Unlocking Circular Opportunities: Fresh Del Monte’s Employee-Driven Waste Reduction Initiative
Challenge
Fresh Del Monte, a global leader in fresh produce, has a strong commitment to reducing food waste throughout its value chain, from farm to consumer. As a signatory to the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment and the U.S. Food Waste Pact, the company has set food waste and carbon reduction targets aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These include a 50% reduction in organic waste to landfill by 2030.
Inspired by the results of other food waste initiatives led by TripleWin at Bob’s Red Mill and Land O’Lakes, Fresh Del Monte sought TripleWin’s help in conducting a similar program. With support from the World Wildlife Fund, TripleWin designed a new initiative to identify and prevent food loss at Fresh Del Monte’s facility in North Portland, Oregon.
Recognizing the critical value of employee participation in food waste reduction, this pilot project aimed to test scalable engagement strategies that could be broadly implemented across the company’s U.S. operations.
Solutions Delivered
TripleWin designed a comprehensive six-month engagement program that leveraged employee insights to drive measurable waste reduction. The program centered on three key outcomes:
- Gather actionable ideas directly from employees.
- Demonstrate the effectiveness of one “quick-win” (fast, effective, low-cost) idea, as measured by material yield improvements.
- Kickstart a culture of waste prevention through shared knowledge, excitement and the desire to do more.
To do this, TripleWin designed and managed the implementation of four interlinked engagement elements:
- Educational Training Video
A 12-minute video explaining the environmental and economic impacts of food waste while highlighting practical prevention strategies. Offered in English and Spanish. - GEMBA Walks
Observational facility walkthroughs involved employees in identifying opportunities to reduce waste and improve processes. - Employee Engagement Competition
A four-week employee challenge themed “Solve the Puzzle of the Lost Food.” This used gamification and incentives to encourage participation, offering weekly prizes and culminating in a celebratory team BBQ. - Communication Materials and Messaging
Physical and digital tools—including bilingual signage, submission boxes, and QR codes—supported idea collection. Consistent pass-down messages from plant managers and supervisors to employees reinforced project goals.
When creating the physical and digital communication tools, TripleWin used illustration assets provided by the client, resulting in a customized, brand-aligned experience for Fresh Del Monte employees.
Project Learnings
Of the 197 food waste reduction ideas submitted by employees, approximately 15% focused on upcycling opportunities. Employees identified ways to transform byproducts into value-added products, such as smoothies, jams, dehydrated snacks, and baby food. These ideas represent significant potential for Fresh Del Monte to tap into new revenue streams by converting waste into marketable goods, either through new products or through secondary market clients.
For “quick-win” testing of a submitted idea, project leaders focused on an idea submitted by three different employees with a high potential for waste recovery in production. This idea involved creating a new quality-control inspection process for fruits received and relocating the process from a non-sanitary receiving area (where all tested fruits must be discarded) to a sanitary production area (where tested fruits could be salvaged for sellable product)
Client Outcomes
A detailed case study by the project partners celebrated the following outcomes:
- 87% of the plant’s 126 employees watched the food waste video.
- 75% of employees submitted ideas, resulting in 197 actionable entries.
- Testing of the “quick-win” solution recovered 53% of fruit previously wasted, enabling the production of 4,620 additional product units in just five weeks.
The four-part engagement program was an undeniable success in demonstrating the benefits of employee engagement—for accelerating progress on waste and carbon reduction goals, for identifying new, revenue-generating business opportunities, and for kickstarting a workplace culture of waste reduction.
Following the project, Fresh Del Monte was looking to expand this initiative across its operations, explore the upcycling opportunities identified, and refine its standard operating procedures to support circular and sustainable practices company-wide.
Experts
TripleWin Advisory is a boutique corporate consultancy focused on circularity solutions for industry. TripleWin offers a suite of tools to support clients in charting a practical, circular and sustainable course for their business. These tools include:
- Carbon inventories and setting science-based and Net Zero carbon goals
- Materiality assessments and sustainability roadmaps
- Building circular business models supported by financial analysis
- Risk scenario models using the TCFD framework
- Workshops and courses to build employee agency and corporate competency
We work with leaders in the following industries: apparel, footwear & textiles; information technology; metals; beauty; food & beverage; healthcare; building construction; human resource management; and retail.
TripleWin Advisory is an approved CDP climate change consultancy Accredited Service Provider (ASP). We are woman-founded, owned and led; a public benefit company.
Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. is one of the world’s leading vertically integrated producers, marketers and distributors of high-quality fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. Their products are sold in more than 80 countries around the world. The Del Monte brand has been a symbol of product innovation, quality, freshness and reliability since 1892.
Headquarters:Coral Gables, Florida
Industry:
Agriculture and Food
Main Product:
Fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables
In their words
"The quality and efficiency of TripleWin's work were top-notch, and we appreciated how well they tailored their approach to fit the specific needs of our facility. Their dedication to understanding our goals and delivering measurable results truly made TripleWin a valuable partner in this project."