Corporate Profiles - 2024 - 46

GRAIN-BASED FOODS
Sustainability
A
Companies sharpen green practices in response to consumers
s consumers keep pressure on the consumer packaged goods
(CPG) industry to adopt more sustainable practices, CPG companies
are responding. Advantages can include elevating a company's
profile, enhancing market share and boosting the bottom line.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) data from 2022 show about 80%
of consumers from the United States and seven other countries consider
sustainability when making purchasing decisions. The trend is affecting
what they buy and the price they pay.
" Companies struggle to link sustainability to broader drivers of consumer
choice, remove barriers to sustainable product adoption and build
trust through their sustainability messaging, but for those who get it
right there's a clear opportunity for growth, " said Lauren Taylor, BCG
managing director and global Customer-Centric Sustainability leader.
New York University's Stern Center for Sustainable Business said
sales of products marketed as sustainable increased 2.7 times faster
between 2015 and 2021 than products conventionally marketed.
In 2023, the center's researchers partnered with nine brands, including
Mars' Dove chocolate and Unilever's Hellmann's mayonnaise,
ketchup and other condiments, and found simple, jargon-free sustainability
messages were the most appealing to a wide range of consumers.
However, the researchers noted category claims such as " tastes great "
were even more attractive to consumers than sustainability claims.
Survey results published in April 2023 by the Kearney management
consulting firm demonstrate the importance of sustainability to
consumers. Forty-two percent of the 1,000 respondents said they " always
or nearly always " consider the environment when making buying
HOW IMPORTANT ARE THE FOLLOWING PRIORITIES TO YOUR BUSINESS
SUCCESS DURING THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?
(Percent of respondents who selected '4' or '5' on a 5-point scale
where 5 = 'extremely important')
Wholesale
baking
Streamlining/improving operations
Increased market share
Highly skilled workforce
Improving customer service
New product innovation
Supply chain integration
with suppliers and customers
Corporate/company environmental
(policies, guidelines and practices)
Corporate/company social
(policies, guidelines and practices)
Corporate/company governance
(policies, guidelines and practices)
90%
90%
84%
84%
81%
79%
78%
78%
69%
Ingredient
manufacturing
83%
79%
83%
77%
84%
87%
77%
64%
70%
decisions, up 18 percentage points compared to 2022.
Consumers also are instituting more sustainable practices in their
daily lives, according to Mintel's " Global Outlook on Sustainability: A
Consumer Study 2024-25. " The most popular sustainable behavior, reported
by 62% of 10,000 internet users from 10 leading economies
(including the United States) in June 2024, was recycled packaging
either at home or in-store.
Other popular sustainable behaviors the study revealed were reducing
the energy used in cooking (33% of respondents), buying a product
as a refill (33%), buying products certified as less harmful to the environment
(22%) and buying products certified to protect/pay fair wages
to workers (18%).
Proactive consumers and CPG companies are integral to achieving
sustainability targets, Mintel's study said, citing the UN's Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change by noting household consumption accounts
for 60% to 70% of global emissions.
Given sustainability trends, recycled packaging launches have become
more common, along with the use of upcycled and more traceable
ingredients, carbon-negative manufacturing processes and growing
techniques using less land and water.
Sixty-two percent of wholesale bakers and 61% of ingredient suppliers
out of 131 professionals surveyed in the baking industry used
recyclable packaging, compared to 54% of total US manufacturing, according
to 2023 data from Cypress Research Associates.
Kemin Industries has adopted more sustainable methods of growing
rosemary for an extract to extend shelf life in a variety of foods. The Des
DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE SUSTAINABILITY (ESG) PROGRAMMING
TO HELP MANAGE BUSINESS RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES?
Equipment
manufacturing
88%
90%
100%
100%
90%
47%
74%
69%
72%
Source: 2023 Industry Research Findings: Sustainability Commitment in US Wholesale Baking.
Baking & Snack, American Bakers Association, Cypress Research
Ingredient manufacturing
62%
14%10%14%
Baking manufacturing/
processing
43%
33%
9%15%
Equipment manufacturing
Program in place
47%
24%
24%
Considering - next 24 months
Currently under delveopment
No plans
6%
46 \ October 2024
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Corporate Profiles
INDUSTRY REVIEW: sustainability
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Corporate Profiles - 2024

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