GREECE: An olive oil producer is first Greek company to be certified internationally as carbon neutral

Record ID: 344062

  • Title: GREECE: An olive oil producer is first Greek company to be certified internationally as carbon neutral
  • Date: 5th December 2009
  • Summary: AGRINIO, CENTRAL GREECE (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FIELD FULL OF OLIVE TREES NET LYING BENEATH OLIVE TREES TO CATCH OLIVES VARIOUS OF OLIVE GROVE PICKERS PICKING OLIVES FROM TREES OLIVES ON NET BENEATH TREES INTERIOR OF GAEA FACTORY VARIOUS OF FACTORY LINE, WORKERS NEXT TO LINE VARIOUS OF OLIVE OIL BEING BOTTLED AS THEY MOVE THROUGH MACHINES AND BELTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) GAEA CEO ARIS KEFALOGIANNIS SAYING: "I think the consumer is initially a little bit sceptical, he wants to be reassured what we are doing is really honest. The consumer is more and more environmentally aware, the consumer understands we need to change our way of living and to be more responsible for the environment. It is something that we cant measure; we cant tell you, oh, we did it for a year and we already see results in or sales, in our profits, it is something we are doing for the long term, something we believe the consumer will appreciate and eventually give it back to us in the long term." CAPPED OLIVE OIL COMING OUT OF MACHINES ON BELTS, FACTORY WORKERS PLACING LABELS ON NOSES OF BOTTLES THAT STATES THAT OLIVE OIL IS THE FIRST CERTIFIED CARBON NEUTRAL OLIVE OIL IN THE WORLD FACTORY WORKERS GATHERING BOTTLES AT END OF LINE
  • Embargoed: 20th December 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World
  • Reuters ID: LVA7S19P7Z39D7K04HNYSX04TL81
  • Story Text: A gourmet olive oil producer in Greece is doing its bit to reduce CO2, becoming the first Greek company to be internationally certified as being carbon neutral.
    The Greek company "Gaea" is the first extra virgin olive oil producer to receive carbon neutral certification status internationally by a high ranking climate watchdog. It is the first Greek company to receive the environmentally friendly classification.
    "Carbon neutral" certification defines a company that makes a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint throughout all its production and continues to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible.
    Carbon neutral products do not have a negative impact on the environment.
    The company was certified by international climate protection organisation Myclimate, based in Switzerland.
    Gaea made changes in the entire chain of production, from cultivation, to the olive press to the factory: in electricity, pesticides, fertilizer, packaging and transport; from convincing farmers to use more organic pesticides, to recycling packaging, to cutting transport down to one truck, and even changing the light bulbs in the factory.
    The process began last year and under the terms with the Swiss organization, the company pays a fee for every kilogramme of carbon emissions it produces into a fund towards renewable energy projects in developing countries.
    Going green did not come without a price. Kefalogiannis said the off-setting process in production increased the cost of raw materials by three to five percent, meaning an added cost for the company of some 120,000 euros per year to be carbon neutral.
    But he says he believes consumers are now more environmentally conscious and have high expectations that products and companies are as 'clean' as possible.
    "I think the consumer is initially a little bit sceptical, he wants to be reassured what we are doing is really honest. The consumer is more and more environmentally aware, the consumer understands we need to change our way of living and to be more responsible for the environment. It is something that we cant measure; we cant tell you, oh, we did it for a year and we already see results in or sales, in our profits, it is something we are doing for the long term, something we believe the consumer will appreciate and eventually give it back to us in the long term," said Kefalogiannis.
    Many companies around the world are now going "carbon neutral" and Kefalogiannis says governments should make it mandatory. A company or individual that makes the effort to measure how much CO2 they create in their daily lives is a first step, he says, in reducing emissions.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register