If you've ever bought a Swedish tomato, chances are it was produced in one of the Skåne greenhouses affiliated with SydGrönt. SydGrönt is actually Sweden's largest supplier of Swedish vegetables and fruit and supplies the entire grocery trade.

ZeroMission is proud to work with companies that take great responsibility for the environment and their climate impact, and SydGrönt is certainly no exception. After a long time of having a clear focus on quality and the environment in its operations, SydGrönt is now stepping up its climate work and joining the Science Based Targets Initiative.

We took the opportunity to ask SydGrönt CEO Sara Berger some questions about their important commitment.

Sara Berger, CEO of SydGrönt

Hi Sara! We're glad we could help you with the application and calculation of your business's climate impact according to all the rules of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. What was it that made you want to join Science Based Targets?
We are a company with a green mindset, with growers who live off and with the land, so the environment and climate are and have always been important issues for us. As our customers started to join Science Based Target, we also started to explore what it would mean for us. We have a broad business with both our own production and our own haulage company, so conducting our first climate inventory at such a basic level as we have done now together with ZeroMission, it has provided great insights into where we need to do further work to reduce our climate footprint.

You have chosen to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degree scenario. What does this mean for you?
To reach the 1.5 degree target, SydGrönt needs to reduce the scope of greenhouse gases in scope 1 and 2 in absolute terms by 46% by 2030. The results of the climate report gave us a lot of insights into where we should deepen our climate work to reach the 1.5 degree target. It showed that climate and environmental investments already made, such as solar panels, energy-efficient warehouses and refrigerators, and systems for recirculating water, have already made a big difference to the company's carbon footprint. The big task now is to focus on our own transportation in our haulage company, where we have 60 trucks that handle transport from grower to customer.

Your results clearly show that emissions from the transportation of goods in your trucks dominate the carbon footprint. Was this expected?
"Yes, in a way it was expected because our great commitment to the environment has already meant that we have made many and large efforts and investments in energy, water consumption and cooling systems. Doing such a thorough measurement as is done now together with ZeroMission , where we base virtually everything on primary data, it helps to put numbers on exactly what measures are needed to achieve the goal. Then it becomes concrete, measurable and easy to follow up.

How will you work to reduce emissions from your transport?

SydGrönt is already working according to an investment plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our own truck fleet by 30 percent between 2019 and 2025 through investments in gas trucks for biogas fuel and an increased share of fossil-free fuels in existing trucks. We will also strengthen that investment plan with more gas trucks but also to gradually switch to HVO fuel to a greater extent. The goal is to be a fossil-free haulage company by 2030.

What will be the biggest challenge for you to achieve your goals?

The challenge lies in the infrastructure and availability of refueling stations for gas and HVO, especially in rural areas where many of our growers are located, which in practice limits the reach of regional green transport. I would like to see more policy initiatives at a faster pace to enable more businesses to switch to more sustainable transport. The expansion of this infrastructure is necessary to further accelerate the transition.

What has been your internal and external reaction?

Only positive reactions. Partly because we are transparent and have published our climate accounts straight off on our website with pure primary data, per area and scope, and partly because we explain our sustainability work and plan to achieve our goals in SBTi in a simple and educational way. Internally, we find it inspiring if we can motivate others to do the same work on climate accounting and goal setting. The climate is the biggest issue of our time, and if we can inspire people to eat more plant-based food while showing that we can make a difference and reduce our own carbon footprint, then we want to do it.

We wish SydGrönt the best of luck with the application to Science Based Targets and your work to continue reducing your climate impact!

Edit: since the post was published, Sara Berger has resigned as CEO of SydGrönt. Her successor is expected to start in October.