Collaboration is a catalyst for change. Seeking out and developing new partnerships to reach more farmers, introduce and expand the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices across Africa food systems can unlock prosperous outcomes for farmers, food security and planet health. Guided by this belief, at UPL we established the Partnerships for Sustainability (P4S) initiative in 2019 as an implementation body to foster meaningful collaboration and pool ideas, innovation, and techniques, and get them into the hands of farmers that need them – in the most practical and uplifting way possible.
Monitoring and reporting are also crucial vehicles for continued improvement, growth, and elevating sustainability performance. They provide a holistic view of a company's reach and impact, and hold individuals and entities accountable to their vision, commitments, and targets. Whilst in some rural, remote and technologically disconnected parts of the world, collating information and data can be challenging, companies who focus on obtaining such insights will be able to better serve the farmers and help enhance food systems.
In June 2022, we launched our inaugural ‘Africa Sustainability Report’, showcasing our work over 2021-2022 to further improve the environment and social performance of agricultural networks across the continent. As the first agribusiness to dedicate a standalone sustainability report for operations across Africa, we set out to champion stories of farmer resilience, innovation, and stewardship – and encourage the rest of the industry to share in our commitment to driving a sustainable food systems transformation across Africa, rooted in data.
The report focuses on five key pillars that we believe are critical for the resilience, prosperity, and sustainability of agriculture across Africa: Stewardship and training, technology, food chain, partnerships and OpenHearts (our community engagement purpose). Our ambition is that reporting across these pillars will help us achieve our sustainability objectives, improve our value offering for growers, and impact more farming communities across the continent.
