Keeping plant pests out by profiling geographical areas at risk
When new plant pests like insects, fungi, bacteria and viruses arrive in Europe they threaten our local plants and our biodiversity. Climate suitability analysis is a tool to assess the likelihood of this happening to help decision-makers keep them out. How does it work?
Global distribution of pests
We collect data on the global geographical distribution of specific pests and their biology, including the effects of climatic actors such as temperature, humidity and precipitation.
Data analysis
We analyse the data collected using mathematical models and climate indicators. These help to assess whether there are areas with climates suitable for the development of plant pests.
Risk assessment
The analysis is used to assess the likelihood of pests establishing and thriving in particular areas, taking into account both climatic suitability and the presence of host plants. The results help to determine where the pest could have an impact and where pest management efforts should be focused.
As part of its work on plant health, EFSA carries out pest categorisation and risk assessment, evaluates climate and habitat suitability, develops surveillance tools, and performs other technical tasks to support the European Commission, the European Parliament, and EU Member States.
(Photo: EFSA)
SIG announces the launch of the uniquely different on-the-go carton bottle SIG DomeMini. The small-size carton pack offers all the convenience of a plastic bottle and the sustainability benefits of a carton pack.
Designed to captivate attention, SIG DomeMini encourages consumers to rethink their packaging choices, especially when it comes to sustainability. Beverage manufacturers also have the opportunity to choose a solution that puts significantly less plastic on the market and caters to the growing “paperisation” trend.
Designed for recycling, SIG DomeMini is mainly made from FSC™-certified paperboard and produced using 100 % renewable electricity. With the high share of forest-based renewable material as well as a sophisticated resource-efficient and space-saving design, SIG DomeMini comes with a number of environmental benefits compared to alternative packaging options like plastic bottles.
SIG DomeMini offers excellent ergonomic benefits to various consumers, such as travellers and commuters. The centrally positioned SIG DomeMiniCap is perfect for drinking just like from a bottle. It is easy to open and reclose. This ensures safe storage in bags, ready to drink from whenever needed.
The SIG DomeMini 12 Aseptic filling machine is capable of aseptically filling 12,000 packages per hour – in a total of seven volume sizes from 180 to 350 ml on one and the same machine with volume change in just 15 minutes. This maximises efficiency and flexibility, providing an excellent return on investment for beverage manufacturers.
The first market launch of SIG DomeMini is in China, with expansion to other countries on the way.
Global packaging company Elopak has been awarded an A+ score for excellent Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting by sustainability consultancy Position Green. This places Elopak in the top 5 % of companies assessed.
Position Green’s ESG100 analysis examines the degree to which the corporate ESG reporting of the 100 largest listed companies in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway provides valuable financial and non-financial information for decision makers.
This year’s ESG100 report marks the sixth edition and presents an analysis and review of how prepared the 300 participating companies are for the introduction of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which are due to take effect on 1 January 2024.
“We are incredibly proud to have been awarded an A+ grade. However, reporting is not the only part of the picture, we must also deliver on our goals, which is what we are working on going forward”, said Marianne Groven, Director of Sustainability at Elopak.
A+ is the highest grade the ESG100 assigns, meaning that Elopak ranks among the top 5 % of companies in Norway, Sweden and Denmark for its ESG reporting. Elopak was ranked fifth in Norway, which was also the country with the largest share of companies with an A+ ESG grade.
Groven added, “Elopak has been reporting on sustainability results for 15 years and we are extremely proud of the progress we have made. Our commitment to sustainability reflects the values of our customers and ultimately consumers so it makes sense that we are as transparent and accurate as possible.”
In 2022, Elopak became one of the first companies to set out targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to become a net zero company by 2050. The company is also a participant member of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact as part of its efforts to advance sustainability and work collaboratively to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The full ESG100 report can be downloaded from Position Green here .
Elopak has unveiled a new film examining the role of beverage cartons in providing a more sustainable future for the packaging industry. The film has been made for Elopak as part of a series presented by FoodDrinkEurope and produced by BBC Storyworks Commercial Productions called Food for Thought. The series highlights sustainable innovations in the food and drink industry that offer fresh solutions to feed the next generation.
(Photo: Elopak)
Elopak’s film examines how cartons can provide a natural and sustainable alternative to plastic bottles. It spotlights one of the company’s most popular innovations, the Pure-Pak® carton made with Natural Brown Board. These cartons are manufactured with unbleached paper fibres, leading to a reduced carbon footprint since unbleached fibres are stronger and so less material is needed to produce the paper board.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) studies have repeatedly demonstrated Elopak cartons’ environmental benefits when compared to other types of packaging for liquid food1. For example, an LCA study in 2021 showed that cartons have a 60 % smaller carbon footprint than a PET bottle. This figure increases to 73 % for beverage cartons made with Natural Brown Board2.
The film showcases Elopak’s commitment to leading the plastic to carton conversion, offering consumers a natural alternative to plastic packaging that aims to leave the product unchanged and the planet unharmed.
