Our commitment
We make a difference
360° Sustainability
For García-Carrión, sustainability is built around three dimensions in which, as a group, we have made a difference: the environment, the economy and society. Strongly supported by technology and innovation, our sustainability strategy aims to reduce and offset the carbon footprint associated with product production through a cross-cutting approach that impacts the entire value chain.
To address the challenges posed by climate change, García-Carrión has developed its 360° Sustainability strategy, with innovation at its core, acting across the whole value chain — from production in the fields to the final consumer’s table. This strategy is aligned with the European Union’s Farm to Fork approach and the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda, which set out a pathway to tackle the social, economic and environmental challenges facing our planet.
Sustainability Report 2024
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2024
ORGANIC AND LOCAL AGRICULTURE
We have long-term agreements with more than 40,000 farmers. At our Huelva plant, we are committed to near-organic cultivation and maintain a strong commitment to the environment. Fruit grown without phytosanitary treatments. That is our Huelva plant: quality and technological development that define not only this site, but the entire Don Simón brand — an international benchmark of how a family business has succeeded in selling millions of litres of Spanish juice worldwide.
The Almería plant (Cítricos de Andarax) is certified by the Andalusian Organic Agriculture Committee (CAAE) for the production and packaging of organic products. In addition, we have encouraged farmers in the region to convert their conventional plantations to organic farming — with oranges harvested at their optimum ripeness — from which Don Simón Organic Freshly Squeezed Juice is produced.
Likewise, this plant also produces organic salmorejo. The Huelva plant focuses on near-organic cultivation and environmental commitment, growing fruit free from phytosanitary treatments. The Jumilla and Daimiel plants, as well as the Jaume Serra winery, are also certified for the production of organic products.
Organic Viticulture
García-Carrión is committed to producing wines and managing vineyards organically. To achieve this, the company has invested in converting land and wines into certified organic products, eliminating the use of herbicides in these vineyards, recovering old vines, and increasing human resources to support and develop this type of viticulture.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
García-Carrión has a strong environmental commitment, brought to life at our Huelva plant and built around three objectives: net zero polluting emissions, because our trees reduce CO₂ emissions equivalent to those produced by more than 36,000 cars over a month; net zero water consumption, as we reuse treated water as fertiliser for the orange trees; and zero waste, since we recover and repurpose our organic residues to create value-added products.
When an orange is squeezed, around 50% is peel that is usually discarded. At García-Carrión, we make use of 100% of the orange and, each year, we process 200,000 tonnes of orange peel to produce essential oils, a fragrance, or pellets for animal feed. A clear example that the circular economy is both possible and profitable.
WE PRODUCE EFFICIENTLY USING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY
We are constantly moving towards ever more efficient production models, and we have always been pioneers in the search for and use of new sustainable alternatives. That is why we work to ensure our packaging guarantees the quality and safety of our products, has a low carbon footprint, is 100% recyclable, and enables the use of plant-based materials.
There are several examples of this: our juice bottle, made from 100% recycled rPET plastic and 100% recyclable, with a 100% recyclable cap and label; our carton packs, which contain more than 60% plant-based materials and have enabled us to reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 50% compared with market standards; and our cava bottles — the lightest in the world — as well as our wine bottles, the lightest on the market.
PRODUCTION AND SELF-CONSUMPTION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
Together with Endesa, through its subsidiary Endesa X, nine García-Carrión sites — located in Huelva, Daimiel, Valdepeñas, Almería, Jumilla, Segorbe, Vilanova i la Geltrú, La Rioja and Haza — each have their own photovoltaic installation. Taken together, these enable the company to avoid the emission of nearly 8,300 tonnes of CO₂ per year. Endesa X has installed 33,637 photovoltaic panels (the equivalent of 13 football pitches), creating one of the largest and most innovative corporate solar self-consumption projects in Spain.
From 2025 onwards, García-Carrión has set the goal of meeting 50% of its energy needs through the production and self-consumption of bioenergy in the form of biogas and biomass. This green energy not only reduces CO₂ emissions, but also creates significant added value from waste that would otherwise go unused — or could even become an environmental issue.
CLIMATE COMMITMENT
Within our Don Simón estate in Huelva, we have set aside a 250-hectare nature reserve to protect the natural habitat of the great bustard, a steppe bird that is currently endangered.
In addition, new estates are being planted with “Cadenera” orange trees — a traditional juice orange variety at risk of disappearing — thereby contributing to its conservation.
We are also firmly committed to responsible water use across all our sites. We are part of StepbyWater, the United Nations alliance in Spain for the UN Decade “Water for Sustainable Development”. This alliance is supported by the Government of Spain and the FEMP, and brings together the private sector, the third sector and civil society. It unites, under a single umbrella, two key initiatives in sustainability and responsible water management: the 2030 SDG Agenda and the Water Action Decade. We share this vision and remain strongly committed to sustainable water consumption, developing and implementing the best available practices and technologies in this field.
SOCIAL COMMITMENT
García-Carrión creates skilled, stable and high-quality employment opportunities in rural areas with high depopulation rates, contributing to what is known in Spain as the “emptied Spain”. In fact, the company has long-term agreements with more than 40,000 local farmers to guarantee the purchase of their harvests. This ensures high-quality, locally sourced raw materials while helping to revitalise regions far from major urban centres.
As part of its social commitment, since 1998 García-Carrión, through the J. García-Carrión Foundation, has worked to provide employment for people with disabilities, although the family business has been collaborating with people with disabilities since the 1980s.
Sustainability Reports from Previous Years
2023
2022
2021