Jordi Gallés, the CEO of Europastry, has stated that ‘companies have the obligation to promote the sustainable development of our economic activity in order to ensure that our society can progress in the medium and long term. This principle means that in our daily operations, we set goals for ourselves regarding the responsible use of resources and energy efficiency. By committing to use only green energy, we are taking a major step towards consolidating ourselves as a sustainable company’.
This project is an important step for us in terms of sustainability, since it is an initiative that will prevent the emission of 50,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, an amount equal to the CO2 retention capacity of some 100,000 adult trees.
In this way, all the electrical energy that we use will come from renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydraulic, biomass or biogas, which makes us the first company in its sector to achieve this important sustainability milestone.
GROWING A BETTER WORLD TOGETHER
Europastry remains committed to responsible growth. This initiative will allow us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations Global Compact, which Europastry has been a partner in for years now.
Also noteworthy in terms of sustainable management is the innovative electric bicycle delivery system that the company has implemented in the country’s main urban centres, and the integration of trucks powered by natural gas and mega trucks, which reduce CO2 emissions by up to 20%.
As far as quality and consumer health, we use 100% natural ingredients and are pioneers in eliminating partially hydrogenated fats from all its products. We also have the appropriate Organic Agriculture Certification for our BIO products and work hand in hand with local farmers to ensure the total traceability of our products. An example of this is the ‘From Field to Table’ project which reflects the company’s commitment to local products and a healthy diet through one of its most successful bread ranges, ‘Gran Reserva’. By means of this project, each ear of wheat is accompanied from when it is sown to when it is harvested, monitoring crops and the harvest to select the best wheat from local farms in the Ebro Valley, Huesca and the fertile plains of Albacete.
Among many other such initiatives, Europastry has several sustainability certifications, such as the UTZ seal which guarantees a rigorous control of cocoa traceability in order to improve the lives of farmers, the quality of the cocoa, and care for the environment. In this same way, we also support the use of eggs with the Free Range seal, that is, eggs from chickens raised in liberty.
Europastry is also committed to the reduction of sugars and sodium in its products. According to AECOSAN, the Agency for Consumption, Food Safety and Nutrition, our muffins and croissants have 30% less sugar than the industry average. We have also joined the Sweetfood Project, promoted by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to reduce the amount of refined sugars in food and beverages.
With regard to the reduction of sodium, in 2013, Europastry was awarded the Ministry of Health’s NAOS Strategy Prize for the best entrepreneurial initiative, thanks to our line of low-sodium bread products, which are also rich in potassium.