In its sustainability report 2018, BayWa announces that it wants to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions from, for example, the electricity and water supply and mobility by 22 percent by 2025 compared to 2017. Also by 2025 the use of energy is to be reduced drastically and the capacity of generation from renewable energy sources expanded by 10 gigawatt.
In the report, the company points to two examples from the horticulture industry that illustrate how they intend to achieve this aim.
"Green" tomatoes in New Zealand
With its “Beekist” line of tomatoes, T&G Global, the largest producer of tomatoes in New Zealand, is placing its faith in natural pollination, environmentally friendly pest control and irrigation using rainwater. The packaging of the “Beekist” tomatoes also gives consumers tips on the best way to dispose of the recyclable material.
Harvesting tomatoes in the desert
The joint venture of BayWa and Al Dahra in the United Arab Emirates harvested tomatoes under the “Mahalli” private brand for the first time in September 2018. They ripened in a climate-controlled greenhouse and are destined for the local market, where demand is high. Local production shortens transport routes, saves CO2 and increases the country’s self-sufficiency. State-of-the-art climate-controlled greenhouses help reduce resource consumption by up to 70 per cent while increasing yields by a factor of ten compared to outdoor production.