Sustainable Agriculture by Sysco

S U S TA I N A B L E

AGRICULTURE Sourcing with purpose

“Today, consumers are much more mindful of where their food comes from and how it is produced. That’s what makes Sustainable Agriculture so exciting – the people who grow and produce our fruits and vegetables are making it easier for our customers to do good things and keep good, wholesome food coming out of their kitchens. That’s something everyone can get behind.” – Shane Sampels, Sr. Director Food Safety/Quality Assurance 2

As a major purchaser of fruits and vegetables, Sysco plays a significant role in improving agricultural farming practices among growers and suppliers.

Sysco’s Sustainable Agriculture program has a broad and global reach, involving 125 processing plants and more than 11,000 growers covering over 1.3 million acres devoted to Sysco Brand agricultural products worldwide.*

Suppliers of Sysco Brand canned and frozen fruits, vegetables and potatoes participate in our Sustainable Agriculture program.

Our approach to Sustainable Agriculture is anchored in five key pillars: Responsible Use of Agricultural Inputs

Encourage responsible use of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides and other nutrients to ensure plentiful crops and healthy ecosystems for generations to come.

Air, Water & Soil

Support practices that improve air, water and soil health to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower the environmental impact of growers’ farming practices.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Promote waste reduction strategies to minimize landfill waste.

Energy Conservation

Evaluate new approaches and technologies that promote energy and fuel conservation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Ecological Protection

Promote economically viable practices to protect sensitive areas and create habitats for wildlife and pollinators.

The results of the program have led to growers extending sustainable practices throughout their acres, stretching beyond those devoted to Sysco Brand products, and continuing to elevate practices across the industry. As of the 2019 growing season.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BROCHURE | 3

“We employ a professional Integrated Pest Management scouting team who monitors the crop weekly through the growing season providing details on pest pressure and beneficial insects. This helps us target control measures only when needed.” - Sysco Brand Supplier, Frozen Fruits & Vegetables

LETTING

Sysco and our grower and supplier partners avoided

during 8.4 MILLION POUNDS ofthepesticides 2019 crop year.

NATURE LEAD Responsible use of agricultural inputs

Sysco’s Sustainable Agriculture Program supports planet-friendly farming practices by encouraging the responsible use of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides, and other nutrients. When used responsibly, these applications allow crops to flourish, while keeping damaged crops to a minimum, which ensures plentiful harvests and reduced food waste.

Sysco Brand canned and frozen fruit and vegetable growers and suppliers use a variety of alternative strategies to minimize pesticide and fertilizer use. Testing soil

Growing cover crops

Rotating different crops

Returning vegetative and organic matter

with precision to determine the right amount of nutrients needed for a healthy crop.

in the same field throughout the seasons to naturally improve soil health and promote biodiversity.

to keep nutrients in the soil and attract beneficial insects such as bees and other pollinators.

to the soil for natural moisture and nutrients.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BROCHURE | 5

RESPECT

“We implemented cover cropping to help with early spring temperatures and wind damage – we’re also finding great benefits to the soil because of it.” – Sysco Brand Grower, Canned Jalapeños 6

FOR THE ELEMENTS Air, water, and soil

How fruits and vegetables are grown and processed has a significant impact on our environment. Because of our size and scale, Sysco plays a key role in advancing sustainable agricultural practices. We partner with growers and suppliers who share our vision of protecting the planet. Our program’s practices encourage the responsible use of agricultural inputs, which have a significant impact on the quality of air, water, and soil.

AIR

Our suppliers source their crops from growers who reduce tillage, decrease fertilizer input and use less agricultural equipment. Adjusting how crops are grown and how land is managed can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.

WATER

Sysco’s growers and suppliers work to reduce the impact of farming on surface and groundwater. To apply targeted irrigation strategies, many growers monitor rainfall, climate conditions and soil moisture.

SOIL

Sysco’s Sustainable Agriculture practices have been proven to improve water quality by reducing negative impacts on the health of local water sources.

Healthy soil generates healthy crops. Growers and suppliers protect environmentally sensitive areas and improve soil health by using cover crops, crop rotation and natural pest control methods. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BROCHURE | 7

NO TIME

“We’re closing the loop on avocado waste by taking avocado pits and skins to rural farmers for compost and mulch.” - Sysco Brand Supplier, Avocados 8

FOR WASTE Reduce, reuse, recycle

Sysco’s Sustainable Agriculture program promotes waste reduction through recycling and energy, water conservation in farming, and processing and distribution. Many of our Sysco Brand canned and frozen fruit and vegetable growers and suppliers have implemented a zero-to-landfill waste reduction practice in their processing and field operations. Each alternative approach diverts material from landfill and wastewater treatment plants.

