Chiquita tries to peel back oil sands pledge

After Chiquita told ForestEthics that it would quit using oil sands derived fuel to truck its bananas, the fruit company is assuring upset truckers that the company, while committed to going green, will adopt a go slow approach.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance received assurances from Chiquita’s Senior Vice President of Government and International Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, Manuel Rodriguez, that his company is not asking transportation suppliers to quit using fuel from the oilsands, but rather to work towards alternatives that would reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

“Press reports have inaccurately stated that we have boycotted or banned Canadian oil,” Rodriguez wrote in a letter published by the Trucking Alliance.

“What we have stated is our goal to … reduce our carbon footprint. To achieve this, Chiquita is also taking advantage of opportunities to reduce its consumption of petroleum, through increased vehicle efficiency, use of alternative fuels, and reduced vehicle usage.  With regard to our fuel usage in particular, we have encouraged our suppliers to source, where possible, various fuel sources that have a lower carbon footprint and commit to a strategy of continuous improvement.

“This certainly does not exclude Canadian fuel,” he wrote.