Paula Amaral, Head of Sustainability, Innovation and Strategy
Groupe Bel

Gama spoke to Paula Amaral, Head of  Sustainability, Innovation and Strategy at Groupe Bel.

As traditionally a pure-play dairy firm, how is Groupe Bel adapting to ensure the sustainability of the business in the long term?

We have a growth model that has two pillars – profitability and responsibility – because we know that if we want to remain relevant for the next 150 years we have to be both profitable and responsible.

Over the last 20 years, Bel has been extremely committed to corporate social responsibility (CSR), with ambitions including ensuring that 100% of our packaging is recyclable and reducing our carbon footprint.  We have also expanded our range to include fruit-based and plant-based products.

Becoming a mission-led company by law reflects our commitment to a model that benefits all our stakeholders, while embodying our core values of economic, societal and environmental responsibility. With our purpose now integrated in our corporate status, Bel is bringing to fruition over 20 years of engagement and action. It marks a significant step forward and cements our engagement over the long term to providing healthier and more sustainable food.

Why is Bel taking a particular interest in regenerative agriculture?

It is well known that modern agriculture, in particular in the aftermath of Word War II, was developed in order to feed the world, and not to benefit the soil. Undoubtedly that was a great ambition at the time, but we also know that this type of intensive agriculture, which relies on spraying the soil with chemicals, is eliminating the microorganisms that extract carbon. At Bel we believe that if we transition to a form of agriculture that is more sustainable we can all benefit, because by curing the soil we can cure the climate. That’s why in 2023 Bel Group launched an alliance for regenerative agriculture enlisting diverse stakeholders to bring about that change together. In Portugal we have two pilot regenerative agriculture projects – one on the mainland, and one in the Azores. We are working together with NGOs on the best way to feed our cattle herds in order to improve the health of the soil. By 2030, all of our milk and apples will come from regenerative agriculture practices.