Jack Landsmanas Driving Sustainability as CEO of Corporate Kosmos
As chairman and CEO of one of Mexico’s largest corporations, Jack Landsmanas has moved boldly to adopt a series of environmental and sustainability initiatives developed by the United Nations with international cooperation. The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) have set a target of 2030 to implement wide-ranging programs designed to produce more equitable societies around the globe. Mexico is a signatory to the United Nations and took part in designing the historic SDG initiative. Jack Landsmanas said the responsibility to make SDG become a reality goes well beyond programs developed and administered by government agencies. He said the largest private corporations working within each respective country must step up and do everything they can to forward the cause. Landsmanas leads Mexico-based Corporate Kosmos. It’s one of the 100 largest corporations in this Latin American nation. Its primary sector of operation is food. Corporate Kosmos distributes some 800 tons of food daily to more than three million citizens. It serves institutional dining rooms, such as schools and hotel chains.
It also does considerable business in offshore accounts, such as oil drilling platforms and their support infrastructures. Kosmos serves many other entities as well, from restaurants to the distribution of lunch boxes. Under the leadership of Jack Landsmanas, Corporate Kosmos has grown its employment ranks to more than 9,000 workers. Because it works with hundreds of partners up and down its supply chain, Corporate Kosmos indirectly generates thousands of more jobs. It sources 94% of its products from Mexican producers. The fact that Corporate Kosmos deals in food necessarily means that it maintains a significant interest in agriculture. This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, for sustainability efforts as outlined by the SDG. For Mexican farms to remain viable and productive, proper conservation of soil is critical. That means preventing soil erosion and the proper use of irrigation. Finding ways to conserve freshwater for crop growth and use it more efficiently is a major goal.
Another area important to Jack Landsmanas and Corporate Kosmos is hunger. His company has developed numerous programs that bring food to people who are threatened by food insecurity. Corporate Kosmos delivers millions of free meals every year. It also fosters their nutrition programs for preschool children. Cutting waste is another important area for using food in the most efficient manner possible. Mr. Landsmanas said the U.N.’s “Zero Hunger” program is key. Jack Landsmanas said that large corporations like the one he leads must step up their efforts to tackle climate change. There are many points of activity within big companies that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. For example, distributing 800 tons of food to 27 Mexican states requires Corporate Kosmos to employ several modes of transportation to enable distribution. Finding ways to economize on fuel, make distribution more efficient and deliver more products with fewer vehicles is a major goal. Using more energy-efficient vehicles is also an important initiative. Corporate Kosmos was founded in 1959 by the grandfather of Jack Landsmanas, Don Pablo Landsmanas. Click here.
