At East-West Seed, sustainability is a core aspect of everything we do, guiding our operations and our interactions with the communities we serve.
Empowering Farmers
We empower smallholder farmers with high-quality, locally adapted seeds and knowledge transfer. This enhances agricultural productivity, food security, and income generation within rural communities.
Investing in R&D
Our R&D focuses on developing pest and disease-resistant vegetable seeds, reducing pesticide use, and improving shelf life and transportability to minimize spoilage. We also create climate-resilient varieties, like heat-tolerant tomatoes and rainfed peppers.
Promoting Sustainable Farming Practices
Through East-West Seed Knowledge Transfer (EWS-KT), we train farmers in Good Agricultural Practices, ensuring food safety, quality, and environmental protection. We teach natural farming systems, climate-smart vegetable production, and crop diversification. Topics include Integrated Pest Management, efficient water use, and creating biopesticides and natural fertilizers. We also connect farmers to value chain actors, making farming more sustainable.
We are also committed to improving soil health in our farms through crop rotation. Our farms in the Philippines and India now practice 100% crop rotation. Covering 300 hectares, this method not only enriches the soil but also supports biodiversity and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, contributing to long-term soil fertility.
Lessening our Plastic Waste
Our #PlasticFreePioneerChallenge campaign in all East-West Seed offices worldwide has successfully collected 1.6 metric tons of plastic, all of which has been directed to recycling facilities. This concerted effort is a key part of our commitment to significantly reduce single-use plastic use across all our offices.
Recognizing the environmental challenges posed by plastic mulch used in farming, we piloted an onsite recycling initiative in the Philippines that has transformed 50% of our plastic mulch waste into useful trellises for our farming activities.
We also educated farmers about responsible plastic waste disposal. To date, we have empowered over 5,000 farmers across our seed production countries with the knowledge and tools necessary to manage plastic waste effectively.
Harnessing Green Energy
East-West Seed received the Renewable Energy Adoption Award at the ESGBusiness Awards 2023. We have been recognized for our successful transition to green energy with our rooftop solar installations in our seed processing facilities in India, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Tanzania, and our farm irrigation in Guatemala.
This initiative has slashed our reliance on the grid by 53% across seven processing units and elevated our total solar capacity to around 2.1 megawatts. Notably, our Vietnam plant operates solely on solar power, supplying excess energy back to the government grid.
The transition to solar energy not only benefits the environment but also reduces operational costs by approximately $170,000 annually.
Ethical Business Practices
Transparency and ethical business practices are fundamental to our sustainability efforts. We ensure equitable treatment for all stakeholders, from farmers to distributors, strengthening trust and credibility in the industry and ensuring long-term business sustainability.