Speaking in the film, Håvard Grande Urhamar, Senior Manager Board Development at Elopak said: “If you do something you should do it right and we know our product is the most sustainable option compared to plastic.”
The mini documentary also features Elopak’s customer Rørosmeieriet, a renowned organic dairy in Norway that offers high quality, sustainably sourced traditional products. Rørosmeieriet was the first Norwegian Elopak customer to choose Pure-Pak® cartons made with Natural Brown Board, making them an ideal collaborator for the mini-documentary.
Trond Wilhelm Lund, CEO of Rørosmeieriet, says that his company and Elopak have a shared vision for sustainability. “We want to develop Rørosmeieriet every day in harmony with nature… So when Elopak wants to take steps in the right direction, Rørosmeieriet wants to be a part of that,” he explains in a piece to camera.
GEA will invest around EUR 50 million in the modernization of its German centrifuge production facilities in Oelde (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Niederahr (Rhineland-Palatinate) by the end of 2024. The engineering group made the announcement at a press conference marking the 130th anniversary of GEA separation technology at its Oelde site. By investing in sustainable production, digitalisation and automation, GEA is targeting further growth in its key markets, which include the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries.
GEA centrifuges are used in more than 3,500 different processes in a wide range of industries. Growth drivers include applications for alternative protein production and global demand for dairy products. The investment package for the centrifuge plants is based on four pillars: sustainability, digitalisation, automation and modern manufacturing technologies.
Climate-friendly production through the use of renewable energy
Already today all GEA production sites are powered by green electricity. In the long term the electricity supply for GEA’s sites will come from local renewable energy sources. At the Oelde facility, several large-scale photovoltaic systems will cover about one-tenth of the site’s electricity requirements, including the provision of electromobility. An in-house combined heat and power plant already generates around 30 percent of the electricity required. Since waste heat is also used, 94 percent of the primary energy utilised is recycled. Process heat generation, which is important for production, will also be converted to alternatives such as electric steam generation, which will enable the Oelde and Niederahr sites to operate without gas in the near future.
Tetra Pak® has been named as a European Climate Leader 2023 by the Financial Times, in recognition of the company’s progress in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its robust commitments to climate action.
Of the thousands assessed by the Financial Times and Statista, only the leading 500 companies with the greatest reduction in their GHG emissions intensity made it to the final list.
Each company in the list has been assigned an individual score, which is calculated using information on the company’s volume of emissions, level of disclosure on these emissions and its reduction of emissions as a percentage.
Tetra Pak was ranked amongst the top 20 % of the 500 companies listed, achieving a 54.3 % absolute reduction of the Scope 1 and 2 emissions over a five-year period1. The ranking also recognises Tetra Pak’s efforts across the value chain (Scope 3), highlighting ist regular inclusion amongst CDP A-listed businesses and its net-zero targets as approved by Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) along a 1.5° pathway.
1CDP data 2016-2021
The leading global trade fair for food and beverages taps into the extensive know-how of Europe’s leading initiative for food innovations
EIT Food, the world’s largest and most dynamic initiative for food innovations is the new partner of Anuga. In line with the key theme of Anuga, “Sustainable Growth”, the aim of the long-term, strategic partnership is to promote the dialogue and the interdisciplinary cooperation to achieve a sustainable food system. Together the leading global trade fair for food and beverages and EIT Food will create a platform for innovative ideas and new sustainable developments in the food industry. To this end, they are bringing the most important players from the industry and fields of politics and business together at Anuga in Cologne from 7 to 11 October 2023.
“We are delighted to have the experts of EIT Food and its network on board in the scope of this new, strategic partnership. New ways towards an improved, global food system will be highlighted in the course of different event formats and subsequently there will be an opportunity to engage in a direct exchange with an international trade audience and the trade media,” explained Bastian Mingers, Vice President Food.
Dr. Andy Zynga, CEO of EIT Food, adds: “EIT Food is very pleased to work more closely with Anuga, in addition to the partnership with Anuga HORIZON. The goal of the food community is clear: only together will we build an innovative and resilient food system, which is integral in driving greater food security and a healthier planet. This requires new ideas, solutions and collaboration within the industry, for which Anuga offers a fantastic opportunity.”
The key contents of the partnership are among others:
a professional exchange and knowledge transfer
the joint development of the conference and event programme of Anuga with panel discussions, workshops and speakers
joint press events in the run-up to and during Anuga
LRQA, a leading global assurance partner, has warned that food and beverage organisations must not lose focus on their sustainability targets amid claims of ‘greenhushing’ expected to rise this year.
Greenhushing is the term given to organisations who are hesitant to share progress on sustainability goals to avoid external scrutiny. It is expected to rise up the agenda for some organisations, as scrutiny increases on sustainability statements.
