OXNARD, Calif. – Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVO) (“Mission” or the “Company”), a world leader in sourcing, producing and distributing fresh Hass avocados with additional offerings in mangos, today announced the publication of its fiscal year (FY) 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, Finest for the Future. Providing an update on the company’s ESG progress since FY 2020, the Report details the actions, goals and initiatives through which Mission aspires to provide the finest for its people, product and planet.
“At Mission, we recognize our responsibility to treat our land, resources and people with respect as we work toward the goal of cultivating a better future for generations to come,” said Steve Barnard, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Mission. “I’m proud to share our progress over the last year as we remain committed to transparency with our stakeholders, customers and consumers.”
Highlights of the Report include:
- Food Waste: The Company applied shelf-life extension technology to more than 34 million pounds of avocados,beating its waste reduction goal by 55%.
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I): Mission sponsored the produce industry’s first-ever DE&I initiative in partnership with the Produce Marketing Association’s Center for Growing Talent.
- Emissions: Mission decreased trash sent to landfills by 19% and increased recycling by 33% compared to FY 2020.
- Plastic Reduction: Mission utilized bags with finer netting and thinner film without sacrificing quality and performance, reaching more than one-third of the Company’s plastic reduction goal to decrease plastic in 50% of the bags packed and shipped globally by FY 2025.
- Community Investment: Mission is on track to increase its charitable giving by 50% by the end of 2022.
“As a global leader in precision farming practices, Mission uses less to grow more,” said Delanie Beeson, Mission’s Global Science and Sustainability Manager. “From field to fork, we strive to provide a high-quality product to our customers without sacrificing our commitment to sustainability. The health and safety of our people, our product and our planet will continue to be a guiding force in the future of our business.”
Mission’s sustainability topics for reporting were informed by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) index framework to provide stakeholders with standardized metrics showing the comprehensive impact of Mission’s ESG activities. Other topics covered in the report include product quality, health and safety, water management, carbon sequestration, waste reduction, emissions and governance.
To learn more about Mission’s commitment to sustainability, the 2021 Finest for the Future ESG Report is available to view and download at https://issuu.com/missionavocados/docs/mis-esg-report.
About Mission Produce, Inc.:
Mission Produce is a global leader in the worldwide avocado business. Since 1983, Mission Produce has been sourcing, producing and distributing fresh Hass avocados, and as of 2021, fresh mangos, to retail, wholesale and foodservice customers in over 25 countries. The vertically integrated Company owns and operates four state-of-the-art packing facilities in key growing locations globally, including California, Mexico and Peru and has additional sourcing capabilities in Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa and more, which allow the Company to provide a year-round supply of premium fruit. Mission’s global distribution network includes 12 forward distribution centers that are strategically positioned in key markets throughout North America, China and Europe, offering value-added services such as ripening, bagging, custom packing and logistical management. For more information, please visit www.missionproduce.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature are forward-looking statements that, within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “believe”, “seek”, “could”, “estimate”, “judgment”, “targeting”, “should”, “anticipate”, “goal” and variations of these words and similar expressions, are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release address a variety of subjects, including statements about our short-term and long-term assumptions, goals and targets. Many of these assumptions relate to matters that are beyond our control and changing rapidly. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurances that our expectations will be attained. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including: limitations regarding the supply of avocados, either through purchasing or growing; the loss of one or more of our largest customers or a reduction in the level of purchases by customers; doing business internationally, including Mexican and Peruvian economic, political and/or societal conditions; fluctuations in market prices of avocados; increasing competition; inherent farming risks; variations in operating results due to the seasonality of the business; general economic conditions; the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including resulting economic conditions; inflationary pressures and increases in costs of commodities or other products used in our business; food safety events and recalls of our products; changes to USDA and FDA regulations, U.S. trade policy, and/or tariff and import/export regulations; restrictions due to health and safety laws; significant costs associated with compliance with environmental laws and regulations; acquisitions of other businesses; the ability of our infrastructure to handle our business needs; supply chain optimization failures or disruptions; disruption to the supply of reliable and cost-effective transportation; failure to recruit and retain key personnel and an adequate labor supply and lack of good employee relations; information system security risks, data protection breaches and systems integration issues; changes in privacy and/or information security laws, policies and/or contractual arrangements; material litigation or adverse governmental actions; failure to maintain or protect our brand; changes in tax rates or international tax legislation; risks associated with our indebtedness; the viability of an active, liquid, and orderly market for our common stock; volatility in the trading price of our common stock; concentration of control in our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders over matters submitted to stockholders for approval; limited sources of capital appreciation; significant costs associated with being a public company and the allocation of significant management resources thereto; reliance on analyst reports; failure to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting; restrictions on takeover attempts in our charter documents and under Delaware law; the selection of Delaware as the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders; the Russia/Ukraine conflict; and other risks and factors discussed from time to time in our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can obtain copies of our SEC filings on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation does not intend to, nor does it assume any obligation to, update or supplement any forward-looking statements after the date hereof to reflect actual results or future events or circumstances.
