"Collaboration with Suppliers and Customers Is the only Way to Meaningfully Reduce Impact"

Why It Matters

Supply‑chain emissions dominate the fresh‑produce sector, so coordinated action can unlock both climate impact and cost savings. Best Fresh’s approach offers a replicable model for SMEs seeking credible, data‑driven sustainability pathways.

Key Takeaways

• 96% of emissions stem from supply chain, not own operations
• Best Fresh uses Voluntary SME Standard for structured sustainability reporting
• Collaboration with suppliers and customers cuts supply‑chain emissions
• Small pilot projects build confidence and accelerate broader sustainability initiatives

Pulse Analysis

The fresh‑produce industry is uniquely emissions‑intensive because the bulk of its carbon impact occurs before products reach a retailer’s shelf. Best Fresh Group’s internal audit revealed that only four percent of its total footprint is generated in its own facilities, while the remaining ninety‑six percent is spread across growers, transporters and processors. This distribution mirrors global trends, where upstream agricultural practices and logistics dominate greenhouse‑gas outputs. By quantifying each segment—40% from cultivated fruit and vegetables, 30% from multimodal transport, and the rest from processing and packaging—Best Fresh created a data‑backed roadmap that other growers and distributors can emulate.

Turning insight into action, Best Fresh anchored its sustainability agenda on three pillars: healthy people, a healthy planet, and healthy businesses. The company adopted the Voluntary SME Standard, a European framework that streamlines reporting for smaller firms and facilitates comparability across the sector. Internal silos were broken down by integrating finance, operations and sustainability teams, ensuring that emissions metrics influence every commercial decision. While data gaps persist—relying on sector averages and assumptions—the firm treats these as iterative steps, improving accuracy year over year. This pragmatic stance underscores that perfect data is not a prerequisite for progress; rather, incremental measurement fuels continuous improvement.

The broader lesson for the ag‑food supply chain is clear: collaboration is the catalyst for real emissions cuts. Best Fresh urges suppliers and customers to share production data, social certifications and logistical footprints openly, creating a transparent ecosystem where each participant can identify high‑impact levers. Starting with modest, high‑success‑probability pilots builds confidence and generates reusable learnings, accelerating larger‑scale initiatives. As regulatory pressure from frameworks like the Science Based Targets initiative intensifies, firms that embed sustainability into every decision—rather than treating it as a peripheral project—will gain competitive advantage, lower costs, and meet the growing expectations of environmentally conscious buyers.