Move towards Zero Fruit Loss from Dole farms by 2025
We believe that preventing fruit loss is a way to reduce the impact of food insecurity and malnutrition and reduce the amount of organic material that ends up in the landfill.
The Why
Globally, one-third of all food produced is lost or wasted. In 2021, a World Wildlife Fund report highlighted that 1.2 billion tons of food produced globally is lost before it even leaves the farm.
As one of the largest tropical fruit manufacturers, we have set a goal to achieve zero fruit loss within our operations by 2025. Our aim is to identify ways to prevent our fruit from ending up in the landfill.
of fruit loss ends up in landfills
of fruit waste occurs in the retail and consumer stages
Upcycling
Creating new fruit- based products
We are upcycling fruit that cannot be sold whole – turning it into snacks, drinks and other products in line with our mission to provide nutritious food to more people.
In 2021, we launched a new corporate venture in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board and the Agency for Science, Technology & Research for an innovative B2B upcycling venture: Dole Specialty Ingredients (DSI) which aims to transform plant and fruit loss into specialty ingredients that can be used in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, and food and beverage industries.
Repurposing
Getting value from organic waste
We are carefully redefining what is actually waste at certain stages of production. Instead of being discarded, organic materials are being collected and repurposed.
At our facility in Michigan, USA, we’ve successfully reduced our fruit waste to landfill from 441,000 lbs to 3,120 lbs in one year (2020 to 2021) through a process called ‘windrow composting’ done in partnership with Cornelius Farms. Over the next four months, what was initially fruit waste transformed into valuable organic compost which we can use to grow our next crop.
Reducing Rejections
Using better technology
By improving our quality control processes and developing a more detailed understanding of the reasons for fruit rejections, we aim to prevent fruit loss.
In 2021, we expanded our partnership and use of Clarifruit – an app-based AI-technology for quality control – to improve the accuracy and efficiency of our quality inspections from pre-harvest to arrival-at-market, which reduces waste and rejections.
Allowing Imperfections
Avoiding unnecessary fruit waste
We know that even if something doesn’t look perfect, it does not lack taste or nutritional value. We strive to encourage change in consumer perception and create opportunities for fruit that would otherwise go to waste.
For bananas that do not meet specifications to be sold as bunches, we expanded our sales of single bananas in convenience stores across the Philippines, South Korea and Japan to avoid wasted fruit. We also upcycled potential fruit loss into a new line of ‘Dole Dippers’ frozen banana bites.
Energy Generation
Biogas for green energy
Our biogas plants use fruit waste from canneries and farms to generate steam that can power our operations.
In the Philippines, one of two large-scale biogas plants is now generating power for our Polomolok and Surallah facilities. When both are fully operational, we will produce 5.7 Mwe of clean renewable energy – between 2012 and 2021 we have repurposed 325,000 metric tons of waste.
See how Dole is spreading Sunshine For All®
of fruit waste was diverted from the landfill in 2021
of our fruit loss is diverted from landfill
of our banana waste is used for bioenergy or composting
