In 2021, we won the “Carbon Footprint” category at the Sustainability Heroes Awards.

The awards are presented by the German Association for Sustainability and the German Association for Quality to recognise pioneers in the field of sustainability. Prizes were awarded in a total of six categories to the best companies selected from over 200 applications.

We are delighted to have received this award. It confirms our belief that it pays off to be bold and break new ground.

Port has been a climate-neutral company since 2017. Our annual CO₂ balance sheet not only discloses the direct and indirect emissions we cause as an office-based company, but also includes indirect emissions from upstream and downstream processes along the supply chain. On joining the Science Based Targets initiative, at the beginning of 2021, Port International officially set itself the target of halving its emissions by 2030 compared to 2018. We are pursuing the science-based target of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C by implementing specific reduction measures.

In 2019, we and our Spanish supplier were awarded the world’s first SPRING certification for berries (this is a GLOBALG.A.P. add-on for freshwater protection). The “Sustainable Program for Irrigation and Groundwater Use” assesses sustainable water management at producer level. This add-on certification builds on the GLOBALG.A.P./IFA fruit and vegetable standard and is reviewed annually during the IFA audit. Its criteria for assessing sustainable water management include the following:

• Legal conformity of water sources and extraction rates
• Best practices in water management (e.g. the use of tensiometers)
• Protection of water sources
• Monitoring water consumption (m³/hectare/year)
• Reducing energy requirements
• Impact of production on sustainable watershed management
• Handling and disposing of waste water

The results of the SPRING audit can be viewed in the GLOBALG.A.P. database under the producer GGN; these create more transparency with regard to the sustainability of the producer’s water management.

We carry out construction and development work in Peru in cooperation with local partners, thus making a vital contribution to the local economy. This year, Port International is ranked among the top 3 in the “Corporate Partnerships” category of the 2019 German Sustainability Awards for its fruitful collaboration with the banana cooperative Capebosan.

In 2021, we again made it into the finals of the German Sustainability Awards in the “Supply Chain” transformation category. 

This makes us very proud and strengthens our resolve to persevere with our commitment to sustainability.

We offer our customers the opportunity to buy climate-neutral fruit and vegetables. To do this, we calculate with our partner ClimatePartner the CO₂ emissions that arise all the way along the product value chain from farming and packing to delivery and disposal. Together we decide which internationally recognised climate protection project will offset our emissions. Our customers receive a certificate and a label with an integrated ID number that identifies the product as climate-neutral and makes it easy for consumers to trace the carbon offset. We pay close attention to reducing emissions along our supply chain and encourage our partners to implement specific reduction measures. Besides installing solar panels and wind turbines, we have already electrified various processes and realised various water and greening projects. You can read about all our current reduction projects here.

Since 2022, Port International Organics GmbH’s organic Fairtrade bananas from Ecuador and Peru have been certified according to the Climate Neutral Certification Standard vs. 1.0 – Sept. 2020. In 2023, we successfully achieved our re-certification and had conventional bananas from Ecuador, imported by Port International Bananas GmbH, certified for the first time.
These bananas are destined for a Dutch customer and are certified from cultivation to packaging and transport all the way up to disposal. This means that first, the CO₂ emissions are calculated, then we reduce them as much as possible along the supply chain, and finally offset any remaining emissions.
By 2030, we aim to reduce the carbon footprint of our bananas by 25 %, in line with scientific evidence to combat climate change. To do this, we are taking reduction measures such as switching to green electricity, replacing plastic with paper, installing solar panels, using biofuels in container ships and many more.
Please see our Climate Policy for further information.

Our climate neutral certificate is valid until 30.04.2024.

Living wages are geared to the basic needs of society and are therefore often higher than the national minimum wage. We actively record our suppliers’ wages so that we can close any gaps with living wages. For this, we use the Anker methodology to perform annual analyses of the wages paid for all employees and roles in the respective country. Our goal is naturally to obtain a “living wage” for all suppliers  and to maintain it in the long term.

Since 2018, we have been committed to bee conservation by supporting bee sponsorships. In 2023, we started a new sponsorship with Honigwerk-Hamburg who focus on the health and vitality of the bees. The aim is to allow the bees to overwinter on their own honey. Thus, no feed syrup needs to be fed as a substitute for honey, which significantly promotes the natural vitality of the colonies.

Port International has been a climate-neutral company since 2017. Our annual CO₂ balance sheet not only discloses the direct and indirect emissions we cause as an office-based company (Scope 1 and Scope 2) but also includes indirect emissions from upstream and downstream processes (Scope 3). We have for example switched to green electricity, recycled paper and a more climate-friendly server in order to reduce our emissions. Our accounting processes are also being digitised and we are gradually switching to electric vehicles. We also use internal initiatives such as Veganuary (Vegan January) and the annual bike challenge to make our staff more mindful of how they use resources. We offset all remaining emissions through two internationally recognised climate protection projects.

Mike Port began importing bananas at Fairtrade conditions during the 1990s, making him one of the first importers to bring Fairtrade products to the European market. The Fairtrade system’s ideals and standards fit well with the family-run group’s commitment to long-term, partnership-based trading relations with suppliers and social commitment in disadvantaged regions. In 2012, Port received the Fairtrade Award for his pioneering work and commitment to fair trade.

You can read the whole Fairtrade story here.

We do our best to reduce the amount of packaging we use and are always looking for new solutions to improve the circular economy.

• Top seal foils made of cornstarch
• Paper cluster bags
• Sustainable plastic packaging
• Reducing Banavac foils (reducing plastics use)
• Switch from flow packs to cluster bags
• Research into compostable stickers
• FSC-certified carton packaging

We regularly become involved in aid projects all over the world. Besides starting our own initiatives, we also provide support for existing ones. These include:

• The construction of a children’s nursery in Colombia
• Support for a home for mentally disabled people in Ecuador
• Support for the SOS Children’s Villages building six orphanages and completing a provisionally built nursery in Peru
• Funding the rebuilding of housing and infrastructure after the earthquake in Ecuador
• Help rebuilding villages after the severe damage caused by El Niño in Ecuador and Peru
• Construction of a maternity unit for underage girls in Colombia
• A football project in the Peruvian province of Sullana aimed at providing 250 children and adolescents with a meaningful leisure activity.