Fruit and vegetable wholesaler Fresh Direct has achieved its pledge to source all contracted British produce from Leaf Marque accredited growers as it plans to implement more sustainable farming initiatives.
Achieving Leaf standards ensures that Fresh Direct’s growers are independently verified against a whole-farm sustainability standard, driving improvements in soil health, biodiversity, water and energy management to deliver more responsibly grown British produce.
Building on this, the Sysco-owned fresh produce supplier has now created a number of partnerships with suppliers to implement more sustainable farming initiatives. These are based on regenerative farming principles that aim to promote biodiversity and nature while producing food.
The company is collaborating with regenerative farming experts Regen Future Co to pilot projects with three of its progressive growers – FreshGro, Len Wright Salads and Barfoots.
The pair have created locally appropriate interventions that will help identify the opportunities and challengers growers face in putting regenerative principles, as defined by Leaf Marque, into practice.
Projects aim to improve soil health and biodiversity, and include developing 300-metre diverse hedgerow and wildflower meadows, creating new wildlife habitats and developing a new freshwater ecosystem that is intended to help boost biodiversity.
“Climate and extreme weather are making it increasingly difficult to grow food, and we’re committed to partnering with our suppliers to build resilient supply chains and secure the future of food,” said Sysco GB head of European sustainability Pete Statham.
“Our collaborations with three key growers aim to demonstrate initiatives that can improve commercial farming for biodiversity, soil health and the climate. If successful, this will allow us to share insights and learnings to enhance sustainability and resilience throughout the supply chain.
”It’s an opportunity to collaborate to help build a constructive dialogue around sustainable farming in the foodservice supply chain that supports nature alongside food production.”
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