3 ways food and beverage companies can lead on sustainability

我们少数人对我们的食物来自哪里，如何种植或提出，以及它如何从农场或现场到我们的桌子。我们很少考虑，例如，在干旱的加利福尼亚植物中养殖水的水量，the impacts of access to water on corn production, the carbon emissions generated by flying our grapes in from Chile and our sole from Dover, or the far-reaching environmental impacts of fertilizers and pesticides.

在全球范围内，农业占所有耗水量的70％，肥料，粪肥和农药的杂散是水污染的主要来源。农业也占全球森林砍伐的75％，占全球全球温室气体排放量的17％。

This means that the food and beverage sector faces enormous financial and operational risks and challenges as the need for action on climate change, water scarcity and other sustainability issues becomes more urgent. As global warming reshapes precipitation patterns and alters ecosystems worldwide, the global food production system will be forced to reckon with unprecedented and often unpredictable shifts in growing seasons, grazing patterns and the availability of water.

The sector faces other vulnerabilities, too: Human and labor rights risks abound in an industry that traditionally has relied on low-cost labor in both direct operations and throughout the supply chain.

生存的食物，食品行业的生存

为了成功在温暖和日益资源受到限制的世界中，食品和饮料部门的公司需要将可持续发展作为核心公司价值和塑造长期战略业务决策相应。竞彩足球app怎么下载整合可持续性原则不仅仅是竞彩足球app怎么下载企业社会和环境责任的问题;这是一个不断变化的世界的生存战略。

A recent study by Ceres and Sustainalytics,Gaining Ground, indicates that some companies already understand this and are working to integrate sustainability into their business strategies. Far too many, however, are still at the starting gate. The report — which evaluates how well or poorly the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. are preparing to meet the sustainability challenges of the 21st century — examines24 food and beverage companiesranging fromCampbell Soup CompanytoConAgra FoodstoPepsiCo.

A promising trend is that more companies in the food and beverage sector are starting to prioritize sustainability in at least some aspects of their business. For example, more than half of the food and beverage companies assessed have put responsibility for sustainability strategy and implementation in the executive suite or with an executive level committee, signaling that they take sustainability seriously.

Surprises about ESG, energy and supply chain

Another encouraging sign is the number of companies engaging with stakeholders on environmental, social and governance issues. Three-quarters are making an effort at ESG, a marked increase since 2012. This, too, signals more companies ramping up commitments to operate sustainably and understanding that sustainability risks are business risks.

The food and beverage sector is also demonstrating leadership in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in operations. Nearly 80 percent of those we studied have GHG reduction targets and programs in place to meet them. Paradoxically, and for reasons that are not clear, only 25 percent of these companies are using renewable energy sources as a method for meeting these GHG reduction goals.

尽管食品和饮料行业取得了进展，但它在一个关键领域下降：sustainable sourcing其供应链中的成分。气候变化及其对水的影响，已经对农业供应链具有深远的影响，而工人和人权问题则突出，即时担忧需要采取行动。要获得正确的赛道，食品和饮料公司应该做这三件事：

1.Build a robust risk assessment process. Set measurable, time-bound goals and targets to source key agricultural inputs sustainably and outline clear timelines and targets for progress.

2.Improve public disclosure aboutagriculture sourcing.When companies publicly disclose information about their performance, whatever the subject matter, they tend to improve that performance.

3.制定明确的计划和激励措施for farmers and agricultural producers to implement sustainable practices at the field level and to measure improvement.

Some companies are beginning to make progress. General Mills, for example, has sustainable sourcing commitments for its 10 priority ingredients, and outlines a four-step sustainable sourcing model that lays out a path for achieving these goals. PepsiCo, through the Sustainable Farming Initiative, sets out a framework to measure the environmental and local economic impacts associated with its agricultural supply chain and develop plans to improve performance in key crops.

没有经济更容易受到climate change, water scarcity and other sustainability challenges than the food and beverage sector. How these companies respond to these challenges will have major consequences for the billions of people who depend on them, and for the future of the global economy.

Top image of grocery store by06photo通过shutterstock。