This document summarizes a webinar presentation about using a sustainability sourcing guide for grocery category managers. It discusses key sustainability issues like carbon footprint, water footprint, and waste reduction. It presents a 5-step decision framework: 1) know priorities, 2) communicate needs, 3) acquire supplier information, 4) evaluate information, and 5) make purchasing decisions considering sustainability as one factor. The webinar emphasizes verifying vague sustainability claims to avoid "greenwashing" and provides resources to help category managers make more informed sustainable sourcing choices.
Using the FMI Guide to Make Sustainable Sourcing Decisions
1. Sustainable Sourcing for Category Managers: Using the FMI Guide Five Winds International & Ecos US October 29, 2010
2. Webinar Logistics Welcome! All attendees are muted Interactive polls Q&A – write your questions in chat box and we will answer them at the end
3. Acknowledgements Produced “by the industry for the industry” Thank you to: United Soybean Board FMI Sustainability Executive Committee and Council Specifically those that helped to launch the development of the guide: Suzanne Forbes (Wakefern), Harriet Hentges (Ahold USA), Tom McIntyre (Supervalu), Karen Meleta (Wakefern), Tracy Taylor (Ahold USA) and Jeanne von Zastrow (FMI) All those who participated in our Guide survey and submitted additional comments
4. Background on Guide & Presentation This presentation accompanies the document: Sustainability on the Shelves A Sourcing Guide for Category Managers and Buyers Please customize the Guide and these slides for your own use
5. Agenda Learning Objectives What is Sustainability? Sustainable Sourcing Decision Framework for Grocery Take-Home Messages Questions
6. Learning Objectives Provide good working understanding of sustainability in the food retail sector Identify key sustainability issues specific to each product category Possess questions and tools to help understand and verify sustainability claims, recognize “greenwashing”, and select more sustainable products
7. What is Sustainability? Sustainability “Business practices and strategies that promote the long term well-being of the environment, society, and the bottom line” - FMI
8. Sustainability in Your Company Poll: Who is in charge of sustainability in your company? 8
13. Is Sustainability a Strategic Business Issue? 300% Growth of U.S. sales of “ethical” cleaning products in 2009. Packaged Research 35% Percent of U.S. consumers that said they would pay more for environmentally-friendly products. Mintel Oxygen Reports, Mar 2010 $73M Additional profit generated by Marks and Spencer’s Plan A sustainability strategy in 2009. M&S 2010 Progress Report 10
15. How do these terms relate to sustainability? recyclable less toxics organic local eco-labelled less packaging BPA-free recycled content packaging fair trade durable use less resources
17. Step 1: Know Your Priorities What are your company’s priorities? Sustainable sourcing strategy Company sustainability priorities Product priorities
18. Poll: What sustainability issues are your customers asking about? (select all that apply) Step 1: What are your customers’ priorities?
20. Carbon Footprint A carbon footprint includes all greenhouse gases emitted by a product’s production, transportation, consumption, and end of life. Final carbon footprint calculation for a standard bag of Walkers Crisps is 80g CO2 which compares to 243g CO2 for an average cheeseburger See Guide, page 22 Sources: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator and http://www.walkerscarbonfootprint.co.uk/walkers_carbon_footprint.html and http://openthefuture.com/cheeseburger_CF.html
21. Water Footprint 53 gallons! See Guide, page 22 Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/13/1-latte-53-gallons-of-wat_n_166759.html
22. Waste Footprint Every year, the US generates around 14 million tons of food waste, equivalent to 106 pounds of food waste per person See Guide, page 23 Source: http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/solidwasterecyclingfacts.htm
23. Packaging Almost 1/3 of the waste generated in the U.S. is packaging See Guide, page 24 Source: http://www.cleanair.org/Waste/wasteFacts.html
24. Organic, Local, and Bioengineering Consumer demand? Sustainability science? See Guide, page 25 Source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es702969f
26. Sourcing is the Hot Spot for Grocery Agriculture uses 50% of the Earth's habitable land 70% increase in food production needed
27.
28.
29. Step 3: Acquire Information You’ve started the conversation, now begin to acquire information on company and product sustainability See page 21 of Guide for General Questions to ask your suppliers http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/03/11/how-to-embed-sustainability-into- company-dna#ixzz10qIvI7SA It is no longer enough for companies to have special projects or initiatives. Comprehensive sustainability strategies are expected. Mindy S. Lubber, Ceres President
30.
31. Possible starting points:Review and compare to information in Guide & “For More Information” links Compare information with your company priorities identified in Step 1 Talk to your sustainability team Talk to other category managers
33. Eco-Labels: One tool in your toolkit Learn more about the eco-labels for your category SOURCES: World Resources Institute, Big Room Inc. | Bonnie Berkiwitz and Laura Stanton/The Washington Post - May 3, 2010
34. Greenwashing Poll: If you think you’ve seen greenwashing, what about it made you question the claim? No data/proof provided Vague or undefined terms used Claim seemed too good to be true Hidden trade-offs may exist Other
38. Environmentally-friendlySin of the Hidden Trade-Off Sin of No Proof Sin of Vagueness Sin of Irrelevance Sin of Fibbing Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils Sin of Worshiping False Labels For more information, see Guide pages 27-28 (Used with Permission)
44. Q&A Thank you for your attention and participation today!
45. Coming soon via Survey Monkey Did this webinar: Provide you with a good working understanding of sustainability in the food retail sector? Identify key sustainability issues specific to your product category? Possess questions and tools to help understand and verify sustainability claims, recognize “greenwashing”, and select more sustainable products?
46. Living Our Values Five Winds is a Carbon Neutral Company and follows a Sustainable Purchasing Policy
Hinweis der Redaktion
There are many aspects of products to be considered in sustainability – one of many thingsAttributes of sustainable products include:Promotes the responsible use and conservation of land, fuels and electricity;Is certified to third-party standards or ecolabels for sustainability attributes;Reduces waste and makes efficient use of resources (energy and water especially);Was sourced, grown, or made using fair labor standards;Reduces polluting by-products or safety hazards during manufacture, use and disposal;Packaging or product can be recycled; andPackaging or product contains recycled materials.
Carbon footprintWater footprintWaste footprintPackagingCurrent agriculture trends (locally sourced, organic and use of biotechnology)
Agricultural land occupies 50% of the Earth's habitable land (World Wildlife Fund)Globally, the agricultural sector consumes about 69% of the planet's fresh water-more than twice that of industry (23%) and dwarfing municipal uses (8%) (World Wildlife Fund)World food production will have to increase 70% to meet the needs of the 2.3 billion people that are expected to inhabit the planet and increasing demand of higher incomes. (FAO)
Tell your suppliers about your interest in sourcing products that address:the sustainability attributes of your product category andyour company’s sustainability prioritiesMode of communication: individual phone calls or emails, a webinar, or mass messages sent to all your suppliersDepends on how many suppliers you would like to contact
What makes a “good” ecolabel?Ecolabeling organization itself is credible, with appropriate management practicesMarket recognitionGood performance standardAddresses important sustainability hot spotsDeveloped in a transparent process with participation of all relevant stakeholdersPublically available