Señorío de Montanera has a deep commitment to environmental responsibilityWe show our commitment to environmental sustainability every day by caring for and reforesting the dehesa pastures where our Iberian pigs have been reared for generations.

Protecting and sustaining this unique ecosystem is part of our natural heritage. We have therefore set out to reinforce and formalise this commitment by calculating our Carbon Footprint in order to improve the company’s environmental impact.

What does it mean to be a sustainable company?

To become a sustainable company it is not enough to implement certain isolated practices or sustainability measures. Sustainability must be part of the company’s overall strategy and be duly accredited according to international benchmarking standards.

In view of this, Señorío de Montanera has turned to a certification company experienced in the best international environmental standards to assess its performance in terms of emissions from an external and independent point of view. In this way, Bureau Veritas has verified that the Carbon Footprint of the Extremadura company, Señorío de Montanera, complies with the ISO 14064 standard.

Bureau Veritas states that “Verification of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions data by an independent certification company is the cornerstone of transparent, accurate communication that builds trust among stakeholders and protects corporate image.”

ISO 14064 Standard – Carbon footprint certification

Señorío de Montanera has successfully implemented the ISO 14064 standard, which certifies the Carbon Footprint certification across all company processes.

This international standard sets out the principles for certifying and guaranteeing the quantification of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and is used as a method for calculating the carbon footprint.

What is the carbon footprint?

The climate crisis is one of the most pressing social concerns of our time. All eyes are on governments, businesses and organisations worldwide in the face of increasing demands for greater efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The involvement of private companies in this task is essential. With this certification, Señorío de Montanera, a company strongly linked to the environment, is showing its commitment to sustainability and the reduction of GHG emissions.

The carbon footprint is an ecolabel that quantifies the amount of GHG emitted, measured as an equivalent mass of CO2, as a direct or indirect effect of an individual, organisation, service, event or product, in order to determine its effect on climate change. Through calculating the carbon footprint, all sources of GHG emissions are identified and it is possible to better define emission reduction targets and measures.

Is it important to calculate the carbon footprint?

Calculating an organisation’s Carbon Footprint is the first step towards meeting the zero net emissions commitment by obtaining an initial assessment of risks and opportunities, as well as identifying emissions hotspots across the value chain. Señorío de Montanera’s commitment to sustainability reinforces its strategic positioning as a leader in its sector and an environmental champion. This measure is a milestone on our path towards excellence and achieving the best acorn-fed 100% Iberico products with the least possible impact on the environment.

How do you calculate the carbon footprint?

To calculate the carbon footprint following the methodologies established in the ISO 14064 standard, we need to identify all sources directly and indirectly related to the organisation that are likely to generate GHGs. To do this, we need to consider the emissions associated with the activities of the slaughterhouse, curing cellars and offices, taking account of direct and indirect emissions from imported energy, transport, products used and waste management.

Señorío de Montanera controls the quality of its acorn-fed 100% Iberico products from the dehesa pastures to the end consumer. In view of this, the carbon footprint verification process begins with the rearing of the pigs in the wild in the pastures, and ends with the sale of the final product; both directly to consumers, and indirectly through distributors. In this way, we analyse the entire progress through the different production stages. For each pig weighing around 170 kg, we will have obtained only two hams, two shoulder hams, two loins, and approximately 6 kg of different cured sausages (presa, coppa, solomillo, morcón, salchichón -vela and cular- and chorizo -vela, sarta and cular-).

Reinforcing commitment to the environment

 With this, Señorío de Montanera is seeking to preserve the traditions that inspire the company’s spirit, using artisan production methods and employing technology to monitor processes and understand them better, while ensuring the traceability of the products as leaders in the sector who are also greatly committed to the environment.

The successful implementation of the ISO 14064 standard has helped Señorío de Montanera to lay the foundations of its environmental sustainability policy for the coming years, as it provides a benchmark against which progress in terms of sustainability can be measured.