M.P. Evans Group PLC (MPE) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Of course, we are focused on continuing conservation that you'll see is focusing on biodiversity within the business. And of course, coming back to what I was mentioning at the start, we're delighted that we've got 275,000 tonnes of sustainable palm oil. But the next time we're talking on this topic, I'm sure that number will be bigger.

You're watching Proactive. I'm joined by M.P. Evans' CEO, Matthew Coulson. Matthew, very good to speak with you. What are the key achievements in this year's sustainability report that you're most pleased with?

Well, Stephen, we're delighted to be publishing this year's sustainability report today. There's so much to mention within the report. There's lots we've been updating people on. I guess, focusing on some of the headlines within the report. Of course, we're pleased to confirm that we continue to increase the amount of sustainable palm oil that we produce within our mills. That's now up to 275,000 tonnes of sustainable palm oil. Of course, also, we continue to increase the amount of land that we give over specifically to conservation, so not to produce any fresh fruit bunches on, but purely to conserve for the environment, and that's up to almost 9,000 hectares. And then I guess one other number to share with you. We continue to focus on working very closely with the community around us, and we have over 12,000 smallholders who are part of our associated smallholder scheme that we're very proud of.

Matthew, do you think M.P. Evans' approach to responsible palm oil production sets it apart in the industry?

I think it probably does, Stephen. I mean, I think we try and take a really sort of holistic approach to sustainability. So as you know from our previous discussions, responsibility is really at the heart of the DNA of M.P. Evans and everything that we do. So it's not just about the E, the S or the G of ESG. We focus on all aspects when it comes to thinking about how we set up our operations. I guess one other thing I should perhaps have mentioned previously when we think about highlights is we continue to focus on reducing our carbon footprint as a business. We started to report on carbon 5 years ago now. And every single 1 of those 5 years, we've reduced our carbon emissions as a business. Even though we've continued to grow during that time, we've nearly halved our carbon emissions over those last 5 years.