Respecting the environment

At DELTA, we support Good Nutrition and always highlight its many benefits.

For all of us at DELTA, good nutrition is based on a sustainable production model, encompassing processes which are friendly to the environment.

Reducing our carbon footprint is at the core of our efforts on sustainability. This is why, starting in December 2023, we joined the international initiative Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI). Our commitment is to reduce DELTA’s direct and indirect carbon emissions (Scope 1 & Scope 2) by 42%, and the indirect emissions (Scope 3) of our supply chain by 25%, by the year 2030.

To that end, we have decided to implement a set of initiatives which will help us to markedly improve our performance on all levels.

We set meaningful and achievable goals.

In order for any green transition to succeed, it has to ensure that a company’s operational costs will not increase exorbitantly—and affect production costs in the process.

To ensure a balance between production costs and green investments, we implemented an innovative programme. Based on a methodology pioneered by the Economic University of Athens, we recorded our performance throughout the supply chain while quantifying our contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (U.N. SDGs).

This allowed us to determine the areas in which we could improve our performance and, in many cases, compare it to the industry’s global leaders.

Our production processes respect the environment.

At DELTA we strive to use and manage natural resources in the most effective way possible, on all levels of our operation.

In this respect, in 2022:

We reduced water usage by 17%, while we recycled and reused 77,358 cubic metres of water.
We reduced by 12% the amount of thermal energy produced by fuel usage.
We reduced by 4% our electrical consumption.
100% of all our hazardous waste was managed by licensed agencies.
92% of our treated and recyclable waste was recycled.
Over 85% of our food production waste was upcycled. Just 1.2% of our total waste went to landfills. Our goal for 2024 is to reduce our landfill waste to less than 1% and receive the Zero Waste to Landfill certification.

Additionally, within 2023:

We joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) aiming to reduce our Scope 1&2 emissions by 42%, our Scope 3 emissions by over 25% and our FLAG emissions by 30%.
Within 2024, we expect to have the above goals verified by an international body.
100% of all our hazardous waste was managed by licensed agencies.
Over 95% of our treated and recyclable waste was recycled.
Over 94% of our food production waste was upcycled.
Just 1.03% of our total waste went to landfills.
We renewed our Rainforest Alliance certification for Milko, verifying that the cocoa used is produced with respect to the environment, biodiversity and local communities.

Within 2024:

We completed one of the 20 largest energy net-metering works in Greece, installing a 2.0 MWphy PV system at our Ag. Stefanos plant and a 1.4 MWphy PV system at our Sindos plant. This is expected to reduce our energy purchasing by 15-17%.
We received a Zero Waste to Landfill Gold certification from EUROCERT, for our performance in waste management, verifying that 99% of our total waste was upcycled, recycled or reused.

Optimising our packaging

Aiming to promote the principles of circular economy and the optimal use of natural resources, our people are involved in a constant effort to upgrade our packaging.

In 2023, we received an OK RECYCLED certification from TÛV Austria Helllas, for 29 of our products that use 90% recycled paper and 8 that use 35% recycled plastic—a practice that has resulted in the reduction of 32 tonnes of virgin paper and 30 tonnes of virgin plastic, respectively.
We reduced by 30% the plastic used in our TOU TOPOU MAS milk products.
We redesigned our Miko bottle with a new, non-removable lid, while using 35% recycled plastic.
All our bottles feature non-removable lids, in order to reduce environmental waste.
All our paper packaging is certified by FSC, verifying that forest management takes place in a responsible manner.
In 2024, we became the first company in Greece to use 30% bio-circular material in our Vitaline yoghurt packs, resulting in a 18.5%-22.9% reduction in CO2 emissions.

Reinforcing the sustainability of our transports

One of our main everyday goals is to distribute products of high quality and nutritional value. And to do so safely and in an environment-friendly manner.

Within 2023, we implemented a large optimisation programme for our Distribution Network in Attica, replacing our existing plan with a 100% mixed product delivery schedule. As such, by reducing the daily mileage of our trucks, we helped to improve traffic conditions and reduce air and noise pollution.

We continue to use Blue Marble—an innovative, environment-friendly fuel additive—in our self-owned truck fleet. As a result, in 2023, we reduced unburnt carbon particles (soot) by 97%, CO emissions by 72%, and hydrocarbon emissions (HC) by 72%, when compared to 2021.

We addressed the issue of food waste on all levels.

According to Eurostat, food waste in Greece surpasses 2 million tonnes annually, when measured across 5 stages of the food value chain (primary production, processing, sales & distribution, food service and households).

This means that when it comes to food waste, Greece has one of the least favourable rankings in the EU, with 191kg per capita.

As we want to play an active part in reducing food waste, DELTA implements a comprehensive, multi-level plan of continual reduction of food waste.

On the production level, we implement an innovative programme on demand forecasting, which allows us to produce the quantities demanded by the market. As a result, in 2023, we reduced forecasting inaccuracies by 98%, when compared to 2021.
Any surplus is donated to vulnerable social groups, via reputable organisations. A valuable ally in this effort is the non-profitable organization «Μπορούμε» (We Can), through which, in 2023, we donated 395,912 meals to people in need.

Our cooperation with supermarket chains such as AB Basilopoulos, My Market and ANEDIK Kritikos, allows us to reduce prices as consumption expiry dates approach, as well as jointly manage any surplus.
Also, unused food products that are returned to us, are collected and forwarded to specialised partners who reprocess them into animal feed. This particular action has been implemented since 2006 and it’s important to note that, in 2022 alone, 5,000 tonnes of returned food products were reprocessed into animal feed—a figure which represents over 80% of all returned animal-based food products.

As a member of the Alliance to Reduce Food Waste we also participate in many consumer education and awareness activities, in an effort to promote the reduction of food waste in households.

Since 2011, we’ve been participating in children’s awareness programmes on the issues of good nutrition and food waste. The first such programme, “A Trip to Breakfastland” commenced in 2011, to be followed by “The Land of Foodlittles” in 2018.

We actively support sustainable development—and have the awards to prove it.

At DELTA, sustainable development is at the very core of our business model. We produce products of high quality and nutritional value, in an environment-friendly manner, while creating substantial social and economic added value for the entire ecosystem in which we operate.

As a result, in April 2024, in an international evaluation performed by EcoVadis, DELTA received a platinum award for their business practices on sustainable development.

This ranking positions DELTA in the top 1% of all companies which EcoVadis evaluates on a global level.

Our commitment to the principles of sustainable development is a fundamental value of our business strategy and corporate culture.

In May 2024, the company was named as one of the “50 more sustainable companies in Greece” by the internationally-recognized organisation QualityNetFoundation.

DELTA’s recognition in the ESG section is a result of collaborative actions on all levels of the company’s operation. It also highlights DELTA’s commitment to producing food products of the highest quality and nutritional value, in a manner which is sustainable and also helps to reduce the company’s environmental footprint.

For an in-depth view of the company’s actions, you can read the most recent Sustainable Development report here.