“Sustainability is embedded in Transavia’s executive decisions as a strategic driver. That’s why it is not a problem for a separate department. It’s a strategic lens through which all major decisions are evaluated. The Executive team approaches every partnership or capital allocation with environmental and social criteria in mind. This integrated approach is exemplified by the largest investment in green energy in food sector. The €35+ million investment in renewable energy infrastructure, a project entirely financed with the company’s own funds. Such a move signals not only confidence in long-term impact but also a deliberate choice to align profitability with sustainability and long-term energy independence and business resilience,” Diana Pavel, Environmental Director, Transavia told Sustainability Today.
Transavia is seen as a pioneer in sustainability within the Romanian food industry. How would you define the company’s sustainability philosophy?
At Transavia, sustainability is not a department, it’s a mindset woven into every step of the company’s fully integrated “grain-to-fork” model. Our philosophy revolves around taking complete responsibility, from cultivating our own feed crops and raising all chickens in our farms, to processing them exclusively in our slaughterhouses and processing factory, packaging, and finally delivering poultry to families in Romania and abroad. It’s a unique model of true vertical integration, with fully owned facilities at the scale of a leading regional business. And we are using this model not only to enhance efficiency, but also to uphold high environmental, social, and ethical standards
For the Transavia team, ESG is not a box-ticking exercise, but a long-term commitment to responsible and accountable business practices. For instance, food safety and high-quality are just procedures, but a social responsibility we consciously uphold every day. Animal welfare isn’t an afterthought, but it’s part of daily operations. Community engagement isn’t occasional charity, but a sustained investment, with around 1 million euro allocated every year in education, health, and social projects.
This mindset and these achievements have positioned us as a model of best practices within our sector. We were the first to publish Sustainability Reports as early as 2019, and we remain the only company with 100% Romanian capital to have adopted the standards required to become a co-signatory of the EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Business and Marketing Practices in the Food Sector.
What are the core pillars of Transavia’s sustainability strategy?
Transavia’s sustainability strategy stands on four interdependent pillars that reinforce each other. The is social responsibility, where the focus is on people, both inside and outside the company. We carry a profound responsibility: to deliver safe, high-quality chicken meat every single day to millions of people, earning and maintaining their trust through rigorous standards, transparency, and caring at every step of the process. At the same time, we are deeply committed to our employees’ well-being, promoting fair and safe labor practices, and continuously investing in community development initiatives that make a meaningful and lasting impact.
The second pillar is environmental responsibility, which includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, implementing renewable energy solutions, and minimizing waste across operations.
The third is animal welfare, a non-negotiable value integrated into our daily operations. We ensure that all animals are treated with respect and care, following strict welfare standards that exceed legal requirements. From farm design to handling practices, everything is aligned with our belief that ethical treatment of animals is not only the right thing to do, but essential for the integrity and quality of our products.
The fourth pillar is governance, which guides our long-term business sustainability through integrity, transparency, and strategic decision-making. At Transavia, governance is compliance and the framework that ensures accountability, ethical leadership, and the continuous alignment of our operations with our values. Our integrated business model allows us to maintain full control over every stage, from feed crop cultivation to final product delivery, enabling us to operate with maximum efficiency and minimal waste, while responding quickly and responsibly to consumers’ needs. We invest consistently our generated profit in modern technologies, infrastructure, people and digitization that improve traceability, optimize resource use, and enhance food safety across the entire value chain. Through responsible financial management and reinvestment in innovation and local development, we strengthen our resilience and competitiveness, while contributing to the prosperity of the communities we are part of.
These pillars do not operate in isolation. For instance, the company’s environmental efforts, such as its green energy investments, are closely tied to governance decisions at the executive level, while community investments are anchored in social responsibility principles but supported by operational performance.
How does sustainability influence decision-making at the executive level?
Sustainability is embedded in Transavia’s executive decisions as a strategic driver. That’s why it is not a problem for a separate department. It’s a strategic lens through which all major decisions are evaluated. The Executive team approaches every partnership or capital allocation with environmental and social criteria in mind. This integrated approach is exemplified by the largest investment in green energy in food sector. The €35+ million investment in renewable energy infrastructure, a project entirely financed with the company’s own funds. Such a move signals not only confidence in long-term impact but also a deliberate choice to align profitability with sustainability and long-term energy independence and business resilience.
Can you tell us more about Transavia’s investments in renewable energy?
Transavia’s renewable energy project is one of the most ambitious in Romania’s agri-food sector. Launched in 2022, as a forward-thinking approach, the €35+ million investment covers large-scale photovoltaic installations across all the company’s administrative, production, and processing sites. These solar systems now generate a substantial portion of the company’s electricity supply, significantly reducing both its operational costs and its carbon footprint. What sets this project apart is that it wasn’t driven by regulation or subsidies, it was a voluntary, strategic choice. By producing their own green energy, Transavia enhances its energy independence and mitigates the volatility of energy prices, all while advancing its climate goals. This initiative is a powerful example of how environmental responsibility and smart business go hand in hand. Beyond solar energy, Transavia also implemented a high-efficiency cogeneration project. To optimize energy consumption, Transavia has already adopted efficient technologies and equipment, backed by reliable operation models that eliminate losses. In addition, Transavia continues to invest in thermal insulation and automated microclimate monitoring in poultry houses, ensuring precise energy use based on real-time conditions. Specific measures have also been implemented at each location, adapted to geographic and seasonal temperature variations, particularly for winter-summer transitions.
Are there innovations in packaging, transport, or waste reduction that you are particularly proud of?
