The Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) held its semi-annual board of directors meeting in Victoria, British Columbia September 13-17. The event brought together the executive committee, board members and past chairs to focus on important issues impacting the produce industry and CPMA members.
The agenda included presentations by Paul Shorthouse of the Canadian Plastics Pact, of which CPMA is a signatory, and David Guthrie of KPMG on the topic of sustainability and its impact on the produce sector.
The board received a report from the CPMA Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Working Group, which was tasked to investigate D&I and potential paths forward for CPMA to support equity, diversity and inclusion in the Canadian fresh fruit and vegetable industry. As a first step, the CPMA board adopted a recommendation that all CPMA directors and committee members will participate in D&I training by the end of 2022. Additionally, the association will work to diagnose the current D&I landscape. CPMA will collaborate with a partner to survey members to gain an understanding of the D&I activities and training needed within the industry.
The CPMA held its semi-annual board of directors meeting in Victoria, British Columbia September 13-17.
“Diversity and inclusion are critical to the success of our sector,” says Mario Masellis, CPMA board chair. “It is something I chose to focus on during my tenure as chair, continuing the work begun by previous chairs. As an organization and a board, we have committed to increasing our knowledge around diversity and inclusion, their importance to our organizational culture as well as exploring ways to support our members on their D&I journeys.”
“CPMA continues to be a national and global leader on topics and issues impacting our supply chain,” said Ron Lemaire, CPMA president. “Supply chain disruptions, sustainability, plastics packaging and diversity and inclusion are all areas which need ongoing focus and investment. The board leadership on these topics and others are essential to our sector’s success.”
CPMA would like to thank all the semi-annual 2022 sponsors for their generous support of this event and ongoing activities.
For more information:
Micken Kokonya
Canadian Produce Marketing Association
Telephone: 613-226-4187 x225
mkokonya@cpma.ca
https://cpma.ca/