Climate change continues to affect water availability across the world and, as a provider of fresh produce, we need to carefully manage this resource to secure future production.

70% of all available fresh water is used in the agricultural sector globally. It is estimated that there will be a 40% shortfall in global fresh water supply by 2030, the reality being that producers around the world will not have access to this essential resource. Water Stewardship is therefore a core focus of Dole South Africa’s sustainability activities.

A case in point: Long-term plan for saving water

A larger dam is being proposed to service our two farms situated in Wellington in the Western Cape. This region typically experiences a Mediterranean climate, with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers.

Strategically positioned, this new dam will act as a reservoir, collecting and storing water during the wet season. The water thus stored will be used during the crucial times of irrigation in the peak of the season. By harnessing this water resource, we will be able to establish a more reliable irrigation system, ensuring that our crops receive the required water for optimal growth and yield. Once completed, the dam is expected to hold 1,5 million cubic metres of water, which will supplement the supply from the farms’ existing dam to irrigate the grape vineyards and citrus crops.

Our approach of Reducing, Reusing and Recycling is applied across all our farming entities and offices, continuously seeking new ways and methods that create less waste.

In the marketplace, we collaborate with our Dole plc colleagues to find innovative marketing solutions dedicated to inspiring and empowering consumers to waste less purchased produce.

Furthermore, we aim to always reduce plastics and transition to recyclable or compostable materials wherever possible. Our team serves on Dole corporate’s Sustainability Packaging forum: this group is actively engaged in finding integrated sustainable solutions and new product development.

We believe that one of the ways in which we can show our commitment to protecting our environment is by starting to capture our own local production carbon emission data. Our aim is therefore to significantly reduce emissions from our operations year-on-year. We have started the process of capturing data for our farms on the SIZA Digital Record Keeping Tool and look forward to sharing results over time.

At a global level, Dole plc received a “B” rating in the Climate Change category from the Carbon Disclosure Project in 2022. Reducing emissions from operations is by far one of the most significant contributions we can make to secure our agricultural future.

We remain committed to adopting clean sources of energy to power our vehicles, farming equipment and in our packhouses and other areas of our supply chain.