While much of my work focuses on authorizations, inspections, and environmental reporting, I take pride in how thoroughly we manage every detail across all our facilities, especially when it comes to waste management, environmental monitoring, and the implementation of sustainable solutions. Thanks to close collaboration with colleagues at every site, we know exactly what is produced, what is recovered or valorized, and what impact our operations have on the environment, month by month, with precision. This allows us not only to meet our objectives that goes beyond regulatory requirements. Our compliance is regularly verified by authorities, and maintaining high, impeccable standards is non-negotiable for us. But I personally always look beyond just numbers. Being part of a fully integrated system, from grain to fork, means I can contribute meaningfully at every stage. That’s what motivates me to constantly push my own limits. Whether it’s supporting packaging innovations that reduce waste such we brought in the market several times and improve product preservation, avoiding food waste, improving our internal reporting systems, or identifying better ways to valorize byproducts, I see every detail as an opportunity to do better for the company, for the environment, and for the people we serve.
What KPIs or metrics do you use to measure sustainability performance?
KPIs help us make sure that our actions are more than just a figure; it’s something we act on and track consistently. They allow us to measure progress in a way that remains relevant to our mission and aligned with our core values. But we don’t report metrics for the sake of appearances. What matters to us is that these indicators reflect impact and guide real decisions across the business. For example, on the environmental side, we monitor many key metrics, ranging from energy and water consumption intensity to waste volume, or the share of our operations powered by renewable energy. We closely follow the legal requirements embedded in our environmental permits and benchmark our performance against industry best practices, including the EU’s Best Available Techniques (BAT) for agriculture. Carbon emissions and reductions in environmental footprint are part of our regular evaluations, helping us shape long-term decarbonization strategies. Each department is also accountable for specific indicators and standards relevant to their operations, from feed production to logistics. In this way, sustainability performance becomes embedded not only in our reporting but in how each team defines success and takes responsibility for it.
What are the biggest sustainability-related challenges Transavia faces?
Transavia operates in a sector that is deeply affected by climate change, resource intensity, and evolving regulatory demands. Among the most pressing challenges are rising temperatures and unpredictable weather, which can affect crop yields and animal welfare. Managing these risks requires constant adaptation and investment.
Another challenge is the pace of regulatory change. We are navigating not just evolving environmental rules but also the broader shift in corporate reporting standards under the European Union’s new ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) framework. This brings a more rigorous and holistic approach to how sustainability is documented, measured, and communicated for all major players in the sector. We welcome this shift because it brings clarity and comparability, but it also demands a higher level of discipline, transparency, and readiness across the entire organization. It empowers consumers and other stakeholders to make conscious decisions in an industry where practices can vary widely. We’ve already begun this journey by voluntarily adopting GRI and ESRS guidelines in our sustainability reporting, even before they became mandatory. This early move reflects our belief that credible, transparent reporting is not a compliance task, but it’s a strategic asset that allows stakeholders, from partners to regulators and consumers, to see the full scope of our impact and value.
Equally important is the fiscal regulation volatility. Sustainability must go hand-in-hand with economic performance. A company that is not profitable cannot invest meaningfully in reducing its environmental footprint or supporting its people and communities. That’s why we view profitability not as an alternative to sustainability, but as its foundation. Our ability to invest in renewable energy, in animal welfare systems, or in community development is directly linked to the strong health and resilience of our business.
How do you balance economic performance with environmental and social responsibility?
For Transavia, the balance between profitability and responsibility is not a trade-off. It’s an outcome of the company’s 100% integrated business model. By owning every part of the production process, the company can internalize environmental and social costs without sacrificing quality or efficiency. This has allowed Transavia to lead the Romanian poultry market and to conquer other markets while simultaneously advancing sustainability benchmarks. Because we don’t rely on intermediaries, we can optimize operations for cost, speed, and for long-term impact. Whether it’s investing in efficient production technology, solar infrastructure, improving animal welfare conditions, developing people, digitizing or minimizing waste across the entire production chain, these decisions are made from within and serve both our economic goals and our sustainability agenda.
Moreover, having the most solid, healthiest and most profitable business in the sector, operating entirely without debt or external financing, allows us to think in decades, not just quarters. As a family-owned company, we don’t chase short-term margins at the expense of our values or our people. Instead, we consistently reinvest in innovation, in our teams, and in community partnerships that strengthen the ecosystem we operate in. For us, environmental and social responsibility are not externalities, but they are central to how we grow responsibly, lead with integrity, and remain resilient in increasingly uncertain times.
Looking ahead, what are your main priorities in the area of sustainability for the next 3–5 years?
Sustainability, for us, is about ambition matched with accountability. Therefore, over the next three to five years, we aim to continue inspiring our partners to embrace the same mindset. As a market leader, we understand the influence we hold across the value chain, and we are committed to using that influence to raise the bar for what responsible production and consumption should look like. Ultimately, our ambition is to consolidate our leadership in sustainability at the national level and to position Transavia among the top three poultry producers in Europe with the lowest carbon intensity per kilogram of product. This is a strategic objective rooted in operational discipline, ongoing investment in clean technologies, and the strength of our fully integrated production model. Owning and managing every stage of the process gives us complete control over efficiency, quality, and environmental impact.
We want to demonstrate that Romania’s leading poultry producer can do more than lead at home—it can set the pace for responsible, future-ready food production across Europe.
Transavia is Romania’s leading poultry producer and one of the country’s most prominent family-owned businesses, owning and producing the Fragedo brand of fresh chicken and the Papane range of chicken-based ready-to-cook products. With 100% Romanian capital, the company ranks among the most valuable brand portfolios in the country.
