Milling & Baking News - October 27, 2015 - 10

Business X

Bimbo seeks 'willing voices' for
sustainable innovation forum
MEXICO CITY - Daniel Servitje,
chairman and chief executive officer
of Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V., is
calling on business leaders, authorities and social activists to lend their
voices to the COP21 conference set
for Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 in Paris.
COP21, also known as the United
Nations Climate Change Conference,
is being held with a goal of reaching
a responsible agreement on climate
change.
"Climate change is one of the
toughest challenges faced by our
world today," Mr. Servitje wrote in an
Oct. 15 letter. "Paying attention to this
issue requires that all countries adopt
ambitious pledges to mitigate climate
change during the COP21, a sustainable innovation forum to be held this
December in Paris. From this point,
it will be important to adopt policies
and concrete actions in order to make
these pledges a reality."
Mr. Servitje said that by 2050, the
world population is expected to exceed 9 billion people, and climate
change is expected to lead to less
water availability, threatening food
safety in a number of countries. In
addition to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions effects, Mr. Servitje said
companies must adapt to the various
global warming impacts.

For its part, Grupo Bimbo has been
working to minimize its impact on
the environment by using supplies
and resources with increasing efficiency, he said.
"We are convinced that our environment performance must go beyond regulations, setting an example
of an authentic social commitment and striving for
the well-being of present
and future generations,"
Mr. Servitje said. "One of
the most effective ways of
fighting climate change is
to confront deforestation,
protecting bodies of water and conserving biodiversity. We work handin-hand with our suppliers to minimize the risk
of deforestation through
our supply chain. Additionally, in
2014 we signed the UN Declaration
on Forests, backing a global plan to
reduce deforestation by half by 2020
and fight to eliminate it by 2030; and
in 2015, we adopted a global policy
of buying sustainable palm oil."
He said Grupo Bimbo continuously has diminished its carbon
footprint by improving the energy
efficiency in its plants' operations
and in its distribution. Additionally,

the company has increased the use of
renewable energies significantly. He
cited the Piedra Larga Wind Farm at
Oaxaca, a state in Mexico, as an example. The Piedra Larga Wind Farm
is the largest in the world built for a
food industry company, and it supplies electricity to most of Grupo
Bimbo's Mexican installations and to
a growing distribution fleet powered
by electricity.
"We are constantly researching
to increase our renewable energy supply in the
countries in which we
operate, such as with the
pilot projects of solar and
wind energy in the European Union, which (are)
beginning at the end of
this year," he said.
In his closing comments, Mr. Servitje called
on companies and countries to unite voices to
request governments "set
ambitious, clear goals, based on scientific and verifiable data to reduce
carbon emissions."
"Let us invite business leaders,
authorities and social activists of our
country, of the world, to add their
willing voices to take advantage of
the climate conference in Paris with
the goal of reaching a responsible
agreement, capable of creating transformative changes to ensure the future of our planet," he said. MBN

Flowers closes Alpine
G.F.F. asks people to
Valley Bread acquisition bake with love
THOMASVILLE, GA. - Flowers Foods, Inc. on Oct.
13 completed the acquisition of Alpine Valley Bread
Co. for $120 million in cash and stock. Based in Mesa,
Ariz., Alpine Valley bakes bread that is natural, organic
and Non-GMO Project verified. The company operates
two bakeries in Mesa and employs 282. Alpine Valley
Bread Co. will operate as an independent subsidiary
of Flowers Foods.
"Alpine Valley has a great team,
delicious products and a proven
warehouse distribution platform in
place to support the strong growth
of their organic brands," said Allen L. Shiver, president and chief
executive officer of Flowers
Foods. "We're looking forward
to continuing that growth with
this significant addition to our
organic business."
Flowers first announced its
intent to acquire Alpine Valley
Bread on Sept. 9. MBN
10 / October 27, 2015 XMilling & Baking News

WASHINGTON - The Grain Foods Foundation has
launched a new social media initiative called #BakedWithLove, a platform that will allow people to showcase how
their products are "baked with love."
As part of the initiative, the G.F.F. is encouraging individuals to take photos of themselves, work spaces or

products they make to be shared on social media. The
G.F.F. has mailed out a #BakedWithLove sign that individuals are asked to use in all photos to show they are part
of the initiative.
The photos will be shared on the G.F.F.'s social channels
throughout November.
In addition to photos, the G.F.F. said it will share recipes,
images and stories of how grains help bring people together,
as well as encouraging audiences to use the #BakedWithLove
hashtag to share their own memories and experiences. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - October 27, 2015

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