VOG Products, fruit processing company from South Tyrol, has received the silver medal from EcoVadis. This puts the producer organisation among the top 25% of all companies rated. The company’s water conservation efforts are a fine example of the way it has implemented sustainability.
Sustainability is firmly embedded in the strategy of VOG Products. A prestigious award has confirmed that the company actively implements sustainability in the entire production process: EcoVadis, the world’s most reliable provider of sustainability ratings for global supply chains, rewarded the effort of VOG Products with a silver medal a few weeks ago.
“We are proud and happy to have received this honour, which at the same time is an important signal to our customers and consumers in turn: we offer safe, sustainable and high-quality products,” said Christoph Tappeiner, the CEO of VOG Products. The silver status means that VOG Products is among the top 25% of all companies rated. The EcoVadis rating looks at environmental aspects, as well as employment and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. “The silver medal is an incentive for us to keep improving,” added Tappeiner.
Two years ago, VOG Products passed the «GLOBAL G.A.P. Farm Sustainability Assessment» with the FSA Gold label and since then, has systematically taken next steps. For example, VOG Products invested in the continuous development of its own photovoltaic system and now obtains 100% of its power from renewable energy. “We calculated our corporate carbon footprint and verify it every year. By doing so, we can systematically implement measures to increase energy efficiency and further lower our CO2 emissions,” said CEO Tappeiner.
From the field to processing: saving water at all levels
Water is a special focus of VOG Products: with the “Cooling water optimisation” project, the company saved as much water in 2022 as 15,000 people consume in one year – by using the same water twice as cooling water and as transport water.
Water is not only saved on the company grounds in Laives, but also along the VOG Products supply chain. “Through our members, we have close ties to the fruit growers in South Tyrol: via the cooperatives, they are the actual supplies of our raw goods,” explained Tappeiner.
For example, the Laimburg Research Centre collaborated with the Alto Adige Consultancy Centre to develop “Smart Land”, a system that uses high-quality sensor technology to measure soil moisture in the field and connect it to current weather and temperature data. With a full-coverage radio network and an app, the measured data is transmitted in real time to farmers, who use it for the needs-orientated watering of the fruit orchards. With “Smart Land”, water savings of up to 50% can be achieved.
Editorial contact:
Editor: Kiran Grewal kgrewal@kennedys.co.uk
