Earth Day 2022; Daiya’s Commitment to Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility

Wasting less and feeding more, today and every day!

At Daiya, we have been working diligently to delight both people and planet since 2008 – creating delicious plant-ba

sed products while both remaining environmentally responsible and giving back to our communities. 

One of the strongest ways we do this is in our own backyard, through our food security partnership with fellow Vancouverites, FoodMesh. Ahead of Earth Day 2022, we wanted to catch up with their team and hear about their incredible work and initiatives. ​

“FoodMesh helps Daiya donate surplus products to local social impact organizations through the B2B FoodMesh Marketplace. We match these donations to the right recipients (including food banks, community kitchens etc) and coordinate pickup via warehouses in both Vancouver and Toronto. Daiya was the first customer to support our mission back in 2017, and we have worked together closely ever since to reduce food waste and address food insecurity”, said Megan Czerpak, Head of Communications at FoodMesh.
​
“A great example of this work is through a local group, the Kingdom Acts Foundation – with donations from Daiya, they are now able to serve dietary-specific food to families across Vancouver. Last year alone they received the equivalent of 12,536 meals from Daiya, helping to ensure that children with unique dietary needs have access to the foods they need”, Megan continues.
​
Thus far, FoodMesh’s partnership with Daiya has resulted in 358,291 kg of CO2e emissions saved, and 138,872 kg of food donated to local charities focused on serving those experiencing food insecurity. That’s about the weight of 22 food trucks – all of which AREN’T going to the landfill, but to somewhere that needs them.

“How can I help?” – we hear you screaming at your screen…

“Primarily, by purchasing from organizations like Daiya that are socially responsible and try to ensure their unsold food is ending up on the plates that need it, rather than in the landfill – we also encourage you to do everything you can to prevent food waste at home”, Megan concluded.

Furthermore, linked here is a comprehensive Food Bank finder across both the U.S. and Canada. Similar to FoodMesh, Food Banks typically re-purpose food donations from manufacturers, brokers and grocery stores to ensure that more food is kept out of the landfill! 

Amazing! But what more are Daiya doing this Earth Week – or throughout the entire year, infact? 

As innovators in this category over 14 years, we are still driven by our mission to pioneer plant-based breakthroughs that delight both people and planet – and we champion the fact that one plant-based meal saves an overwhelming average of 548 gallons (about 2074.4 l) of water! 

What started as an experiment and commitment to create more innovative options in our founder’s Greg and Andre’s kitchen is now a brand with 14 product categories and counting – we have come a long way from that kitchen, but we remain steadfast in our sustainability commitment.​
​
Last year, we relaunched our family favorite plant-based Cheeze Slices with 82% LESS packaging – along with our new look, new recipe, newly spreadable Cream Cheeze in packaging that is fully recyclable through the How2recycle program. Spreading the joy, if you will!​
​
But what about the future? Well, Daiya recently moved into a new, state– of– the– art, 400,000 square foot facility here in Vancouver, B.C. that is in the process of becoming LEED Certified! LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is the most widely used green building rating system in the world, providing a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings – a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership.​ 

​We are also on our way to becoming a BCorp certified organization, just like our friends at FoodMesh! BCorp Certification is a designation ensuring that a business is meeting high standards of accountability and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices, input materials plus social and environmental performance. Part of the pledge is also to be good corporate citizens!

After 14 years, we feel like we are just getting started – with an eye to the future, we continue to develop new and innovative products, to strengthen our commitment to sustainability and work alongside our food security partners like FoodMesh to address food waste and food insecurity.​ 

​ This Earth Day 2022, the internal Daiya team (known affectionately as Daiyans) will be enjoying an Earth Day ‘lunch and learn’ hosted by FoodMesh’s amazing Megan and Jessica all around this topic/ partnership, also! Us Daiyans are always mindful of our humble beginnings – how it all started – and are genuinely excited about where we are going…but we know that none of this would be possible without the amazing support we receive from our consumers, community, and our business partners!​
​
Any questions? We are always here for you via email (cr@daiyafoods.com), phone (1-877-324-9211) – or via any of our social channels!