Costa Rica Measures
Banana Footprint
The banana industry in
Costa Rica expects to
have calculated its
carbon footprint in
18-24 months’ time, as
part of efforts to
become carbon neutral by
2012.
Jorge Sauma, chief
executive of the
national banana
corporation Corbana,
said: “When we handed in
our banana industry
action plan to the
government in August, we
became the first banana
industry in the world to
declare our intention to
be carbon neutral in
2012. As an industry, we
are trying to contribute
to the whole country’s
policy on climate change
and sustainability.
“We are in the research
phase of the action
plan, working with the
national meteorological
institute and the
University of Costa
Rica. In 18 months to
two years we hope to
have completed that part
of our work and to have
measured the overall
level of our carbon
footprint and other
greenhouse gases
produced by the industry
and identified ways to
reduce them.
“The next two years will
then be about reducing
our impact on the
environment and getting
the whole industry to
implement the plan to be
carbon neutral in 2012.”
Sauma said that research
carried out so far as
part of the strategy has
found that banana plants
in Costa Rica capture
more than 25 tonnes of
carbon per hectare a
year. He said: “Now we
need to see what happens
in the rest of the chain
with transport and so
on.”
Corbana is part of a
banana environment
commission set up in the
Central American country
15 years ago, which
includes the association
of banana producers
Anaproban, the chamber
of banana growers Canaba,
the chamber of
suppliers, and
representatives of the
major corporate
interests Chiquita and
Standard Fruit Company,
as well as from the
ministries of
agriculture and of the
environment and energy
and two universities.
With its aim to be the
only carbon-neutral
production country by
2012, Costa Rica will
potentially be in a
position to
differentiate its fruit
on this basis and use
its sustainability
credentials as a
marketing tool on
international markets.
Sauma, pictured, said:
“For us in the banana
industry, we don’t know
if having carbon-neutral
bananas will mean
greater returns, but the
fact that our fruit will
be produced in a more
sustainable way is what
is a priority for us and
is among the political
priorities of our
national government.”
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