Sustainability & The Hazelnut Industry: What Is Being Done?
With various industry giants opting for more and more sustainable ways of producing crops, the hazelnut industry has gotten quite a few sustainable development examples to look at when deciding to become a 100% sustainable supply chain crop.
After all, the crops themselves don’t require any practises which would be considered harmful to the environment as well as the farming communities that grow them. They just require a bit of attention and awareness for the better of society and the planet to ensure that things are going well.
Due to various companies’ efforts at making the hazelnut industry a sustainable one, we have several examples of what been done to ensure that this industry is heading in the right direction
100% Solar Hazelnut Processing Plants
Since the completion of the very first 100% solar-powered hazelnut processing plant in 2017, several hazelnut companies in the United States and other countries have turned to becoming self-sufficient when it comes to providing electricity for their plants.
This is actually a very efficient way of ensuring that there is zero-waste during the processing of hazelnuts. Not only are the facilities more energy efficient but there is also the opportunity to nearly completely eliminate any carbon footprint that these factories maybe producing.
Better Water Management And Buffer System
Hazelnut trees themselves have a very low impact on the land on which they’re grown on and have much, much bigger environmental benefits. For starters, hazelnut trees require less water so it is quite possible for regions which lesser water to easily grow hazelnuts. Sustainable water management techniques can be used to water these crops with sprinklers rather than flooding an entire field.
More Accountability For Workers
Over 70% of the world’s supply of hazelnuts grows in Turkey where the supply chain ends up getting quite murky as workers travel to hazelnut farms for seasonal employment during the harvesting season.
However, major hazelnut suppliers have taken note of the condition of these workers and with the help of the Fair Labour Association (FLA), they are working to eliminate child labour and ensuring the workers are given a liveable wage. The objective is to create a 100% traceable supply chains for hazelnuts with the help of many NGOs, governments and other industry giants, this goal is slowly but surely being achieved.
