In Costa Rica, Dole produces and sources bananas and pineapples (conventional and organic) and employs approximately 7,000 people.

Products and Areas of Production

Dole has approximately 12,000 hectares planted in bananas and 2,400 in pineapples. The Company owns ten banana farms and two pineapple plantations.

Independent Growers

Bananas are sourced from approximately 20 growers and pineapples from 5 growers.

An annual audit is completed at each banana farm and pineapple plantation. The audit includes a review of the Environmental Management System, the EurepGAP protocol and legal compliance.

Environmental Practices

In 1998, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica was the first agricultural company in the world to receive ISO 14001 certification.

Dole’s environmental practices have resulted in:

• 50% reduction in the use of post-harvest fungicides achieved by switching to "brush" application
• Collection and recycling of all plastics used in our Company-owned farms and in the plantations producing for us, respectively resulting in:
  • Recycling of 7.8 million kg. of polyethylene plastic between 1999 and 2004
  • Recycling of 3.5 million kg. of polypropylene plastic between 1999 and 2004
• Reforestation of 1,364 hectares
• Protection of 641 hectares of natural forest
• Recycling of 30% of the water used in 21 packing plants and 100% in 8 packing plants through the implementation of water re-use systems
• Implementation of 29 solid waste trapping systems in packing plants
• Recycling of 394 million kg. of banana and stem waste between 1999 and 2004; through the implementation of 37 treatment systems
• Building of 3 composting facilities
• Implementation of ’zero-waste facilities’ at airports and mixing stations
• Reduction of insecticides use by 60%, of herbicides use by 60% and of fungicides applied in the packing houses by 85% since 1990

Labor Conditions

In Costa Rica, all Company-owned banana and pineapple farms have been SA 8000 certified.

Training

Dole trains all employees on occupational safety and environmental protection. Each worker receives training tailored to the worker’s specific job. For example, environmental coordinators are trained and, in turn, train the workers of the independent growers in Company procedures, using Company course materials. This training is based on the SA 8000 standard.

In Costa Rica, Dole created its own training center, La Catedra. In the center, there are two active and 40 part-time instructors who, in addition to training, undertake other activities in the areas of environmental protection and quality management systems. There are at least two trainers on each Company farm that work with two full-time employees in the Training Department.

In 2004, 118,814 man-hours were spent in banana-related training, 6,361 in pineapple-related training sessions, 4,584 in box plant training sessions and 7,251 in operations training sessions.

Community Programs

Medical Programs

Drug Prevention Program: Initiated as a pilot program in 2004, its mission is to teach children the skills to help them say no to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. So far, 231 children have participated. Dole Costa Rica also sponsors the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program in its production areas.

Solidarista Health Fairs: Provided at no cost to employees, health professionals are taken to the farms to provide workers with medical examinations and specialist evaluations. The medical team is made up of specialists and includes laboratory and ultrasound services. The program was initially implemented on the Río Frío Farm, where 524 employees have benefited to date. The health fairs have since expanded to cover neighboring communities. In addition to the Health Fairs, Dole has built 10 health centers to service people in more remote areas.

Packing Plant Staff General Eye Examinations: Workers are offered timely and preventive eye exams in a mobile optical unit that travels to Company packing plants. Through 2004, the service was provided to 586 workers and the estimated coverage for 2005 rose to 980 employees.

Education Programs

The Company supports a program which provides free school supplies each year for the children of Dole workers. Dole’s education programs have resulted in the construction of 28 schools. Furthermore, Dole developed the Telesecundaria program, which provides classes via television for the students who live in remote areas.

Housing Programs

Bananito, a Dole-planned and -built community located near Dole’s largest banana farm, improves the quality of life of Dole’s workers and their families with a community, which offers education, leisure and commerce. Bananito provides housing for families, as well as bachelor apartments for single employees.
In total, Dole’s housing and community facilities programs have resulted in the construction of 1,870 houses, 3 banks, 16 churches and over 100 sports facilities in Costa Rica.

> read more about the Bananito Farm

Other Programs

Giving a Hand Program: This program teaches parents the tools necessary to increase their children’s abilities and skills by encouraging constructive learning. Each session works with 25 parents. To date, 259 parents have participated in this program.

Marriage for a Lifetime Program: This program works with groups of six couples to help them to reaffirm their relationship and motivate them to continue with their life project. In 2004, 12 couples and in 2005, 54 couples graduated from the program.

Community Safety Program in the Employee Residential Areas: The objective of this project is to generate a preventative culture in local communities based on solidarity, community organization and optimum communication among neighbors and with the local police. The purpose is to increase public safety and further reduce crime rates. This program has been rolled out in 21 communities, touching 347 families.
Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Intra-Family Violence: This program raises public awareness concerning the problems caused by intra-family aggression, sexual abuse of children, and helps to identify cases of family violence or sexual abuse in order to offer assistance. To date, this program has been presented in 83 learning centers and hosted 10,000 participants.

Sports Programs: Sports programs include a wide-range of sporting events for children, men and women, ranging from soccer to volleyball to baseball to fishing to checkers to dominos. They also include training and sports camps. Cultural programs are offered in the arts, theater and other related activities.

Programs for Personal Development: Social workers work with the community on education programs teaching, among other things, how to start a small business and how to better manage money.
Norway Cup 2005 / BAMA Project: 40 young people, primarily related to Dole employees, participated in the NORWAY CUP (soccer), which was played in Norway and sponsored by BAMA, a major Dole customer. Over 35,000 young people from around the world participated in this event.

Environmental Programs: An environmental education program was implemented in the Estrella Valley and Bananito school curriculum during 2003 and 2004, instructing over 1,200 children through a field trip. The program was sponsored by Standard Fruit Company and held in the Wildlife Refuge ‘Aviarios del Caribe’.

Main Certifications

• ISO 9001
  • Banadole, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for maritime cargo services
  • Operations department, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for land transportation of fruit and container maintenance
  • Estibadoras del Caribe, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for the stevedoring operations
  • DECAR, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for the manufacturing of corrugated boxes, paper and plastic components
  • Agroindustriales, Piña del Bosque for the packing of pineapples
• ISO 14001
  • Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for the production, harvesting and packing of bananas and pineapples (including programs for independent suppliers)
  • DECAR, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for the manufacturing of corrugated boxes, paper and plastic components
  • Operations department, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for the land transportation of fruit and container maintenance
  • Estibadoras del Caribe, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for the stevedoring operations
• SA 8000
  • Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for the production and packing of bananas and pineapples
• EurepGAP
  • Standard Fruit de Costa Rica for the production and packing of bananas and pineapples
• Rainforest Alliance
  • Finca Esperanza, a Dole-owned banana farm, for the production and packing of bananas

Awards

• In 2000, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica was awarded the Grand Prize in Excellence by the Costa Rican Chamber of Industry, finishing first in five categories out of six on which participants were judged, including ‘quality systems and processes’, ‘innovation and technology’ and ‘environmental management’
• In 2000, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica received the National Insurance Institute Award for its industry-leading occupational safety program
• In 1998, Standard Fruit de Costa Rica was awarded the Best Community Contributor Award, given by the American Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica and delivered by the President of the Republic. This award recognizes the company’s cooperation towards community development in the social, environmental and educational fields