
Climate – A Fresh Approach
BE CLIMATE – carbon neutral fruit and vegetables
Port International – carbon neutral fruit
Located near the Port of Hamburg, the family-run Port International has been trading in fruit and vegetables for 140 years. The company was one of the first to introduce organic and fair trade bananas to Europe. This shows how relevant sustainability has been and still is. In 2017, the Port International became carbon neutral and added carbon neutral strawberries to its portfolio.
Today, Port International offers not only carbon neutral strawberries, but also bananas, blueberries, leaf clementines and green asparagus under the BE CLIMATE brand. The first retailer to put carbon neutral products on the shelves was a retail chain in Belgium right from the start of BE CLIMATE, followed by a German wholesale market supplier. In future, Port plans to extend the carbon neutral premium brand to all areas of the product range.
Similar to what we did with the strawberries in 2017, we at ClimatePartner calculated the carbon footprint of the products, taking into account cultivation, packaging and transport. To offset all emissions and make the fruit carbon neutral, Port International supports two of our carbon offset projects: a project for clean drinking water in Cambodia and a forest conservation project in Peru.
Via the label "carbon neutral" and a QR code, consumers can identify the carbon neutral fruit and vegetables in retail shops and track the carbon offset.
„We surely understand that carbon neutral products can only be seen as a first step. It must be followed by many more. But it is a step we can take right now and for us, that’s what counts!“