Climate change  |  Packaging  |  Water + Biodiversity

 


CLIMATE CHANGE


Climate change is a significant long-term challenge facing the global food system and the kiwifruit industry. For Zespri, responding to climate change is critical to protecting our ability to supply markets, managing costs and risks across our value chain, and delivering longterm value. We are focused on both reducing our contribution to climate change and strengthening the resilience of our business and global supply to its impacts, through credible targets, practical actions and ongoing innovation.

Zespri supports alignment with the Paris Agreement, and our ambition is to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Developing a credible, practical pathway to net zero is critical to our ambition to become the world’s healthiest fruit brand, remain competitive, and deliver long term value for growers and shareholders. 

We are taking a staged approach to this, starting with

Three short-term
climate targets

Target 1

A 42% reduction in Zespri’s scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, from a 2024 base


This covers direct emissions from Zespri, including vehicles & buildings.


Target 2


A 30% reduction in shipping emissions per tray equivalent from New Zealand by 2030, from a 2022 base year


Shipping is the largest source of emissions for Zespri. As fruit volumes increase, this target aims to find reductions through efficiency, collaboration and fuel transition.

 

Target 3

An Orchard Climate Innovation Mission


This supports looking at reductions through orchard innovation – testing and demonstrating practical orchard-level emissions reductions and carbon removals techniques to support growers over time.

These targets replace the climate change targets launched by Zespri in 2020. Progress to the 2020 targets will be reported in the 2025/26 Annual Report.

Zespri’s physical climate risk assessment and adaptation planning considers how climate change may affect the business across the value chain, including New Zealand and offshore growing regions, as well as climate-related supply risks affecting distribution and global production.

Zespri and the wider kiwifruit industry face ongoing and escalating physical climate risks across the three climate scenarios Zespri assessed. Long-term adaptation will depend on continued innovation, the availability of appropriate technologies, and alignment with evolving customer and consumer demands.

Our updated adaptation goals focus on climate-resilient cultivars, better climate insights, and sharing knowledge to future-proof supply and support resilient orchards

To support adaptation and resilience, we have two adaptation goals, supported by objectives and actions.

Goal 1

Future proof supply through climate insights, new cultivars and growing systems
 

Zespri’s commitment to research and innovation has helped strengthen the kiwifruit industry over the past two decades. Two objectives guide this adaptation goal:

• Generating climate insights to guide supply planning

• Developing climate-resilient cultivars and growing systems

 
Goal 2

Research and share knowledge to support resilient orchards
 

This adaptation goal focuses on strengthening on-orchard adaptive capacity across Zespri’s global supply, with two objectives:
 

• Identify and test orchard adaptation options 

• Share knowledge and enable industry wide action on climate adaptation


More information on our adaptation priorities can be found in the 2026 Climate Change Transition Plan. 

 

Zespri Supply Chain Emissions:

 

We have measured our core emissions at Zespri and publish these in our Annual Report each year. An assured greenhouse gas emissions inventory report is available below.

 

 

 

Packaging

 

We’ve been working on  moving away from the ‘take, make and dispose’ model of production to a circular one where more of our packaging is reused, recycled or composted. 
 

Packaging is also embedded within Zespri’s 2035 Strategy. We have a continued focus on packaging’s role in protecting fruit quality, and as a key brand touchpoint for shoppers and consumers, while driving reduced environmental impacts and cost optimization.

Through this strategy, we have

Two targets for our
packaging

Target 1


By 2030, targeting 90% recyclable (in practice), reusable or compostable

Target 2

By 2030, targeting having 30% recycled content in plastic packaging. 


This will be calculated globally as the total weight of recycled plastic used as a percentage of total plastic weight used.

The scope of these targets covers Zespri branded packaging across consumer packs and transport packs, as well as all Zespri-branded fruit labels, from postharvest operations, 3PLs through to Zespri direct customers  

 

Transport packaging includes all Zespri transport packaging products and components used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, storage, transport and presentation of Zespri Kiwifruit in all of Zespri’s markets worldwide (this includes plastic pallet strapping, but excludes shipping pallets, corner boards and interconnecting strips). 

 

Consumer packaging includes all Zespri branded consumer-facing kiwifruit packaging products and components (including spifes) used by Zespri or its direct customers in Zespri’s primary markets, which are identified as: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States. Branded packaging across consumer packs and transport packs, as well as all Zespri-branded fruit labels, harvest operations, and 3PLs. 

These targets replace the packaging targets launched by Zespri in 2020. Progress to the 2020 targets will be reported in the 2025/26 Annual Report.

 


Water + Biodiversity
 

Water
 

Water is essential to growing high-quality kiwifruit and to the health of our land, waterways and communities. We recognise that our growers need reliable access to water to support their livelihoods, while also protecting water as a shared and precious resource. Working alongside growers, industry partners and iwi, we are focused on using water efficiently, protecting water quality and building resilient orchard systems for the future. Through research and innovation, we are investing in irrigation and nutrient trials to provide tools and practical guidance to help growers manage water responsibly in orchards and grow within environmental limits by better matching nutrient inputs to vine requirements.

This work is about working together with the intention of safeguarding water for today while supporting a thriving and sustainable kiwifruit industry for generations to come.

Zespri GAP requires water risk assessments and management plans, which we support with templates and grower extension. We also provide templates and guidance on irrigation scheduling, system checks, and soil moisture sensor use.

Zespri continues to work alongside our partners NZKGI, MKGI and HORTNZ to work with the government to ensure freshwater requirements can be delivered in a way creates a positive outcome for our growers and our water resources.
 

Biodiversity
  

Zespri growers are caring for biodiversity in practical, visible ways across their orchards - from protecting native areas and waterways to managing ecosystems alongside production. These measures not only benefit the orchards themselves, but also help growers fulfil Zespri GAP biodiversity requirements. By assessing, protecting, and monitoring biodiversity over time within an annually reviewed and audited Orchard Biodiversity Plan, growers demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship.

To support this process, we provide a guide to completing your biodiversity plan on the Canopy website. This ensures that growers can clearly and consistently document their biodiversity initiatives in their plans.