is the standard by which meaningful change can be recognised.