DISCOVER OUR ACTIONS

MELINDA'S
SUSTAINABILITY MANIFESTO,
WHERE WORDS BECOME FACTS.

1. USE ONLY RENEWABLE SOURCES

We use 100% renewable energy resources, 11% of which is self-produced by a photovoltaic system on our structure's roof. The rest is supplied by a hydroelectric power system.

2. NEVER WASTE EVEN A DROP OF WATER

Melinda uses drop irrigation over 97% of its apple orchards. This system improves water distribution among the plants vs traditional overhead irrigation, with 30% less water consumption

3. RESPECT NATURE'S TIMING

Melinda Consortium famers are aware that good products like Melinda apples require time and effort. They have always grown them respecting the biological cycle of the orchard, the rhythm of the seasons and climate

4. BUILD AN ANIMAL-FRIENDLY ECOSYSTEM

In our orchards you can find a strong presence of fauna (insects, birds, wildlife), this is an index of the environment's wellness. In our valleys, apiculture and farming go arm in arm, and pollinating insects, like bees, are becoming more numerous for the increasing number of beehives and beekeepers.

5. SUPPORTING ORGANIC FARMING

The Consortium proudly uses the two methods that are most respectful for the environment and for consumers' health: 100% organic and integrated production with 5 organic farming-districts dedicated to the fruit grown according to their Procedural guidelines, and packed in 100% compostable packaging

6. PROTECT THE TERRITORY

Our apples are available all year around because they are preserved in refrigerated warehouses. Instead of building new ones on the surface, we created in the heart of our mountains, our hypogeal cells, the first and only in the world, underground- refrigerated-storage-system for apples.

7. SUPPORT COMMUNITY LIFE

Melinda Consortium guaranteeseconomic sustainability for its territory and has allowed the development and growth of two alpine valleys, that at the turn of the Twentieth century were threatened by depopulation for their poverty

DO-IT-YOURSELF ENERGY

Melinda uses only renewable power, both for the manufacturing processes as for the conservation of their apples.

Their self-produced power, thanks to the photovoltaic system mounted on the manufacturing plants' roofs, amounts to about11% of the overall consumption: look what you can do with the energy saved byMelinda.
HOW MUCH ENERGY DOES MELINDA SAVE?
lampadina
33679
lighted houses / year
Average consumption
lavatrici
21049
washing machines / year
Average consumption
forni
48113
ovens / year
Average consumption
aspirapolvere
27037
vacuum cleaners / year
Average consumption
domestic lighting
washing machines
ovens
vacuum cleaners

Source: Melinda data processing
Average consumption source:https://luce-gas.it/guida/consumo/elettrodomestici - approximate values for 1 year of average consumption in Italy

Virtuous apples

Water
saving

DROP IRRIGATION SYSTEM
In the summer season, apples need water. The Non and Sole Valleys receive it in abundance from the surrounding glaciers. In order to not waist even a drop of this precious water and preserve the habitat of rivers and torrents, we chose to provide just the right quantity directly to our plants' roots, using a drop irrigation system. This system allows to save more than 30% water vs traditional overhead irrigation system
FILTERING SYSTEM
Water plays a main role also in the processing of the apples. Our farming cooperatives use a hydro-conveyor system (in this way they don't get bruised!). Our filtering system allows to keep the water clear therefore decreasing the number of changes
Drop irrigation allows a water saving equal to
30,6%
/year
vs traditional overhead irrigation.(source: FAO).
Consumption of water for irrigation
Overhead
Drop irrigation
HOW MUCH WATER IS REQUIRED TO PRODUCE …
2400 litres
1 Hamburger
185 litres
1 Pack of French Fries
140 litres
1 Cup of Coffee
70 litres
1 Apple
Today, apples are among the less "wasteful" foods, when concerning water consumption. Look at how little water you need to produce them, compared to other types of food. Source: FAO 2021 - Trentino Sostenibile - APOT

WEATHER & CLIMATE

RESPECT FOR NATURE'S
RHYTHM

Q. What does it mean to respect the biological timing of the orchard?
A. At Melinda, we like to support and patiently wait the ripening of our apples. This happens only once a year. We follow nature's rhythm, without accelerating the growth of our trees, and their fruits. The result?

Tastier apples.
Q. Is weather always an ally?
A. When one of our apples reaches your table, think about the beautiful moments of its life. Caressed by the daily winds, watered by the rain, kissed by the sun, loved and cared for by the expert hands of those who have grown and nurtured it. The Non and Sole Valleys have a perfect climate for apples, but farmers know better, and they are aware that climate can also be fussy and unpredictable. Frosts, hail, extreme heat ... there are good years and so so ones, that's why weather forecast can be a valid support. Nature makes its way, but farmers never give up.
"From planting the seedlings to the first harvest season it takes 2-3 years"
Luigi, farmer from Livo (TN)

Farming & Nature

AN ANIMAL-FRIENDLY ECOSYSTEM

Q. Are bees and apple orchards friends?
A. Bees are used for pollinating apple trees. They are a perfect example of a symbiotic synergy between environment and farming. In the Non and Sole Valleys farmers welcome beehives in their apple orchards, therefore increasing the number of beekeepers and bees, which have always been an index of wellness of the environment.
Q. Not only apples. Did you now how many forests there are in our valleys?
A. Not only apple orchards. In the Non and Sole Valleys forests are the real protagonists, as in the rest of Trentino. A region based on nature, with 89% of the land covered with woods and pastures, 2.8% with urban areas and 5.4% used for farming activities. Forested areas play an important role in maintaining a high level of biodiversity, favouring the presence of pest-antagonist animals.
Q. Discover a natural pest-control method used for our apple orchards.
A.It's called "sexual confusion technique". Thanks to the use of special pheromone dispensers in the orchards, you can reduce the reproduction of harmful pests, therefore limiting their spreading. Almost all our apple orchards have adopted this method.
In the orchards there are wild birds and animals, proving the healthiness of the territory.
Free bees photographed by Luigi Sandri in a Melinda Consortium apple orchard
A roe deer photographed by Mauro Mendini in a Melinda Consortium apple orchard
A goldfinch photographed by Mauro Mendini in a Melinda Consortium apple orchard
A buzzard photographed by Mauro Mendini in a Melinda Consortium apple orchard
A buzzard's nest photographed by Mauro Mendini in a Melinda Consortium apple orchard
A hoopoe and its nest photographed by Mauro Mendini in a Melinda Consortium apple orchard

