Alpro on Serving Up Sustainability
Sustainability is a massive part of the Alpro story. After all, plant-based isn’t just delicious and great for your body, it also helps to positively impact the planet. And, while we don’t like to brag (much), we’ve got sustainability credentials that we’re pretty proud of. So, by choosing our range of Alpro Barista products – specifically formulated to work well with coffee – you’re not only set to serve up tasty plant-based bevs, you can also be safe in the knowledge that you’re doing your bit for the planet.
Sourcing Smarter
First up, let’s chat ingredients and where they’re from. Not only do these help you make a bangin’ cup of coffee that tastes great, we do all we can to make sure each and every one is sourced responsibly, and with the lowest possible impact on the environment. responsibly and produced ecologically.
Take our OG soya. We get the majority of our soya beans from Europe (60% to be exact, the rest come from Canada by boat). This . This means that we’re contributing towards fewer food miles and never sourcing from deforested areas. We have a full traceability over our soya beans that are both 100% Proterra certified and non GMO.
The same goes for our oats, which we get from Europe. Almonds? We get ours from the Mediterranean area. We like to grow our our almonds grown on a rather small scale, with most of them rain-fed and pollinated by wild bees. Closer to home = lower carbon footprint.
Then there’s coconut, which we source from South-East Asia, where coconut palms grow in their natural local climate. All the parts of the coconut are used. The harvested nuts go by small boats or trucks to the processing facilities where they’re blended into coconut cream. Only this coconut cream is shipped to our production sites, minimizing the environmental footprint of transportation. – native, and part of the natural ecosystem.
On top of all this, we aim at mainly usinge rain-fed crops across the board, meaning very little water irrigation (Yes, even for our almonds!). And no, none of our ingredients are genetically modified. Throw in the fact that we’re constantly improving our plant-friendly process and you’ve got a plant-based bBarista line-up thatwhich oozes sustainability.
Making It Better
Humble brag alert – we’ve trailblazed sustainability since day dot. But as we continue to grow along with the popularity of plant-based, our product carbon footprint is actually shrinking. How have we done this, you may ask? Let us tell you…
• Water? We make every single drop count. So much so that thanks to our treatment plants, we’ve cut our total water usage throughout our on operations and factories by product by -20% in the last 10 years. We’re not stopping there, though. Our plan is to reduce our product water footprint by 60% by 2025.
• CO2? We also have a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our products by 30% per kg by 2025.
• Electricity? Ours is 100% renewable in Kettering – UK and we have reduced energy consumption per product by more than -40% in the last 13 years.. Nice, right?
Our goal - To become carbon neutral by 2050. We’re already off to a good start! If we’re talking pats on the back, we have just been recognised as a ‘Best for the World Honoree by B Corp as Best Ffor Environment’, in 2021.
A Better Way to Pack It
It’s all well and good that our ingredients are sustainably grown, and we are constantly improving our production process, . our processes are eco-friendly. But does that mean anything if we aren’t delivering when it comes to packaging? Luckily, we are.
Not only do they look faaaabulous on the counter, Alpro Barista packs are recyclable and made from 96% plant-based materials. 100% recyclable, plus they’re made from 88% plant-based materials. Sustainable inside and out, you might say.
If you’re a tad curious about how we fare within the rest of the Alpro range, our move to plant-based materials in our packaging has helped us save over 4,000 tons of carbon emissions a year (and counting).
Do we need to give any more reasons why serving plant-based products is a good idea? Didn’t think so.
Find out more about Alpro’s sustainability credentials here.
* 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems.