Time to plant trees!

Dole Organic Program is encouraging the communities to join the Company effort to become Carbon Neutral by reducing the CO2 emissions and compensate them by planting trees.

After a very successful tree planting campaign on June 5th, Environment Day, where more than 10.000 trees were planted at DOLE Organic Farms in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras and Costa Rica; people is still excited with this initiative and willing to be part of it.

Last week, at ECOPIÑAS del ARENAL, S.A., an Organic Certified Pineapple Farm owned by DOLE in Bella Vista de Cutris, 200 Kms north of San José in Costa Rica, we received the visit of Red Cross Volunteers from Ciudad Quesada (main city in northern Costa Rica).

These Red Cross Volunteers participated in an “on farm” training course about Organic Agriculture, Soil Conservation, Environmental Protection and Carbon Compensation as well as in a planting more than 500 trees in our organic certified farm.

We want to thank these brave teens for joining us in our effort to reduce our Environmental Footprint.

DOLE FOOD COMPANY, INC. ANNOUNCES WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY TREE-PLANTING AND CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Dole Food Company, Inc and its operating divisions in Latin America celebrated World Environment Day yesterday by organizing tree-planting events and environmental awareness campaigns with communities, employees and local officials to motivate participants to work toward environmental protection and mitigation of climate change.

Jonathan Bass, President of Dole Latin America stated, “I am pleased to see and share in the excitement that these World Environment Day events have produced with our employees and workers and particularly within the communities in which our production units operate. We all have an important role to play in protecting the environment”.

In Costa Rica, the event is also linked to the official opening of Dole’s organic pineapple plantation reaffirming the company’s leading position in organic agriculture and alternative production methods. The activity includes the planting of 5,000 trees provided by the National Electricity Institute as part of the Costa Rican Government’s pledge to plant 7 million trees in the year 2008. School children, local government regulators, field workers, office employees, neighbors and the region’s congresswoman will plant trees at the organic plantation to commemorate World Environment Day and demonstrate the effectiveness of private, public and community partnership.

The reforestation events are also part of Dole’s commitment to work toward carbon neutrality. It is estimated that for every ten trees approximately 5 tons of C02 per year can be captured from the atmosphere. The activities held in Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Costa Rica serve as an opportunity for participating employees and neighbors to compensate for the emissions produced by their own vehicles, creating awareness to take action to alleviate climate change.

“This grass roots reforestation event brings many benefits including helping to reduce erosion, protecting water sources, and contributing to biodiversity. In addition, the carbon dioxide emissions from the agricultural machinery used in pineapple production will be compensated by the carbon fixed by the trees.”, commented Richard Toman, Vice-President of Pineapple Operations for Dole Fresh Fruit International Ltd.

Tree-planting at ECOPIÑAS del Arenal in Costa Rica

Tree-planting at Bananasoma Organica Farm in Ecuador

More pictures to come....

Dole Food Company, Inc. Named to “World’s Most Ethical Companies” List by Ethisphere Magazine

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dole Food Company, Inc. was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for a second year in a row by Ethisphere Magazine, a national publication. Ethisphere is a think-tank dedicated to the research and promotion of profitable best practices in global governance, business ethics, compliance and corporate responsibility. The award was revealed at the Ethisphere and Forbes joint-conference, “Driving Profit through Ethical Leadership,” held on June 3rd.
“It is an honor to once again receive this designation from Ethisphere Magazine,” said David DeLorenzo, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dole Food Company. He added, “Dole’s core values are based on corporate ethics and social responsibility. Our employees and business associates are our company and their own ethics empowers the cultural environment and spirit in which we operate.”
Researchers and analysts reviewed several thousand companies in order to determine the finalists, which included a rigorous, multi-step evaluation process. The 2008 World’s Most Ethical Companies methodology committee is comprised of leading attorneys and government officials, professors and leaders who care about ethical and honest business practices.
The extensive research process included reviewing over 10,000 of the world’s leading companies on six continents. Ethisphere analysts reviewed codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories; evaluated investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looked at companies’ activities to improve corporate citizenship; studied nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers; and worked with consumer action groups for feedback and rating.
About Dole Food Company, Inc.
Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2007 revenues of $6.9 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers. Dole markets a growing line of packaged foods and frozen fruit and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research. For more information on the company’s CSR efforts, go to dole.com.
About the Ethisphere Council
The Ethisphere Council was created in 2006 by Corpedia, a leader in risk assessment and eLearning for ethics and compliance, the Practising Law Institute, a non-profit organization committed to enhancing the professionalism of attorneys and others and LexisNexis, a leading provider of comprehensive information and business solutions; and Formed with support from such leading corporations as Deutsche Telekom, Time Warner, Dresser Industries, Avaya and Kraft, the council is dedicated to the research, creation, and sharing of best practices in ethics, compliance, and corporate governance among its membership companies. It also focuses on the development and advancement of its members through increased efficiency, innovation, tools, mentoring, advice, and unique career opportunities. More information on membership can be found at http://www.ethisphere.com/.

Ranking
Ethical leadership can and should be profitable. through recognizing companies that pursue an ethical leadership model, the Ethisphere Institute both rewards such behavior and motivates winners and other companies to strive for future recognition.

TOP 10 GREEN IDEAS FOR THE YEAR

Taken from: CLEAN THE AIR (http://cleartheair.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/top-10-green-ideas-for-the-year/)

Top 10 Green Ideas For The Year
January 24, 2008, 12:25 am Filed under: Eco-Friendly Tips, Marquette Turner Tags: eco-friendly, environmental, marquette turner estate agents, marquetteturner, michael marquette, simon turner
Marquette Turner are bringing to you the best new business ideas of 2007, featuring our personal favourites. This isn’t a trip down memory lane—all of these smart concepts will continue to provide entrepreneurs with plenty of opportunities in 2008. Next up, green-green-green: eco & sustainability.

1. Wind power, still made here: Windunie (Dutch for wind union) is a collective of 230 wind turbine owners, most of whom are farmers who operate turbines as an extra source of income. All sell the energy they produce directly to consumers. Windunie’s customers can pick a specific farm they want to buy electricity from. More »
2. Eco-friendly pack and move solution: Moving supplies such as boxes, bubble wrap and other packaging materials remain piled up in landfills long after people have settled into their new abodes. EarthFriendlyMoving has set out to change that by offering eco-friendly moving supplies available at consumer-friendly prices. EarthFriendlyMoving’s RecoPack—short for Recycled Ecological Packing Solution—containers are … More »
3. Biodegradable milk jugs: Designed and manufactured in Britain, Greenbottle is a biodegradable milk bottle that uses a smart two-part system to aid recycling. The bottles are composed of a cardboard outer manufactured from pulped, recycled cardboard, which is lined with an inner sleeve of biodegradable plastic made from corn starch. The plastic … More »
4. Incentive-based recycling: Going green has gotten a lot more enticing to consumers in communities served by Philadelphia-based RecycleBank. Households can earn RecycleBank Dollars, redeemable for discount coupons at select retailers, just for putting their recyclables out to be collected. But the incentives don’t stop there. It’s also great promotion and community … More »

5. Product life story labels: Product life story labels — Dole Organic lets consumers “travel to the origin of each organic product”. By typing in a fruit sticker’s three-digit Farm Code on Dole Organic’s website, customers can find the story behind their banana. Each farm’s section on the website includes background info, shows photos of the crops and workers … More »

6. Eco assessment for homes & businesses: Sydney-based Todae offers businesses practical advice for cutting down energy and water usage and reducing their environmental impact. For AUD 399, a Todae consultant will come to an office or store and check everything from recycling to heating and cooling systems. The business is then provided with a detailed … More »
7. Full-service home composting: A new start-up in Bangalore, India, hopes to arm consumers with products and services to empower them toward a simple solution for reducing landfill waste: composting. The Daily Dump offers an array of decorative composting containers that can be used in the home to manage organic household waste and … More »
8. Water ’skin’ reduces waste: Pitched as a water skin, a new bottle created by French packaging manufacturer Sidel provides a lighter alternative to traditional PET bottles. A regular plastic half-litre water bottle weighs 13 – 16 grams. Sidel’s NoBottle weighs just 9.9 grams. According to Sidel, “Water is the largest beverage market by … More »
9. Solar-powered trash masher: The BigBelly is a solar-powered waste container that aims to eliminate those all-too-familiar overflowing trash cans, keeping public spaces cleaner and greener. The flagship product of US-based Seahorse Power Company, BigBelly units compact trash on the spot, optimizing refuse capacity — a BigBelly holds up to five times as … More »
10. Eco starter kits: Most of us realize there are changes we should make in our lives to become more environmentally friendly, but overcoming inertia and actually doing it can be another matter. Now a few different companies offer starter kits to help make those changes happen.

Simon Turner simon@marquetteturner.com.au

Dole Announces Conversion of Farm Equipment to Bio-Diesel Fuel

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--January 25, 2008--

Dole Fresh Vegetables Company, a division of Dole Food Company, Inc. announced today that it has converted all of its harvesting equipment in Salinas, California and in Yuma, Arizona over to B20 Bio-diesel fuel.
Bio Diesel fuel is a domestic renewable fuel for diesel engines derived from natural oils. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Bio-diesel is the first and only alternative fuel to have a complete evaluation of emission results and potential health effects submitted to the U.S. EPA under the Clean Air Act Section 211 (b).
EPA has determined that B20 Bio Diesel has 20% less unburned hydrocarbons than conventional diesel as well as less carbon monoxide and particulate matter.
Kevin Fiori, Dole’ s Senior Vice President Agriculture Operations said "being good stewards of the environment is very important to Dole and this includes reducing emissions and using alternative sources of energy." Dole has been testing B20 Bio Diesel since August in farm equipment and off road vehicles with very positive results.
Mr. Fiori also commented that "those of us in agriculture, who depend on the environment, land, water, and air quality to grow foods, are keenly aware of the importance of applying sustainable agricultural practices."

About Dole Food Company:
Dole is committed to the quality of our products, sustainable environmental practices and the wellbeing of our 75,000 employees worldwide. Dole contributes generously to the communities where it operates around the world, promoting nutrition and health education as well as a healthier, more sustainable environment.
Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2006 revenues of $6.2 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers. Dole markets a growing line of packaged and frozen foods and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research.

Dole Food Company, Inc.
Monica Spiro, +1-818-874-4915