Riso Gallo Commit To “Cultivate The Future” Sustainable Program

Riso Gallo has announced the results of the “Cultivate the Future” project for 2020, with innovative measures on social and environmental responsibility, highlighting their commitment to the needs of the community and farmers that they work with, such as the commitment to reducing packaging materials, energy consumption, waste produced and CO2 emissions.

Riso Gallo is the first international brand in the sector to have undertaken the production of rice from sustainable agriculture, making their premium best-selling risotto rices – Gallo Traditional Risotto, Arborio, Carnaroli – fully Sustainable.

This means that almost 50% of Riso Gallo business in Europe (outside Italy) now comes from sustainable agriculture. And this is the first step of a progressive commitment from the company towards a fully sustainable approach to its’ rice business. The focus is on 0km sourcing, top quality raw materials and sustainable to the environment, people and local community. Sustainability is also a key indicator of the continuous attention to excellence from the Italian Maestro of Risotto.  Another exciting development of a Semi-Wholegrain Carnaroli Rustico will also launch in May 2020, and will be fully Sustainable.

All of these products come from FSA verified sources, where FSA means  “Farm Sustainability Assessment” https://saiplatform.org/fsa/, a comprehensive approach to farm sustainability managed by SAI (Sustainable Agriculture Initiative), a platform bringing together over 100 member companies and organisations leading the way in sustainable agriculture worldwide. The sustainability performances have been validated by a top independent auditor, Control Union https://certifications.controlunion.com/en.

The Gallo Risotto Traditional, Arborio, Carnaroli, and the Carnaroli Rustico are now in packs using FSC certified cardboard outer to protect the grains.

The excellence of the products and the high quality standards of the Riso Gallo chain are also guaranteed by the BRC and IFS certifications, and by the intense activity of the company’s Research and Development centre. The focus is on the development and experimentation in the field of new Italian rice qualities, not genetically modified and aimed at minimising the impact of cultivation on the environment and its resources.

Riso Gallo announced that in a three-year period, they achieved:

• A reduction by 17% of total energy consumption per kg of paddy rice processed

• A reduction of 11.5% of CO2 emissions per kg of paddy rice processed, related to the consumption of methane and electricity. Since 2016 electricity has been from 100% renewable sources 

• A reduction of 24% in total waste per quintal of rice processed

• A significant reduction on cardboard consumption on the key Riso Gallo ranges.

Carlo and Riccardo Preve, CEOs of Riso Gallo, commented: “The company communicates directly on the issues of development production and cultivation with prestigious universities and research institutes and with the agricultural world. The awareness of the industrial impact on natural resources is inherent in the DNA of Riso Gallo and has always manifested itself in concrete actions, starting from the decision to use

almost exclusively paddy rice of Italian origin (even for the Venere Black and Red Rice, 100% from certified Italian supply chain), thus supporting the economy of the farmers and local communities and thus reducing the environmental impact deriving from the transport of raw materials”.

“In this direction, Riso Gallo has also adopted various practices: from monitoring the carbon footprint of the entire supply chain, conducted in partnership with the University of Milan, which is entrusted with a  Life-Cycle Assessment study – repeated over the years – which aims to reduce greenhouse gases; to the good practice of sowing flowers on the embankments to attract pollinating insects to with the aim of enhancing the biodiversity of the rice paddy ecosystem; lastly, not in order of importance, to the use of 100% of energy from renewable sources, together with the constant effort to improve the materials that are used for packaging, as evidenced by the progressive use of FSC certified cardboard and the commitment to switch to recyclable plastics for inside protection, concrete signs of sensitivity to environmental issues “.

G             Guaranteed – 100% Sustainable

100% of our sustainable rice has been produced at FSA Silver level or higher. Our suppliers can demonstrate this through FSA Silver Level Equivalence, demonstrating that they are highly aligned with SAI Platforms Farm Sustainability Assessment, as certified by an independent external auditor.

A             Authentic – 100% Premium Quality

Riso Gallo guarantees the origin of the rice, the traditional slow process using stone husking and whitening machines that allow a more gentle abrasion and a careful, grain by grain selection using optical sorters.

L              Local – 100% Italian

All our sustainable rice has been cultivated in 2019 exclusively in 14 selected farms around Robbio, in the hearth of Lomellina ricelands of Northern Italy, where Gallo has its HQ.

L              Low Impact – Certified Cartons

                We use only FSC certified cartons.

O             Original – No.1 in Italy

Riso Gallo is the Italian Maestro of Risotto since 1856. Our grains are ideal for classic risotto and many recipes.

Source: Riso Gallo

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