In olive oil, sustainability is not a single initiative, it’s a system-wide transformation, that requires changing how food is grown, how it’s packaged, how it’s consumed and how its value is understood.
For Deoleo – a global olive oil company and parent to brands like Bertolli, Carapelli and Sasso – sustainability is less about perfection and more about responsibility. In its 2025 sustainability report, the company outlines measurable progress across farming, packaging and transparency. It has surpassed key targets it set, including reaching 79% recyclable plastic bottles – five years ahead of schedule – and operating its industrial footprint with 98% renewable energy, avoiding more than 135,000 tons of CO2 emissions since 2022.
But behind those metrics lies a more complex reality: Transforming an agricultural system built over generations.
“The first word that comes to my mind is responsibility,” José María Zamora Rica, Deoleo’s director of marketing said. “This product is so good for human health that we have a responsibility for this generation and future generations to enjoy it.”
Evolving how olives are grown
For a company working with 61,000 farmers and 95 mills across seven countries, sustainability begins in the field. But progress here is not just technical, it’s cultural, according to Zamora Rica.
“The most difficult part … is the social part in terms of cultural habits that farmers have had for a long time,” he explained.
Through Deoleo’s Sustainability Protocol – a framework used across the company’s growing network of sustainably-aligned mills (up 8% year over year) – Deoleo is equipping farmers with tools to measure emissions, optimize resources and implement new standards.
One of the clearest examples of change is green covering, a soil management technique that allows grass to grow beneath olive trees, according to Zamora Rica.
Historically, farmers would clear out grass burnt from the Mediterranean heat to create an aesthetically pleasing environment that also gave the appearance of well-maintained groves.
Although new practices like green covering improve long-term soil health and biodiversity, they can conflict with inherited norms and generational expectations, according to Zamora Rica.
The shift extends to chemical use as well. Rather than applying chemicals routinely, farmers are encouraged to work with soil and crop technicians to diagnose specific issues and apply targeted treatments.
“We are trying to be more critical about the needs of the soil,” he said.
This reflects a broader move toward precision agriculture, where interventions are data-driven rather than habitual.
Building resilience across a fragmented supply chain
As climate volatility continues to disrupt olive harvests globally, sustainability increasingly is tied to resilience.
Deoleo’s Sustainability Protocol includes 235 key performance indicators spanning water and energy use to labor practices. These indicators are designed to reduce impact, and stabilize supply, according to Zamora Rica.
Today, 36% of the olive oil Deoleo sources comes from sustainable mills, but it strives to reach 70% by 2030, according to the company. Its diverse sourcing – from seven countries across southern Europe to Latin America – adds another layer of protection against supply instability to maintain consistent production levels.
The company also is certified platinum by third party sustainability certifier EcoVadis. EcoVadis serves as Deoleo’s external “report card,” validating its ESG performance while requiring the company to continuously improve in order to remain among the top 1% globally, according to Zamora Rica.
Packaging: Balancing perception and performance
Sustainability decisions become more visible to consumers at the packaging level, where shopper expectations don’t always align with environmental realities.
Deoleo’s research shows that consumers perceive glass as the most sustainable material, followed by recycled plastic.
That insight has informed the company’s strategy. Alongside reaching 79% recyclable plastic use, Deoleo also is investing in recycled glass, with 60% of its glass bottles made from reused material.
At the same time, packaging must preserve quality. Olive oil is highly sensitive to light, heat and oxygen, leading to innovations such as blue glass bottles used in Italy to minimize degradation.
“We try to maintain the best quality until the moment the consumer uses the oil,” which also includes temperature control throughout transport, Zamora Rica said.
Transparency as infrastructure
For some companies that rely directly on agriculture, traceability is no longer just a back-end function – it’s consumer-facing.
Deoleo’s QR-enabled packaging powered by blockchain technology allows shoppers to access detailed, bottle-specific information about origin, harvest date and certification.
These capabilities are a differentiator for Deoleo. This level of bottle traceability is difficult for most companies to offer, according to Zamora Rica.
Delivering that level of transparency requires coordination across the entire supply chain, including farmers.
“Farmers need to upload all the information … this is another transition for them,” he noted.
Rethinking consumption
Sustainability doesn’t end at production. It extends to how consumers use the product.
Over the past year, Deoleo has introduced new formats designed to encourage more precise consumption, including spray packaging and oil cruets which feature a narrower spout for easy drizzling and reduce overuse, according to Zamora Rica.
The cost of sustainability – and who pays it
Despite investing in supply chain, traceability and packaging innovation, Zamora Rica says Deoleo has not raised prices to meet its sustainability goals.
“We have to be competitive with the market,” Zamora Rica said. “We are investing because we really believe this is the future.”
The company is “investing in loyalty,” he added, noting that consumers increasingly favor brands with credible sustainability commitments.
A broader lesson for agriculture
The biggest gap in how companies approach sustainability, particularly those dependent on agriculture, is fragmentation, according to Zamora Rica.
“We have a holistic view,” he said. “We include farmers, factories, partners, consumers and employees.”
And that approach is not meant to be singular to Deoleo.
“We don’t want to be the only ones setting the standard,” he added. “We want others to follow.”
