Malena Produce and International Greenhouse Produce Pilot Sustainability Standard
The Sustainability Standard is a third-party certification for all field, greenhouse and facility operations.
The standard documents and reports sustainability performance to buyers and others in the supply chain. The standard recognizes best practices and sustainability indicators such as: soil health, pest management and pesticide use; nutrients, waste and recycling; water and energy conservation; processing; employee relations; and environmental protection. Coupled with Azzule’s Auditing Software (AZAS) and the Azzule Supply Chain platform, sustainable practices can be clearly communicated to customers while also identifying opportunities for future audit improvements.
Azzule would like to offer thanks and special recognition to Gonzalo Avila from Malena Produce and Aristeo A. Canelos from International Greenhouse Produce SA de CV (IGP), their supplier, for participating in the first Sustainability Standard pilot audit. Teams from Azzule, IPM Institute’s Sustainable Food Group, Primus Auditing Operations, and Sysco traveled to Culiacán, Sinaloa, in February 2020 to tour IGP’s operation with over 300 hectares of greenhouses, growing tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.
We are incredibly grateful to IGP and Malena Produce for their willingness to lead the way in sustainable production by showing us their growing and processing operation, sharing with us their many sustainability, social responsibility, and integrated pest management practices, and, lastly, piloting the Sustainability Standard.
We learned a great deal from their team of experts and took away valuable feedback that can improve the audit for the rest of the industry. We are also grateful to Sysco for committing to piloting the Sustainability Standard in their fresh produce supply chain and look forward to future opportunities to partner with the company.
If you are interested in using the Sustainability Standard for your own operation or a supplier’s, please reach out to [email protected].