WASTE REDUCTION

WATER CONSERVATION

The reuse of vegetative waste material is at the core of Sysco’s Sustainable Agriculture strategy. Instead of throwing field waste away, our growers repurpose it by: • Leaving the leftover crop material on fields after harvest

Conservation of water in our suppliers’ operations enhances long-term sustainability and may contribute to lower production costs. Growers reuse wastewater for irrigation and processors recycle water in their manufacturing facilities. Other impactful methods of water conservation include: • Applying soil and plant moisture technologies such as soil probes and evaporation monitoring

• Returning it to fields after processing

• Composting • Utilizing it for animal feed Sysco Brand growers recycle plastic waste, including containers, irrigation drip tape and barriers.

• Replacing flood irrigation with precision water application systems

Sysco suppliers conserved over 1 billion gallons of water during the 2019 growing season. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BROCHURE | 9

“All unused plant material from processing was used for energy production in a methane digester.” - Sysco Brand Supplier, Canned & Frozen Vegetables

POWERED

WITH CARE Energy conservation

As part of our Sustainable Agriculture program, growers and suppliers of Sysco Brand canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are recognized for their commitment to energy conservation practices.

FOSSIL FUEL USE REDUCTION

Growers and suppliers are employing renewable energy practices and rethinking their field production and processing operations. Some of these strategies include:

CARBON FOOTPRINT REDUCTION

Our suppliers conserved over 268,000 gallons of fuel in 2019 by employing field and processing energy conservation practices.

• Minimizing agricultural equipment

and the frequency of tillage passing in farms, resulting in fewer carbon emissions

• Transitioning production energy to clean-

burning biodiesel, a renewable energy source

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Many of our suppliers are transitioning to solar and wind energy, or converting waste heat from processing into electricity.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BROCHURE | 11

“We’ve increased our native pollinator habitat through wildflower plantings and native bee houses.” - Sysco Brand Supplier, Frozen Fruits

GROWING

In the United States, one out of every three bites of food depends on honeybees and other pollinators. Honeybees pollinate $15 billion worth of crops each year, including more than 130 types of fruits and vegetables. Source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

HOME

Ecological protection

Sysco Brand canned and frozen fruit and vegetable suppliers are encouraged to employ practices that will improve wildlife resources and protect environmentally sensitive areas.

Each species, no matter how small, plays an important role in our ecosystem. Our growers use a variety of strategies to promote biodiversity, including trap cropping. Trap Crops are not grown for harvest, instead, they are grown to attract pests away from the main crops and provide habitats for wildlife and beneficial insects. This strategy serves as a natural pest management method, further reducing the need for synthetic fertilizer and pesticide applications. Pollinators are vital to agriculture. Our program has established standards for growers to promote and protect the bee pollination process. Many achieve this by planting sunflowers, oats and other flowering plants. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BROCHURE | 13

“We are trying to improve our land under irrigation as well as green manure to build up the organic matter to improve the water holding capacity of our soil, soil health and also ensure that long term we can continue to grow profitable and sustainable potato crops!” - Sheldon Wiebe, J.P. Wiebe Ltd.

DIG INTO

For greater energy efficiency, one of our leading potato suppliers captures residual heat from processing for reuse as electrical energy to power their facilities.

SUSTAINABLE POTATOES Sustainable agriculture commitments Sysco is one of the largest buyers of potatoes in today’s market – they are among our highest volume categories. It is critical that our sustainability goals are at the core of these important supplier partnerships.

As founding members of the Potato Sustainability Alliance (PSA), we partner with Sysco Brand frozen potato suppliers to promote sustainable agriculture practices. PSA works to advance and communicate continuous improvement in sustainability measures to potato growers, buyers, and consumers. PSA members align sustainability metrics among the grower community for fertilizer use, soil management, pesticide utilization, and labor issues. Sysco is among the leading supporters of the alliance, which also partners with major processors and more than 550 growers. Combined, our efforts achieve results that will benefit the environment, growers, and their communities for generations to come.

Scan or click to Shop our most popular Sysco Brand frozen potatoes.

FRENCH FRY STAGES OF PRODUCTION Farming

Farmers create the perfect conditions for the plentiful harvest of high-quality potatoes, time and time again.

Manufacturing

Harvests are transported from the field to manufacturing facilities to be cleaned, peeled, and cut into French fries and other potato favorites for distribution.

Distribution

Through our industry-leading cold chain, we receive, store, and distribute Sysco Brand French fries and frozen potatoes to foodservice operators across the nation.

Preparation

Finally, operators prepare Sysco Brand French fries produced under our Sustainable Agriculture Program.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BROCHURE | 15

By choosing Sysco Brand canned and frozen fruits, vegetables and potatoes, Sysco customers aren't only serving great meals today – they're serving a commitment to a more sustainable future.

Scan or click to Shop our most popular Sysco Brand canned and frozen fruits & vegetables.