ESTRATEGY
committed to the
environment
2024-2030 SUSTAINABILITY MASTER PLAN
Our roadmap towards more sustainable, efficient and low-carbon agriculture. It sets out De Prado’s environmental, social and governance objectives and priorities.
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2024
Annual report reflecting our environmental, social and governance performance, aligned with the CSRD Directive and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
GENERAL SUSTAINABILITY POLICY
It establishes the principles, values and commitments that guide our responsible management, ensuring ethical, transparent and aligned action with the Sustainable Development Goals.
We are committed to tackling global challenges such as climate change, water footprint and biodiversity loss.
We are working to build a more sustainable and resilient agriculture that protects the natural environment and ensures a prosperous future for generations to come.
Focused on balancing productivity and sustainability,
we promote innovative solutions that reduce our environmental impact and promote the efficient use of resources.
Our environmental strategy is structured around three pillars that guide our actions in the field and at our industrial plants.
Sustainable management of resources and biodiversity
We work to use resources responsibly, minimizing waste and ensuring their efficient use in all stages of our production process.
Responsible agricultural practices
We implement projects aimed at energy savings and optimization. We are constantly looking for new ways to reduce our energy consumption and promote the use of cleaner, renewable energy sources.
Energy transition and emissions reduction
We make the most of the by-products generated by our processes. These materials, instead of becoming waste, are recovered and reused responsibly, thus contributing to the circular economy and minimizing our environmental impact.
These fundamental pillars of our strategy reflect our genuine commitment to sustainability and environmental preservation, paving the way towards a more conscious and balanced future for our agricultural activity.
Sustainable management of resources and biodiversity
We care for water, biodiversity and natural resources as the basis for sustainable agriculture. We optimise the use of irrigation water, protect local ecosystems and apply the principles of the circular economy to make the most of every resource.
At De Prado, we believe that sustainable agriculture begins with efficient management of water, soil and natural resources.
Most of our farms have sophisticated, controlled irrigation systems that allow us to adapt the water requirements of each crop to climatic conditions, soil type and phenological stage. Through the use of sensors, telemetry and remote monitoring, we optimise every drop of water and reduce the water footprint of our farms. In the Alqueva project area, which covers a large part of our farms in Portugal, we guarantee efficient and resilient water management in the face of the effects of climate change.
Biodiversity is another essential pillar of our environmental strategy. We develop biodiversity management plans on all our farms, promoting the conservation of natural habitats, the creation of vegetation cover, the protection of native species and the connection of ecological corridors. In this way, we integrate agricultural activity into a balanced natural environment, where local ecosystems are preserved and strengthened over time.
At the same time, our environmental vision is based on an advanced circular economy model, aimed at transforming waste into new sources of value.
We utilise agricultural and industrial by-products, such as olive pomace, almond shells and plant waste, to develop solutions that boost efficiency and reduce environmental impact. These materials are converted into renewable energy, compost or reusable raw materials within the production system itself, closing the natural cycle of resources.
However, our approach goes beyond utilisation: we work on developing applied innovation projects that add greater value to by-products.
These include initiatives to transform alpeorujo (dry fatty pomace) into raw material for animal feed, and new applications for almond shells as industrial biomass or a base for biocomposite materials.
These lines of work allow us to generate new economic circuits within our own activity, reducing dependence on external inputs and contributing to the group’s sustainable competitiveness. The circular economy at De Prado is not a trend, but a structural commitment to sustainability. Every piece of waste we reintroduce into the production cycle represents another step towards agriculture that produces, regenerates and transforms, a model that creates value without compromising the resources of future generations.
Responsible agricultural practices
We promote agriculture that protects the soil and balances productivity with respect for the environment. We reduce the use of chemical fertilisers, preserve soil health and apply integrated pest management techniques.
Land is the foundation of our agricultural activity, and its conservation is essential for long-term sustainability.
At De Prado, we apply agronomic practices that prioritise soil health, reduce erosion and promote its natural balance.
We maintain active plant cover on most of our farms, which improves soil structure, protects against nutrient leaching and promotes carbon retention.
In addition, we use minimum tillage and crop rotation techniques, which help to maintain fertility and microbial biodiversity.
Our fertilisation strategy focuses on precision fertigation and efficient input control, ensuring that each crop receives the exact dose of nutrients it needs. This technology, combined with real-time monitoring systems, prevents excesses that could contaminate the subsoil or aquifers and significantly reduces the use of chemical fertilisers. In this way, we achieve more balanced crop nutrition and a much lower environmental impact.
We also apply integrated pest management (IPM), which combines biological, cultural and technological methods to reduce the use of plant protection products. These actions are part of our vision for more precise, efficient and respectful agriculture, where each resource is managed responsibly to ensure the sustainability of the agricultural system.
Energy transition and emissions reduction
We are moving towards carbon neutrality through clean energy, efficiency and process decarbonisation. We are committed to renewable energies, self-consumption and technologies that reduce our environmental footprint.
Energy and self-consumption are key elements in our commitment to the environment.
As pioneers in the agricultural sector, we have integrated many self-consumption energy installations into our production, both at the agricultural and industrial levels, reaffirming our commitment to sustainability.
In the interests of energy efficiency, at De Prado we are committed to ensuring optimal energy use, seeking out the best times to purchase energy and continuously adapting consumption patterns to our various available energy sources. In addition, we are carrying out numerous energy saving and efficiency projects across all our operations.
We currently have a fleet of self-consumption photovoltaic installations comprising 102 projects in Spain, Portugal and Chile, generating a total of 18.49 MWp and achieving an estimated annual self-consumption of 16.3 GWh/year.In addition to our commitment to renewable energy, we are moving forward with an ambitious plan for the progressive decarbonisation of all our agricultural and industrial operations. This plan envisages a reduction of more than 30% in greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 2030, through energy efficiency, the replacement of fossil fuels, the optimisation of agricultural machinery and the improvement of industrial processes.
Our long-term goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, aligning ourselves with European commitments and consolidating a low-emission, efficient and climate-responsible production model.
Responsible Farming represents our deepest commitment to the environment: agriculture that is efficient in its use of water, regenerative with the soil, and powered by clean energy. This is how we build, day by day, a production model that combines tradition, innovation, and true sustainability.