Food Industry
Sustainability Index
Food Industry
Sustainability Index
The sustainability index is a useful tool for decision makers in the food industry to understand the gaps in their sustainability journey and the steps they need to take to close those gaps. A measurable index for monitoring sustainability profile for the food industry is very important to recognising the effort of organisations making an active effort to become more sustainable.
Over 1.9 billion people are obese/over weight, 900 million people hungry and 1 in 5 death linked to malnutrition.
On the other hand, at 1.3 billion tonnes per year, if food waste were a country, it would be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gas following USA and China. The potential greenhouse gas emission is over 3.3 Gtonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent while the economic loss due to food waste is over £800 billion.
These statistics highlight the unsustainable state of the food system. As we approach 2030, meeting the UN SDG will need a more proactive approach to tackling the inherent sustainability challenges in the food system.
This will require a multi-faceted approach of which Food system sustainability profiling/benchmarking is one of them.
Benchmarks and index rankings can raise awareness of sustainability factors, while also helping to guide banks, investors and those in the supply chain to engage with food systems that will not damage the planet.
At IntelliDigest, we focus on 6 key pillars for establishing the sustainability index for businesses in the food system- Purpose, People, Peace, Partnership, Planet and Profitability.
The 6 key pillars
Purpose
Setting a clear purpose for your company is the first step towards good governance needed to make responsible decisions for becoming a sustainable business. It is important for companies to communicate their purpose to employees, clients, and shareholders to invoke responsibility needed to promote sustainability in all areas of the company.
People
At IntelliDigest we believe people are the biggest asset of a business. Businesses are responsible for providing human rights within the business and where human rights are impacted by operations, products and any decisions made by the business. A living wage, health and safety, equity and cultural diversity are few examples of the elements we consider crucial for businesses to report on their progress towards social sustainability in their business.
Partnership
To build a sustainable and peaceful future, it is imperative for businesses, charities and society to partner together. Transparency in the business and communication of the company’s efforts to promote sustainability are important to build beneficial relationships with stakeholders to achieve the common goal of a sustainable future.
Peace
Our world is powered by businesses. Every decision, operation, product, and service have an impact on the society and environment around us. Therefore, it is essential for businesses to closely monitor their impacts on the environment and communities they operate in. As such, businesses should use their power of influence to actively engage with the public to promote peace and sustainable development in the society.
Planet
The pressing global climate crisis caused by anthropogenic activities calls for immediate action by industries to reduce their environmental impact and take steps to become sustainable. Steps such as reduction of GHG emissions, use of non-benign feedstock, a circular product design, using renewable energy and carbon offsetting could help reduce the environmental impact of businesses. Good corporate responsibility is the need of the hour to slow down climate change and environmental degradation.
Prosperity
Sustainability in the social and environmental domains is supported by a functional economy and prosperity. For businesses to be economically resilient, they need to be generating a profit, designing a circular business model, remunerating workers and be capable of paying all its debts. Furthermore, contingencies and buffer mechanism to cope with changes such as economic loss and natural disasters are crucial for economic resilience.
Through our approach, there is no room for green or sustainability washing, it is either you are a sustainable food business, or you are not.
Our focus is not to blocklist businesses but to help them to establish that next step to becoming a sustainable business and supporting them to deliver on those targets through research, technology innovations and capacity building.
By developing an app that is very interactive and focused on the key sectors in the food system – producers (farmers), distributors, processors/manufacturers, and retailers; we will endeavour to make the process of establishing sustainability profile for the business easy and beneficial for every stakeholder in the food system.
Benefits
A measurable index for monitoring sustainability profile for the food industry is very important:
- In recognising the active efforts by stakeholders in the food system to become more sustainable.
- For decision makers in the food industry to understand the gaps in their sustainability journey and the steps they need to take to close those gaps.
- In providing Insights into target market for sustainability driven business in the food system..
- In providing Insights into target market for sustainability driven business in the food system.
- For delivering new capabilities such as impact evaluation too
- For delivering new capabilities such as impact evaluation tool
- For improved decision-making
