Honeybear Brands makes strides on sustainability goals
Honeybear Brands, a leading grower, marketer, and developer of premium conventional and organic apples, pears, and cherries, has released its 2025 Sustainability Report, marking five years of steady and measurable progress toward its ambitious environmental goals.
In collaboration with Sustainable Food Group, the company established science-based sustainability goals in 2019 across four key pillars: pollinator health, packaging, food loss and waste, and climate and energy. The company committed to transparent, third-party measurement and annual reporting, with 5- and 10-year targets guiding its long-term strategy.
Highlights of the 2025 report include progress in each key area:
- Pollinator Habitat Protection: The company’s Adopt an Acre program has established 38.2 acres of pollinator habitats across its Midwest orchards, marking 76 percent progress toward its 50-acre goal. That’s roughly the size of 98 NHL hockey rinks.
- Plastic-Free Packaging: The firm continues to innovate to reduce and eliminate non-recyclable packaging materials. The company offers plastic-free alternatives for 100% of its branded plastic packaging, comprising 76 percent of all branded product sales. Retailers can help close the gap by adopting more plastic-free options.
- Zero Landfill Food Loss: The grower and distributor is progressing toward full diversion of organic waste through reuse and recycling. Currently, 85 percent of farm-to-retail resources are diverted from landfills, representing 68,807 metric tons of CO2e emissions avoided.
- Sourced Renewable Energy: Honeybear is increasing its reliance on renewable energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across operations. It is over halfway to its goal of sourcing all energy used at its facilities from renewables (55 percent). This helps the company get closer to its goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.
“We are pleased with the progress we continue to make against these critical goals. We recognize that with each advancement, our business is improving outcomes that impact not only ourselves, but our industry and our world,” said Don Roper, President, Honeybear Brands.
Honeybear's Adopt an Acre Program
Through its Adopt an Acre program, the company partners with retailers to establish, fund, and maintain pollinator habitats on the orchards supplying their stores. The initiative offers retailers a turnkey sustainability story while giving consumers a way to support pollinator health and helping ensure fruit remains plentiful for future generations.
“Habitat loss, climate change, and pesticides are threatening the United States’ bee population. Without bees, apples cannot grow - and neither can over 100 food crops worldwide, which depend on pollinators for production,” said Kristi Harris, brand manager, Honeybear Brands.
Retailers participating in the program benefit from custom signage, consumer education materials, and co-branded messaging—backed by measurable environmental impact.
*All images courtesy of Honeybear Brands.
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