Choices for Change initiative: Ofi unveils 2030 targets for enhanced sustainability and regenerative farming

20 Jun 2024 --- Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) has announced new environmental and social targets for its global operations in the cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts and spices sectors across 50 countries. 

The food and beverage ingredient supplier unveiled Choices for Change, a program that outlines its strategy for its 2030 targets. These targets include a greater focus on achieving supply chain resilience and giving customers access to more rigorous and verifiable data for better decision-making and sustainability reporting.

The company notes that the challenges of climate change and incoming environmental legislations in the EU and UK have sparked a growing interest in sustainability among customers. Therefore, the targets deliver on ofi’s key customer needs.

Roel van Poppel, chief sustainability officer at ofi, tells Food Ingredients First that the initiative is part of the company’s commitment to its “long-term commercial imperative” to deliver quality food ingredients. “Enabling better choices to be made, every time, right across the value chain — from our farmer suppliers to consumers — is the essence of this strategy.”

2030 targets
Ofi aims to deliver greater livelihood support to over one million farmers, helping them increase the amount and quality of their yield.

“We are working to professionalize our farmers by building a package of training and material benefits that will be provided to them in a sustained way over several years through inputs like tools or fertilizers or training in good agricultural practices.”

On-farm emissions remain “by far the biggest part” of ofi’s environmental footprint.

On-farm emissions remain “by far the biggest part” of ofi’s environmental footprint.Therefore, the global supplier intends to reduce Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions that are not the result of activities from assets owned or controlled by companies) by 30% and offer customers verifiable, low-carbon products and ingredients while contributing to net-zero commitments.

Furthermore, it looks to increase the scope of regenerative farming by bringing it to 2 million hectares of land and creating products with a verified positive natural impact.

Under the new framework, ofi will offer its customers access to more comprehensive information on traceability, data insights and risk mitigation.

Van Poppel adds that such insights “help customers optimize the sustainability performance of their supply chains with actionable data.” For this, the supplier uses a sustainability management system with an in-built planner that assesses the cost of climate action.

Currently, each product segment at ofi has programs such as Cocoa Compass, Coffee LENS, Nut Trails and Dairy Tracks to address supply chain challenges.

However, the Choices for Change plan aims to reach the 2030 targets across countries of operation, with universal metrics and definitions across global operations. “It creates an overarching strategy that makes it easy for customers and stakeholders to understand our approach, progress and impact across all products and ingredients.”

The company highlights that collaboration with farmers, governments, civil society and customers, including major retailers, brands and manufacturers, is crucial to the initiative’s success.

Additionally, ofi is gearing up for the release of a refreshed Cocoa Compass ambition later this year. The company achieved its first set of Cocoa Compass targets in 2020, which included implementing 100% traceability and deforestation monitoring in its direct cocoa supply chain.

By Anvisha Manral