An industry of worth.

In Dole plc we recognise how privileged we are to be marketing products, the health promoting properties of which have been firmly and definitively established. That these very same products are associated with the lowest carbon, water and ecological footprints of all the major food groups is something about which we are incredibly proud.

My Personal Health
My Climate Impact

*Source: Barilla Center For Food & Nutrition, Double Pyramid (2016)

the dole way

Our Approach

For over 170 years, we have been as proud to deliver nutritious, high-quality produce all around the world, as we have been to take responsibility for the land from which it is grown. And we are equally committed to supporting and enhancing the global communities that ensure we can produce and deliver the quality of produce for which we’re known.

We call this The Dole Way; our enduring commitment to grow, process and distribute our produce responsibly, today and for generations to come.

Because being a responsible business is not just second nature, it literally is our business. We are making our commitments clearer than ever where we plan to focus our efforts for the future. The Dole Way paves the way for further improvements in areas where we believe we can make the biggest positive impacts.

For People

We commit to: Improve the livelihoods of individuals across our entire business- from farmers to customers.

For Nature

We commit to: Protect the natural environments on which we operate to reduce our impact and strengthen habitats.

For Food

We commit to: Provide customers and consumers with safe, healthy, nutritious and responsibly grown food.

A Shared Framework

The United Nations Sustainability goals are widely recognised as a shared blueprint for achieving a more sustainable future for all.

Our new, reset sustainability goals were developed by representatives across all areas of our business to ensure they reflect our collective ambitions and commitment towards making a positive impact. These goals are aligned and contribute to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) prioritising 10 of the 17 goals (see Our Targets and Goals below).

Our Focus

In Dole, we are committed to making a real difference across each and every area of sustainability while focusing on those areas where our influence is most meaningful. In identifying key areas related to our impact and operations we can apply focus and assign resources to ensure that ours is an impactful and positive contribution towards making the world a healthier, more sustainable place.

For Nature For People For Food

Our Goals and Targets

Establishing clear targets and priorities is a recognised prerequisite for the effective measurement and management of impact in sustainability terms. In 2022, Dole plc committed to a new suite of group-wide goals dedicated to bringing focus and transparency to our sustainability strategy and aligned to our three pillars and the UN Sustainability Goals.

In addition to our enterprise-level goals, each Dole operating division is working to achieve its own set of goals, tailored to the specifics of the produce they grow, pack or distribute.

Our Materiality Matrix

Our effort to improve our current sustainability performance is informed and prioritized by materiality. Based on the input from our employees and external stakeholders, we have identified the most relevant sustainability issues to Dole plc and those where we can have the most impact. The pillars of our programme and our sustainability framework were also validated by the same process.

We believe a detailed materiality analysis is an important tool for identifying the most significant sustainability issues with respect to both our business and our stakeholders’ priorities.

Top Impact Areas

Click on individual area to see related impact points on the matrix.

Environmental Stewardship

  • Water Management
  • Waste Management
  • Energy Consumption
  • GHG Emission

Economic Resilience

  • Risk Consideration
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Economic Performance
  • Transparency

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Potential Impacts of and on Dole plc

Importante to Dole plc Stakeholders today
Matrix Materiality Environmental Stewardship Social Responsability Economic Resilience
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Significance to Dole plc's future success