Dedicated organic fresh produce specialist SunFresh Produce Ltd celebrates the confirmation of its status as a B-Corp business. This makes the Lincolnshire-based company the 170th in the UK to achieve this special status, joining an elite global community of 2,700 businesses in 60 countries with higher values and transparency.
Harnessing the power of business, SunFresh Produce will continue to appropriate profit and growth as a means to a greater end as it supplies a range of salads, fruits and vegetables to retailers.
In achieving its certified status as a B-Corporation, SunFresh Produce has withstood rigorous assessment of its impact on to employees, customers, community and environment. Furthermore, and unlike other certification schemes, the founders of SunFresh Produce have signed a new legal obligation to balance purpose and profit, adhering to a robust set of ethical values while conducting their everyday business.
SunFresh Produce has always been a committed ethical business, but it made sense to demonstrate the company’s core values to a wider audience, as Chief Exec Matt Godfroy explains:
"Too often, measuring business success is limited to financial factors and who has the biggest turnover. But these are doomed metrics, When you look deeper to reveal spiralling profits, poor grower returns, overly complex manufacturing processes, outdated supply chains and layers of management, you’ll discover a business cancer which disregards the planet, limited resources and people.
“In opposition, you find SunFresh Produce, a business with determination. We're doing business differently, investing in the future, putting people and the planet first. And we’re proof that you can still be profitable with a purpose.
"It’s time our industry’s metrics reached beyond financial cost. As a society we’re buying cheap, single-use materials. Our throwaway culture is not just untenable, it’s destructive, Look no further than the plastic in our oceans. If you consider these factors, your next purchase might be different.
“We have social and environmental responsibilities. We haven't ticked boxes for the sake of one more accreditation, or to satisfy customer requirements. We've made tangible changes to the way we operate and use resources, and we’ve made a promise to preserve the planet for future generations. We're not saying it, we're doing it. We’re supplying a better tomorrow”.
Under the scheme founded in 2015, B-Corporations work collectively to reduce inequality, decrease levels of poverty, create a healthier environment, build stronger communities, and create jobs underpinned by dignity and purpose.
Godfroy added: "Governments and Not-for-Profit organisations can't solve Society’s most challenging problems on their own. The phrase "If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem" couldn't be more relevant. By joining a global community of like-minded businesses, who work to the highest levels of social and environmental standards, SunFresh Produce has become part of a quantifiable solution to the problem. That's why we're proud to be a B-Corporation.
"But this is just the beginning. We have big plans. Since we attended last summer's Go! Organic Festival under the banner of Organic For The People, we've been listening to the people and developing an innovative new platform. Our plans turn normal into exciting. You’ll witness the first phase this Spring and more unfolding over the next 18 months. We will be delivering people what they asked for - purpose and value for everyone.”
For more information:
Dom Lane
Tel: +44 7944 440 935
Email: dom@colourandthing.com
www.sunfreshproduce.com