The World Olive Oil Congress spoke about sustainability in marketing strategies

The first edition of the Olive Oil World Congress (OOWC) last week turned Madrid into the world capital of olive oil for three days. It was a meeting that covered all the links in the production of this product, with the aim of presenting the main technological innovations that will allow the sector to address the challenge of climate change and improve its competitiveness in the future.

More than 300 attendees from 25 nationalities gathered at this meeting, designed for all types of professionals, operators and researchers in the sector, and which aims to become the most important event in the world for the industry every two years.

Climate change, lack of water and many other issues that have occurred in the last two years have generated a significant decrease in campaigns around the world. "The celebration of the first edition of the OOWC is an important opportunity for all world producers to exchange experiences and knowledge that will allow them to improve production structures and prepare them to face the near future, not only in the Mediterranean arc but also in the new producing countries," said Ricardo Migueláñez, general coordinator of the congress. who intervened during the opening of the same.

Within the program, an important part for the commercialization of the product was addressed, such as communication. In the block called 'Communication and marketing', renowned international experts analysed the work that the sector is doing at an international level to publicise the product and the challenges that exist for the future.

Rafael Sánchez de Puerta, CEO at Dcoop, participated in the round table 'Lessons learned from real experiences, including sustainability in their marketing strategies'. In it, the speakers agreed that sustainability goes beyond mere environmental conservation; "It is care, empathy and a comprehensive commitment to human well-being and natural resources." They noted that it is constantly evolving and needs transparent and effective governance. This evolution towards a more comprehensive and universal sustainability is a constant challenge, although essential for companies and society as a whole.

The CEO of Dcoop began his speech by referring to the reasons why the cooperative adopted the sustainability strategy, initially focused on the environment, but which has evolved towards a commitment to society, customers, producers and the company's workers.

Sustainability is in the DNA of cooperatives

Rafael Sánchez de Puerta said that in order to put the sustainability strategy into practice, cooperatives have advantages over other companies by controlling the entire process, from production to marketing of the product. "Sustainability is in the DNA of cooperatives by its very nature," he said. "By integrating suppliers, oil mills and the marketing of the product, it is easier to address all the aspects involved in certifying the company as sustainable and much more ambitious projects can be tackled."

On the other hand, the CEO of Dcoop referred to the fact that "customers are demanding to accredit sustainability and are pulling companies to tackle sustainability certification projects that are complex and require a lot of effort. Undoubtedly, there is an initial will to do so, but the effort is important, and we must be prepared to respond to consumer demand with an adequate business structure. In this sense, Sánchez de Puerta recalled, integration into the agri-food cooperative sector is essential".

First producers of certified sustainably grown olive oil in Europe

Finally, the CEO of Dcoop referred to the newly obtained Sustainably Grown® certification, which provides a common framework of requirements for agricultural production in terms of environmental management, social and ethical responsibility, economic sustainability and business integrity. The Dcoop group, hand in hand with its cooperatives, was already implementing its sustainability strategy for many years and now sees all its work and dedication to sustainability recognized with this certification.

For the implementation of this ambitious program, Dcoop has validated collaborators from various areas such as the departments: agricultural, quality and environmental technical, sustainability, communication, legal and human resources; both from the 9 cooperatives, and from the associated farmers. This multidisciplinary team has coordinated, supported and internally verified the implementation of this demanding sustainability standard on the farms of 9 cooperatives until it has finally obtained a sustainable cultivation certification for its oils.

To this end, it has passed a rigorous audit process carried out by SCS Global Services, a recognized and independent entity that guarantees reliability and transparency to certified activities. As a result, SCA members Los Tajos de Alhama de Granada, SCA Olivarera La Purísima de Archidona, De Prado, SCA Agrícola Madre del Sol de Adamuz, SCA El Rocío de Dos Hermanas, SCA Olivarera Nª Sª Del Valle de Santaella, Olivarera Ntra. sustainable in Europe.

DCcoop's goal is to implement the standard in the rest of the Group's cooperatives, at an approximate rate of 15 or 20 cooperatives per year, until reaching a hundred by 2029.

Under the slogan 'Taste it, enjoy, It's olive oil', the Olive Oil World Congress (OOWC) has had the collaboration of, among others, AgroBank, MSC, CIA-Agricoltori Italiani, John Deere, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food through its #alimentosdEspaña strategy, the Interprofessional of Spanish Olive Oil, the Junta de Andalucía through its brand 'Gusto del Sur', Filiera Oleicola Olearia Italiana and 'Campo y Alma', the brand of quality guarantee of food in Castilla-La Mancha.

MORE INFORMATION about the OOWC on the Congress website