Supplier sustainability on the Davos 2019 menu: “The food ingredients sector can be a real game-changer”

23 Jan 2019 --- As global leaders, corporate giants and academics gather in Switzerland’s Davos for the annual World Economic Forum, sustainability is high on the agenda. The journey towards a fully sustainable supply chain is, in reality, only just getting started, as the true impacts of climate change and the need to feed the fast-growing global population become ever-more apparent.

Food and beverage companies are becoming increasingly conscious of sustainability issues – including the impacts that extreme weather events can have on the supply chain, particularly raw materials. Indeed, sustainability is at the very core of what many leading suppliers are doing – increasing their commitment to sustainable ingredient solutions based on renewable resources.

Mauricio Graber, CEO, Chr. HansenThe importance of sustainability in the food industry is underscored by Danish bioscience firm Chr. Hansen which achieved a major sustainability nod this week. Its CEO Mauricio Graber believes that “the food ingredients sector can be a real game-changer in creating a more sustainable future.” He speaks with FoodIngredientsFirst about how this is a pivotal moment for the sector which plays a vital role in shaping a sustainable world. 

“As a sector, we have a massive reach by nature and given the fact we need to feed a growing population we must bring smarter and more sustainable solutions to the market,” Graber says after Chr. Hansen finished top of the Corporate Knights’ Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World Index. 

“We need to help food manufacturers produce more with less while looking out for our planet. This is a journey that we must succeed on – the world is at crossroads, so there cannot be a Plan B.” 

Chr. Hansen – which derives more than 80 percent of its revenue developing natural solutions for preserving foods such as yogurt and milk, protects crops using natural bacteria instead of pesticides as well as alternatives to antibiotics for animals – joins a roster of the most sustainable companies in the world, also enjoying their moment in the spotlight during WEC2019. The Global 100 ranks large corporations across the globe on their performance reducing carbon and waste, their gender diversity among leadership, revenues derived from clean products, and overall sustainability. Other companies in the top ten include Kering SA(France), Neste Corporation (Finland), Orsted (Denmark), GlaxoSmithKline plc (UK), Prologis, Inc., (US), Umicore (Belgium), Banco do Brasil S.A. (Brazil) and Shinhan Financial Group Co., (South Korea). 

Graber explains that Chr. Hansen will be launching an internal campaign next week that aims to engage employees even more in the company’s sustainability journey. 

“We want all our employees from production to sales to finance to grow an even stronger sustainability mindset, so that we keep anchoring this agenda across all decision making in the company and in our commercialization of new innovations,” he tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“We welcome initiatives that strengthen the trend towards a greener economy. Chr. Hansen is continuously working to reduce its own emissions and develop products that can help the food industry become more efficient and sustainable, using good natural solutions,” he adds.

“We believe that good bacteria is going to play a vital part in the future. The potential of good bacteria is huge and we are still learning every day. But already now we have great products on the market that enable food to stay fresh for longer and that can lower the use of antibiotics and chemical pesticides in the agricultural sector – and in an all-natural way. We are entering what we consider to be the ‘era of good bacteria’.”

The Forum’s commitment to sustainability
The heads and members of over 100 governments, top executives of the 1,000 foremost global companies, leaders of international organizations, the most prominent cultural, societal and thought leaders and the disruptive voices of the Forum’s Young Global Leaders, Global Shapers and Technology Pioneers come together at the beginning of each year to define priorities and shape global, industry and regional agendas.

The theme of this year's meeting is Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In short, how do we make globalization work for everyone, not just the few? Until Friday delegates in Davos will discuss some of the biggest risks to the global economy in 2019. 

DSM: A key partner at the Sustainable Development Goals Tent
This year, Royal DSM is one of the key partners in the newly founded SDG Tent, where leaders of business, academia and civil society are gathering to jointly advance delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This is a place to put the Davos conversation into the context of on-the-ground reality faced by leaders and spark real-world impact, says the Dutch multinational. The tent encourages open debate around the role of business in helping to achieve more sustainable and inclusive development.

Yesterday, DSM organized a session that explored the role of purpose in creating sustainable markets and meeting the SDGs and today the company is also hosting – alongside the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Rabobank and IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative. This session will see corporate leaders, governments, NGOs and multilaterals engage in action-oriented dialogue focusing on Africa and feeding into the Tokyo 2020 Global Nutrition Summit. It will also focus on catalyzing business to make local food and nutrition systems deliver growth, income generation, job creation and health system development.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, André van der Elsen, a DSM spokesperson, explains the company’s ambitious targets for sustainability performance of all its operations, outlines some current sustainability initiatives and stresses the important role the food ingredients sector plays on the sustainability front.

“We believe that the food ingredients industry has an essential role to fulfill in enabling our customers to make healthier and more sustainable consumer products. We see that increasing numbers of food and beverage companies are committed to reduce their environmental footprints and minimize resource use. Consequently, they are engaging with us more than ever before about how our solutions can help,” van der Elsen says. 

