Second Annual Forum on Sustainability and Happiness Sheds Light on
Water Use, Pricing Pressures
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 18, 2012--
Last week, Dole Food Company, Inc. (NYSE:DOLE) participated in the
second annual Forum on Sustainability and Happiness in Costa Rica. This
year, former U.S. President Bill Clinton provided the closing keynote,
delivering a message on environmental sustainability.
Sylvain Cuperlier, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Dole Food Company Inc. with former U.S. President Bill Clinton at the Forum on Sustainability & Happiness in Costa Rica. (Photo: Business Wire)
Dole’s Sylvain Cuperlier, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and
Sustainability introduced the Forum’s roundtable on sustainable
agriculture. In this introduction, Cuperlier discussed the potential
issues related to pesticide use, the need for a more pro-active response
to climate change and the requirement to focus further on water use and
soil conservation. He also highlighted some challenges specific to
agriculture, like how the increasing market pressure on prices can be a
constraint when it comes to extending sustainable production practices.
Cuperlier pinpointed some opportunities for collaboration, as well.
Participation in multi-stakeholder initiatives aimed at exchanging best
sustainable practices, through the Costa Rican platform and the World
Banana Forum, was a central focus.
“Our participation for the second time in the Forum was a great
opportunity for Dole to reaffirm our leadership role in sustainability,
while highlighting, with full transparency, the challenges and
opportunities our industry can encounter along the way,” said Cuperlier.
“These events are so valuable because they bring together some many
stakeholders, new and established, to discuss issues that span such a
wide variety of companies, industries and regions.”
The roundtable’s participants also featured other Dole representatives,
including Roberto Vega, Dole’s Director of Sustainability, who provided
the audience with more information on the Company’s sustainability
programs.
Vega will further discuss Dole’s sustainability initiatives in the
working group on Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture at Business
for the Environment (B4E) Global Summit 2012, which will take place May
21-22 in Berlin, Germany. B4E is the leading international platform for
dialogue and partnership solutions for the environment. The
recommendations from the working groups organized in Berlin will be
presented as official business input for decision-makers at Rio+20, the
United Nations conference on Sustainable Development, which will take
place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the end of June.
About Dole
For more information on Dole’s Corporate Responsibility and
Sustainability programs, please visit www.dolesustainability.com
and read our latest sustainability newsletter at: http://dolecrs.com/images/crsprint/crsnewsletter.html.
Dole is the world’s largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh
fruit and fresh vegetables, and is the leading producer of organic
bananas and producer/shipper of organic pineapples. Dole markets a
growing line of packaged and frozen fruit and is a produce industry
leader in nutrition education and research. For more information, please
visit www.dole.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50284006&lang=en
Source: Dole Food Company, Inc.
Dole Food Company, Inc.
Marty Ordman
818-874-4834
