On Tuesday 24th March, Sustainable Foods hosted 'Strategies & Solutions to Decarbonise the F&D Supply Chain', in partnership with Carbon Maps. Speakers included:

  • Nick Brown, ESG Director, Premier Foods
  • Ian Noble, Vice President, R&D, Mondelēz International
  • Patrick Asdaghi, CEO, Carbon Maps
  • Zoe Le Grand, Managing Director, Forum for the Future

Watch the full recording →

 

Key Takeaways

  • Embrace "Good Enough" Data to Start: The pursuit of perfect data should not delay decarbonisation action. Getting 80% of the picture is sufficient to begin prioritising and engaging suppliers on emissions reductions.
  • Break Down Internal Silos Early: Decarbonising scope 3 emissions fails without cross-functional collaboration. Sustainability teams must work with procurement, R&D and IT, at the very beginning of their journey to ensure emissions insights can be integrated intro standard business workflows.
  • Shift from Pilot Schemes to Systemic Change: Decarbonisation strategies must shift from working within one's own supply chain towards industry-wide adoption..
  • Resilience is the Stronger Business Case for Decarbonisation: The language of "carbon reduction" often struggles to gain internal traction, whereas "resilience" resonates more strongly, particularly in today's climate.
  • Technology Enables Decarbonisation at Scale: The complexity of the F&D supply chain requires tech solutions to support carbon reduction strategies.
  • Incentivise Don't Punish Suppliers: More "carrot" and less "big stick" against suppliers who lack carbon accounting practices. Effective decarbonisation is driven by collaboration and financial incentives.
  • Systemic Transition Requires Revaluing Food: Decarbonisation ultimately requires a cultural shift where society values food properly, accounting for the true environmental cost of food production.