One theme that cuts to the heart of this across the industry is increasing the overall efficiency of the food chain, he notes. How can we work together to boost throughput, lower energy use and cut carbon emissions per unit of product? This is something that all segments are working on. Van der Elsen notes brewing as an example. “Using our enzymatic solutions for beer stabilization can cut the duration of the energy-intensive chilling step. Another aspect that needs urgently tackling is the fact that one-third of all food gets lost or wasted. This also accounts for about 8 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss,” he explains. 

DSM has set ambitious targets for sustainability performance across its operations, which includes food ingredients and vitamin production sites. As of 2018, 100 percent of its operations in the Netherlands are powered by renewable energy and earlier this month DSM opened its new 66-acre solar field in Belvedere, New Jersey, now the second-largest solar field in the state.

“Our aim is to source 75 percent of our total energy from renewable sources by 2030. In addition, we want to achieve a 30 percent reduction in GHGs by the same year, and a 1 percent improvement on energy efficiency year-over-year. At DSM, using an internal carbon price incorporates the cost of GHG emissions decision-making processes requiring significant capital expenditure.”

“In the current period of the first implementation, €50 per ton CO2 equivalents is applied. The number of companies that are applying an internal carbon price is growing. It serves as a useful model for redirecting and scaling up investments towards low-carbon technologies, driving operational efficiencies, especially in markets with a carbon price or in regions where a carbon price is expected to emerge,” notes van der Elsen. 

DSM is also continuing to make substantial investments to help reduce the environmental impact of vitamin production at its Jiangshan site in China and at its Dalry site in Scotland. As part of its sustainability efforts, the company recently upgraded its Jiangshan plant to improve product quality, worker safety and reduce its carbon footprint even further. 

“This commitment goes beyond legislative requirements to set new sustainability standards – allowing brands to make eco-friendly positioning claims. DSM is also moving to a natural gas-fired plant following a strategic agreement on steam and electricity supply, as part of the Jiangsu province’s aim of reducing the number of coal-based power plants to meet 2020 targets,” he continues.

Outside of China, DSM’s dalry plant in Scotland is the only site to produce vitamin C in the Western world. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the production facilities are widely recognized as leading the way in global vitamin C sustainability, further demonstrating DSM’s commitment to environmental and health stewardship across its network. The Dalry plant won the CEFIC European Responsible Care Award in 2015. 

Novozymes: “Sustainability has been an integrated part of business strategy for years”
As the world's largest provider of enzyme and microbial technologies, Novozymes' bioinnovation enables higher agricultural yields, low-temperature washing, energy-efficient production, renewable fuel and many other benefits that the world relies on today and in the future. Sustainability has been an integrated part of Novozymes' business strategy for many years, Rasmus von Gottberg, Vice President, Food & Beverages at Novozymes tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “We have solutions that address many of the challenges that the world is facing; climate change, food and water scarcity.”

“Fighting food waste is a priority in order to feed a growing world population. Bread is one example of food waste that could often be avoided and Novozymes enzymes make bread stay fresh for longer. That is beneficial for the environment, manufacturers and consumers,” he explains. 

“Novozymes’ enzymes also improve the quality of food and enable more efficient use of local raw materials, such as beer from cassava or sorghum. Our enzymes help brewers make more consistent products with local raw materials. This cuts down on transport and helps local farmers,” he adds.

Diet changes and food production intervention
WEC2019 closely follows last week’s calls for a radical diet and food production intervention to improve health and the planet. Feeding a growing population of 10 billion people by 2050 with a healthy and environmentally friendly diet will be impossible without dramatically transforming the global population’s eating habits, improving food production and reducing food waste, according to a Lancet commission of prominent academics. 

Researchers are calling for a diet that consists of approximately 35 percent of calories as whole grains and tubers, protein sources mainly from plants – but including approximately 14g of red meat per day – and 500g per day of vegetables and fruits. You can read more on this story in our sister publication NutritionInsight.

The report underlines that we need to collectively and decisively rethink the composition of our diets and the way our food is produced. Food production is responsible for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions and is the largest driver of biodiversity loss and freshwater depletion. Meanwhile, more than 821 million people are chronically undernourished and 2.3 billion people are overweight or obese. 

"Green Appeal" was listed as the number 4 trend for 2019 by Innova Market Insights, where the company notes that going green is no longer the reserve of Wall Street – it has moved up the Main Street agenda too, as the sustainability debate intensifies. "The industry is increasingly committing to answering customer expectations, as 2020 targets draw ever closer on the horizon. Consumers have high expectations of corporations and brands to lead the way in helping to secure a sustainable future. Companies are responding more strongly to this than ever before through long-term commitments as well as market actions and innovations across both product and packaging. This includes waste reduction through upcycled ingredients and post-consumer recycling, as well as improved biodegradability," the market researcher points out.

The food ingredients sector urgently needs to be part of a drive towards the sustainability of food systems by ensuring healthy diets for all within planetary boundaries.

By Gaynor Selby