Beyond The Headlines: Ofi lights up solar-powered cocoa warehouse, Carbon Disclosure Project updates

09 Feb 2024 --- In this week’s industry news, ofi partnered with the Commodity Centre Group to unveil its solar-powered cocoa bean warehouse in the Netherlands. Danone, Givaudan and Symrise received A ratings from the Carbon Disclosure Project’s annual sustainability rating, while the Dutch alcoholic beer industry experienced a drop in sales owing to consumers’ rising interest in low-alcohol beer for better health.

Sustainability highlights
Ofi unveiled its solar-powered cocoa warehouse at the Port of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, joining forces with Commodity Centre Group, a supply chain, logistics and warehousing solutions provider. The site comprises approximately 7,000 solar panels and is expected to reduce 1,350 metric tons of CO2 annually while providing cocoa beans to its global confectionery brand customers. The move drives forward ofi’s ambition for sustainable cocoa, Cocoa Compass, for a 30% reduction in natural capital costs by 2030. The company is targeting carbon-neutral certification in the future.

The Carbon Disclosure Project rates companies based on environmental transparency in protecting the forests, climate and water.In its annual sustainability rating, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) awarded Symrise an A rating in the areas of climate change and water protection and an A- for forest conservation. According to Bernhard Kott, chief sustainability officer at Symrise, the company sources almost 80% of its raw materials from nature and focuses on new sustainable technologies for a green product life cycle. By 2030, the company aims to reduce its GHG substantially to operate climate-neutral overall.

In the same sustainability rating, Danone scored an A for the three environmental areas covered by CDP: climate change, forest preservation and water security.The company recently announced its Climate Transition Plan, aimed at decarbonizing its activities across its value chain and putting the company on the pathway to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. It also plans to reduce its methane emissions by 30% by 2030 for its fresh milk supply.

Meanwhile, Givaudan secured a double A on climate action and water security, with an A- in forests for the first time. The CDP forests questionnaire focuses on how organizations produce, source and use four key forest risk commodities: timber, cattle products, soy and palm oil.

Dutch consumers are increasingly shifting toward low alcohol beer, says the Nederlandse Brouwers.The Coffee Industry Corporation (CIC), JDE Peet’s and Enveritas partnered to implement a scheme that will enable Enveritas to verify that the coffee industry in Papua New Guinea does not export coffee grown on land deforested after 2020, as required by the new European Union Deforestation Regulation. Enveritas will use high-resolution satellite imagery, machine learning and teams on the ground to monitor all of Papua New Guinea’s coffee lands, while a protocol developed by CIC will remove any coffee in contravention of the new regulation from the supply chain. JDE Peet’s will also support the rehabilitation of land deforested and converted to coffee after 2020. 

Business news
NEOM, the sustainable regional development in northwestern Saudi Arabia, collaborated with Tabuk Fisheries Company to form Topian Aquaculture, which aims to support the National Livestock and Fisheries Development Program in producing 600,000 metric tons of fish products annually by 2030. The venture will include a hatchery that is expected to become the largest in the MENA region by the end of 2024 and has a planned capacity of 42 million fingerlings and marine pen production facilities, with the production of finfish in the pens projected to reach 20 kt per year. The move aims to develop a robust, sustainable aquaculture sector and support food security and self-sufficiency while ensuring the region’s fresh, healthy seafood production.

Bioriginal acquired Canada-based Proteins, Oils and Starches (POS Biosciences Corp.) from Canopy Growth Corp. POS, formerly known as KeyLeaf Life Sciences, will operate independently, with Jim Shields as the new managing director. The move will give Bioriginal access to POS’s oil processing, concentration, and molecular distillation facility for formulating value-added oils and proteins. POS will also provide research and development services to Bioriginal using its eleven laboratories and six pilot plant processing areas.

Sucralose does not impact the gut microbiota, while other low and no calorie sweeteners have potentially beneficial health effects.Dutch beer market
Nederlandse Brouwers — an umbrella organization representing the interests of 14 beer breweries based in the Netherlands — announced that Dutch beer drinkers increasingly opt for beer with less alcohol (below 3.5%) for a balanced lifestyle. In line with consumer demands, brewers are focusing on developing a wide range of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beers. In 2023, unfavorable weather and high inflation dampened beer sales in the country, with lager and beer mix sales dropping by 6.5% and 15.2%, respectively. Further, as per data from the Dutch Beer Culture Heritage Foundation, 76 breweries stopped in 2023, including 27 breweries and 48 brewery tenants.

New research
In a study, Tate & Lyle and preclinical gastrointestinal researcher Cryptobiotix found that sucralose does not impact the gut microbiota, while other low and no calorie sweeteners have potentially beneficial health effects. The sweeteners examined included acesulfame potassium, maltitol, sorbitol, stevia, sucralose and tagatose. The findings are based on Cryptobiotix’s SIFR (“cipher”) technology that recreates the gut environment outside of the human body and are published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition.

By Insha Naureen