Synthesis Agri-Food Insights
February, 2010 Volume 2, Issue 2
Helping you understand agri-food's challenges and
opportunities by analyzing the issues and sharing their insights - the Synthesis consulting team Rob Hannam, Mary Lou McCutcheon, Julien DenTandt, and Peter Hannam.
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Finding value in carbon footprints and environmental labelling
The Vancouver 2010 Olympics have been touted as the most
"green" games ever; in fact, they are the first Olympic Games ever to actively
develop a carbon management program to reduce and offset its emissions. This
includes using "clean" hydroelectric power, clustering event venues to lessen
travel, re-using heat energy from ice refrigeration to heat other buildings and
collecting rainwater.
In Sweden, a fast-food chain has added environmental
labeling to its food products. Max Burger is displaying the carbon footprint of
all of the food items on its menu, a move that is reported to be going over
well with consumers in the environmentally-conscious Scandinavian nation.
This growing desire for "greening" our lifestyles can
present opportunities for the agri-food industry and its time to take advantage
of those possibilities, says Rob Hannam, President of Synthesis Agri-Food
Consulting.
"Consumers are increasingly starting to care about
sustainability and although it may require a bit of a shift in thinking on the
part of our sector, I definitely see this as a trend that is going to keep
growing," says Hannam. "Our planet is a non-renewable resource and we all have
a role to play in nurturing and protecting it."
A recent Farm Credit Canada report looks at green economics
- integrating environmental considerations and consumer needs into business
models - and different ways agriculture and agri-business can find value in
going green.
It is important, according to the report, to put a value to
green initiatives for your business by re-thinking inputs (water, energy,
feedstocks/ingredients), operations (design, marketing, transportation) and
outputs (products, services, emissions, packaging, waste).
Water, for example, is one of the most-used resources in
agri-food and as droughts and water shortages are increasingly starting to pose
problems, recycling and conservation is becoming a necessity.
Biomass - like re-using food or farm waste products or growing
plants like miscanthus specifically for energy- can be an alternate source of
energy. Transportation opportunities for improvement include local supply
chains or environmentally friendly options like hybrid vehicles.
New technologies are being invented constantly with a view
to lessening environmental impacts, and green chemistry - replacing harmful
substances used in manufacturing processes with ones derived from renewable
resources - is providing alternatives in plastics, crop protection and
pharmaceuticals.
But despite the many possibilities and opportunities, Hannam
has a caution for anyone seeking to build and promote a business on environmental
labeling.
"Consumers are becoming skeptical of empty promises of
environmental friendliness," he says. "If you're going to make claims of
environmental responsibility, you better be able to back them up if you want
your brand and your reputation to stand for something and to be valued by your
customers."
Insights - so what
does this mean?
It's a growing trend
- Consumers are starting to look for eco-friendly alternatives in many aspects
of their daily lives as their environmental awareness increases. Being a leader
in this area and telling the world about it can help attract and keep
customers.
Adopt a green approach
- Going green may require a change in the way we look at our farm and food businesses.
Some changes will be obvious, like re-using waste products or recycling water, because
they save or make money. Other changes may require up-front investment so we
need to re-think how we do business. Organizations should embrace "green" or
"sustainability" as a part of their culture similar to the way a manufacturing
operation embraces safety as a part of their culture.
It's the right thing
to do - Transitioning to greener practices may mean incurring additional upfront
costs and while that investment does not come with a guarantee of increased
profitability, it is the right thing to do. Being environmentally conscious is
part of our larger societal responsibility to ourselves and future
generations.
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Sincerely,
The Synthesis Agri-Food Consulting Team
"Our Passion is Problem Solving"
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