More farmers, more bees


See how the number of beekeepers and beehives have increased in our valleys, in the last 10 years.

23.886
Beehives
1478
Beekeepers
2010
2015
2021

STATE OF THE ART ORGANIC FARMING

MELINDA'S ORGANIC FARMING

In an area characterized by fragmented properties, the Organic Farming Districts of the Melinda Consortium give the opportunity of coordinating the territory’s energy and actions invested in this issue.

WHAT IS AN ORGANIC FARMING DISTRICT?

It's a structured, isolated and protected territory, made of different properties, which perform exclusively organic farming.


ORGANIC MELINDA ORCHARDS

70
HECTARS OF ORGANIC ORCHARDS
2018
2019
2020
2021
70
HECTARS OF ORGANIC ORCHARDS

There are 5 organic farming districts dedicated to the farming of organic Melinda apples, all following the Organic procedural guidelines. Find out how, from 2018 till today, the hectares dedicated to organic farming have been constantly increasing in the Non Valley.


Organic apples are selected by a specific processing centre and packed in 100% compostable packs. In fact, one of Melinda's priorities for a better sustainability is to reduce as much as possible the impact of its packaging

Thanks to the partnership with Novamont - Italian company, leader in the manufacturing of biodegradable and compostable bioplastics - we created a film made from renewable sources, which together with our trays, seals and labels in grass paper, make our Melinda BIO 4-fruit-packaging completely compostable.
All our packaging can be recycled and transformed in compost, this means that it can be used as fertilizer, after being treated in specific processing plants. In this way, a clean, organic material is returned to the soil: more fertility, less CO2 emissions.
The MaterBi® logo, property of Novamont, identifies the superior quality bioplastic, used for our packages' film.

A NATURAL WAREHOUSE

HYPOGEAL CELLS

A. Melinda's hypogeal cells are a real natural fridge, hidden inside the Dolomites, 300 meters underground. They are the first and only storage system for fresh apples in controlled atmosphere, kept at a constant temperature all year around, inside tunnels in the heart of the mountains.
A. In 2010, thanks to the partnership between two companies. Melinda needed to increase its storage space for its apples; Tassullo, a building material company, remained with 15 km of dry and safe tunnels after an excavation project. This is how a huge warehouse was created inside the caves of the Rio Maggiore mine, in the heart of the Dolomites. This project is the result of a research between the universities of Padua, Trento and Trondheim in Norway.
A. For many reasons. First of all, they allow to preserve the rural and mountain landscape, because there is no need to build warehouses on the surface. Second, they have a lower environmental impact because their refrigerating system requires less power, halving the CO2 emissions. But it's not all, they also guarantee water saving (thanks to the geothermal cooling system used for the compressors which help decrease the temperature inside the cells) and they don't require any polyurethane foam insulating panels, which imply a highly polluting disposal.
A. Yes, in the shape of a virtuous recycling. The mining activity, that still goes on today, is programmed and managed keeping an eye on the future, planning ahead the design of the tunnels, where Melinda apples will be stored tomorrow. What before was a "waste" of the mining activity, today becomes a new space ready to welcome a new activity with a high sustainability index.

Saving/year with Hypogeal Cells


How much do Hypogeal Cells help save vs a traditional warehouse?

The water of
0
OLIMPIC-SIZE SWIMMING POOLS
A portion of territory comparable to
0
FOOTBALL FIELDS
Insulating material comparable to
0
LARGE TRUCKS
Power used by
K
K
CITIZENS
Water
Territory
Insulating material
Power

Cooperating for the wellbeing

SUPPORTING
THE COMMUNITY

Melinda Consortium pursues sustainability not only for the environment but also for local economy. The Sole and Non Valleys have brought back wealthiness to a territory that in the past wasn’t as wealthy as today, thanks to their top quality apple farming and their winning cooperative model.
At the end of the 19th century the valleys were risking a severe depopulation due to the spreading of diseases among the mulberry plants and vines (the main cultivations at that time). Most people emigrated to America, Canada and Australia.
The departures ended with the introduction of apple farming and its successful results. Today, we witness the opposite phenomenon: our apple orchards attract many seasonal and permanent foreign workers in our valleys (approximately 6.000 workers every year, hosted by the farmers' families).
Agriculture keeps the valleys alive. The territory is preserved, there's a strong bond between the farmers and the land and its fruit which bring wealth and wellness to all the population.
Melinda helps the community also by supporting social enterprises and sponsoring local and sports events, teams and single athletes.

A COMMUNITY FOUNDED ON ITS WORK


INHABITANTS OF THE VALLEY
39290
NON VALLEY
18725
SOLE VALLEY
Melinda members
3800
Melinda employees
1500
PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE SATELLITE ACTIVITIES
14000

Paolo, retired farmer, tells us about the times when in the Non valley people were emigrating to America, Canada, Northern Europe, to find a better life.