Dole Asia Holdings and its subsidiaries have launched the $2m Sunshine for All Fund to support strategic partnerships and innovation in sustainability, food access and waste.

The launch of the annual fund comes just after Dole Packaged Foods and Dole Asia Fresh launched The Dole Promise to boost access to sustainable nutrition and reduce food waste, plastics in packaging and carbon emissions.

A short film, called The Growing Distance, has also been launched in tandem with the annual fund, with an aim to highlight and help address the crucial gaps in providing good nutrition for everyone.

Dole Packaged Foods Worldwide president Pier Luigi Sigismondi said: “We believe purpose must permeate every part of the company to address these global challenges -from our business model and the products we make, to our work with partners, what we lobby for, and how we strive for a more equal world.”

“Raising awareness of the global issues we face, and investing in the best thinking through this fund, is our way of ensuring not only that our purpose is fulfilled, but that we are driving tangible solutions and real systemic change – today.”

Almost one-quarter of the population in the world is experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity and it has been found that one-third of food produced for human consumption either gets lost or wasted across the world.

Through a partnership with promising start-ups, innovators, and partners, Dole aims the fund to address the gaps in affordability and waste, as well as accessibility and acceptability.

Dole has sought like-minded partners, including entrepreneurs, start-ups, strategic thinkers, social impact enterprises, and NGOs, to incorporate their expertise in food production, nutritional science, compostable packaging, supply chain, sustainable agriculture and logistics.

Dole Packaged Foods and Asia Fresh global head of ventures Barbara Guerpillon said: “Our work to bring Sunshine for All during the pandemic reinforced our belief that people will join us when they believe in what we do.

“The Fund is our signal to the world that we are open for business and that business is finding, fuelling and fostering innovation, actions and change.”

In a separate development, US-based Mondelēz International launched Sustainable Futures, a platform to incubate, fund and aid self-sustaining ventures to address challenges in the world, including climate change.

The new platform will enable Mondelēz International to seek and nurture innovative projects, along with like-minded investors.

Sustainable Futures will co-invest in projects that help to address climate change and make seed investments into social ventures to boost livelihoods.