Transforming the food system: dsm-firmenich unravels sustainability impact of new partnership

09 Nov 2023 --- After dsm-firmenich recently announced a partnership with Sustained to drive consumer transparency with a combined farm-to-fork ecological footprint tool, Food Ingredients First sits down with the company to discuss the goal and potential impact of the new collaboration. 

The company joined up with Sustained, a sustainability company providing software services, to support consumer demand for transparent and reliable sustainability data across the value chain by making the environmental footprint of food products containing animal proteins, such as eggs, meat, milk and fish, accessible to consumers. 

“The potential positive and meaningful impact across the food chain is enormous,” says David Nickell, VP of Sustainability & Business Solutions at dsm-firmenich, Animal Nutrition & Health. 

He details that the primary goal of the new agreement is to “support the farm and food industry to achieve a genuine transformation in the sustainability of our food system.”

“As reliable, credible data is shared along the value chain, consumers will better understand the environmental credentials of the production and the food they consume, all of which are necessary to achieve climate targets and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” 

Life Cycle Assessments 
The partnership between dsm-firmenich and Sustained enables farmers, processors, food manufacturers and retail brand owners to oversee and communicate the sustainability of their food production effectively. 

Nickell explains: “This is achieved through dsm-firmenich’s Sustell service to capture emissions data at the farm level and the Sustained platform to conduct comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for consumer food products on a large scale.” 

“Until recently, conducting a comprehensive LCA for farm and food products was a costly and labor-intensive process that often stretched the resources of companies dealing with hundreds or even thousands of product variations.” 

He adds that the collaboration simplifies data management across the entire food supply chain, making it more accessible and manageable on a large scale. 

The partnership’s goal is to achieve a genuine transformation in the sustainability of the food system, focusing on animal protein.Data fragmentation 
Currently, conventional solutions are limited in providing an accurate, credible environmental analysis of a product at scale, comments Nickell.

“This is due to data often being fragmented with much of the analysis being too high-level or based on average historical data, meaning it’s hard to pinpoint where meaningful change can be made.” 

Nickell explains that the partnership between dsm-firmenich and Sustained will use a ground-up approach for the product-level LCAs. 

“The Sustell platform captures detailed animal protein LCA impacts at the farm level, using accurate feed and farm data. This data is then relayed to the Sustained platform as a critical input for the final LCA analysis of the food product at the SKU level.”

Combining the platforms will enable companies to continually measure and evaluate the value chain impacts of each product, details Nickel. Information on these impacts is based on “specific farming conditions and food manufacturing processes, thereby delivering credible, accurate environmental footprints of food products.” 

Empowering producers 
It all starts with the consumer, asserts Nickell, as 70% of consumers consider sustainability a primary driver in purchasing decisions. 

“This is creating a pressing need for transparent and reliable data on sustainability across the entire value chain,” he says.

“The partnership enables fully transparent eco-labeling of products for consumers to make informed decisions on each purchase. Importantly, it now allows retailers and farmers to work in tandem to set achievable reduction targets, guide new product development and work toward evolving regulations.”

Last month, a study published by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology indicated that most European citizens would welcome an international eco-label on food products to support them in making sustainable purchasing decisions. 

Nickell adds that the platform will empower producers and retailers to drive more sustainable food production through an evergreen analysis based on actual production data. 

“This ‘race to the top’ on sustainability creates a ‘win, win’ across the value chain,” he concludes. “Consumers can make more informed purchasing decisions, companies can meet their regulatory reporting requirements and farmers can improve their operations and unlock additional value while becoming more sustainable.” 

By Jolanda van Hal