"Because the world of tomorrow is the world we are building today and because we bear the special responsibility of feeding people, we are following in the footsteps of our founding fathers and committing to this responsibility. Demain la Terre is more than ever mobilized to ensure that the next generation can live in harmony on our planet." These were the words used by Geoffroy Cormoreche, president of Demain la Terre, as he opened the celebration of the association's 20th anniversary.
Muriel Lapalu, Arnaud Le Gualès and Bruno Parmentier.
On June 4th, nearly 200 people (fruit and vegetable producers, distributors and partners) gathered in Verrières-Le-Buisson. It was the opportunity for Demain la Terre to take stock with its 24 fruit and vegetable producers, and to set out the association's ambition: "to become the CSR benchmark in the agricultural world, well beyond the fresh fruit and vegetable sector." In order to achieve this, the association plans to enrich its CSR reference framework on the social/societal axis, on questions of corporate governance and decarbonization, as well as to federate more producers and strengthen cooperative relations with distributors.
Highlight of the day: a round table discussion moderated by Muriel Lapalu, entitled: "CSR among retailers and producers: an absolute or secondary requirement?," with the presence of Marianne Naudin, sustainable supply chain expert at Lidl France, Bertrand Morand, head of supply chain and agricultural partnerships at Système U, Mélanie Marchand, director of operations at Fruits Rouges & Co. and David Socheleau, managing director of La Blottière.
Even richer CSR framework by 2025
"Demain la Terre is the most comprehensive benchmark for the fruit and vegetable sector, with 70 criteria covering the three pillars of Corporate Social Responsibility," according to the association. Recognized in 2018 as the sector's benchmark CSR approach, the label continues to evolve "in order to keep pace with, and even anticipate, changes in society." With this in mind, the association intends to give greater weight to social and societal issues (inclusion), as well as those relating to corporate governance and the decarbonization of activities. "Precise, measurable indicators will be integrated by July 2025 (and unveiled the same year) to encourage member companies to make progress on these issues, which are at the heart of the challenges ahead."
For the association's anniversary, French minister of agriculture Marc Fesneau sent a message to the assembly to "pay tribute to the work carried out over the past 20 years" and "confirm the government's support for a visionary approach."
Demain la Terre to double its membership by 2028
Demain la Terre is also a collective of producers. With its 24 members, the association currently federates hundreds of producers and processors representing around 5% of French fruit and vegetable production. But by 2028, the association aims to double its membership "in order to cover all products." The association's ambition is threefold: "to support more and more producers in the sector in their sustainable practices, to enable distributors to count on a label that is representative in terms of volumes and references, and to remain a guarantee for consumers that Demain la Terre-labeled fruit and vegetables have been produced with care and respect."
Geoffroy Cormoreche, president of Demain la Terre and François Letierce, co-manager of Planète Végétal.
Strengthening cooperative ties with distributors
Because cooperation is at the heart of Demain la Terre's practices, the association wants to get closer to its distributor partners "in order to advance the sustainable development approach throughout the value chain." The association therefore intends to position itself as a link between producers and distributors and to "actively cooperate with each distributor's CSR department, either by communicating about being a member, or via more advanced partnerships through joint communication, for example, so that the label becomes a reassurance of good practices," explains Arnaud le Gualès, director of Demain la Terre.
For more information:
Demain la Terre
Arnaud Le Gualès (Directeur Général)
Phone: 07 83 93 01 20
[email protected]