For example, it was recently reported that the EU plans to crack down on inflated claims around products’ environmental credentials through the introduction of ‘proportionate’ penalties. With accusations of greenwashing being likely to increase as punishments are formalised, LRQA is encouraging organisations to relieve any concerns about sharing updates by adopting independent verification to inform progress against sustainability goals.
Heather Moore (Photo: LRQA)
Heather Moore, Technical Director for Sustainability at LRQA, said: “While greenhushing may seem like a viable option to avoid any potential external scrutiny, it could have a detrimental impact on our collective progress towards a more sustainable future. Organisations have a big role to play in achieving global sustainability targets. As such, they need to feel confident when speaking about progress, so they can share their wins and losses and learn from each other. Third party verification is one way to regain confidence when communicating progress, as it helps to prove the improvements being made.”
According to LRQA, the role of independent verification and certification frameworks will be key to demonstrate more transparent and accurate sustainability commitments, in turn reducing the risk of being criticised for a lack of progress or misrepresenting data. ISO 14064, for instance, is a standard for greenhouse gas accounting and verification for organisations looking to quantify and reduce emissions, helping companies hit projected greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Together with verification from independent third parties, following such standards can help ease the pressure facing organisations and avoid the need to adopt greenhushing processes, as Heather Moore explains: “Greenhushing may be on the agenda for some organisations this year, but it could have a detrimental impact on long-term global sustainability targets. The best way to safeguard sustainability objectives is through independent third-party verification, as it ensures that companies can accurately keep on track to meet their goals. That way, organisations can be safe in the knowledge they are on the best path to success, creating greater transparency and trust with key stakeholders throughout.”
GNT has published externally verified data showing it reduced the average carbon footprint of its plant-based EXBERRY® Colouring Foods by 19 % in the first year of its sustainability plan. The company becomes the first colouring foods supplier to issue a Greenhouse Gas Verification Statement as it aims to become the leader in its field on sustainability.
The statement details GNT’s carbon footprint from 2019 to 2021. The auditor SGS verified the emissions data according to the internationally recognised ISO14064 standard, which includes emissions from carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide across six different reporting categories. As a result, the company can now provide comprehensive, benchmarked information on EXBERRY® Colouring Foods’ organisational footprint to customers.
In 2022, GNT announced that it plans to achieve a total of 17 sustainability targets over the course of the decade. These include cutting the environmental footprint for EXBERRY® product ranges by 25 % between 2020 and 2030 as well as reducing its factories’ CO2-equivalent emissions by at least 50 %. The new figures show the company is making significant progress toward those aims. Production volumes saw a double-digit increase between 2020 and 2021, but GNT’s overall carbon footprint remained flat. This meant the average footprint per kilogram of EXBERRY® Colouring Foods decreased by nearly a fifth over the course of the year.
Rutger de Kort, Sustainability Manager at GNT Group, said: “We’re committed to setting new standards on sustainability and the Greenhouse Gas Verification Statement highlights the work we’ve done so far. This external verification for our emissions data enables us to build trust and communicate our efforts in a truly transparent manner.”
The Greenhouse Gas Verification Statement shows GNT’s total carbon footprint dropped by 3,427 metric tons to 38,656 between 2019 and 2021. This is largely due to the use of green electricity at its production sites, which represents an important step in its efforts to reduce CO2-equivalent emissions at its factories by 50 %. The biggest contributors to GNT’s carbon footprint are direct emissions from natural gas and indirect emissions related to the purchase of heat and steam. Emissions related to purchased goods – such as raw materials, ingredients, and packaging – and waste streams are also important factors.
Rutger de Kort added: “The move to green electricity has delivered major improvements, but we need to go further to achieve our goals. Our main focus now is trying to end our reliance on gas to generate heat and steam. We’re already working on ways to electrify the process, including the use of industrial heat pumps and other new technologies, such as filtration. We’re also using the new data to identify further possibilities to cut our carbon footprint in areas including transportation and purchased goods.”
Suitable for almost any food and drink application, EXBERRY® Colouring Foods are made from non-GMO fruits, vegetables, and plants using physical processing methods. The crops are grown by farmers working as part of GNT’s vertical supply chain using sustainable methods.
Oterra, one of the the world’s leading suppliers of natural colours with one of the widest portfolios in the industry announced the addition of Vera Karmebäck to the team as its first Global Sustainability Lead.
Karmebäck enhances the international profile of the company, having been named a UN Global Compact SDG Pioneer in 2022. Vera, recognised for her strong work in having ‘demonstrated extraordinary progress and commitment towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’, comes from RA International – a remote site service provider.
Sustainability is a key focus area for Oterra in 2023, as the company looks to step out of the shadows of its previous parent company Chr. Hansen, and strongly solidify its own world contributions. For Oterra CEO, Odd Erik Hansen, the company’s mission of ‘making food and beverage easy for a healthy and sustainable world’ resonates with industry aspirations.
“Our employees and customers expect us to be the industry leader when it comes to sustainability – and as a natural colours company that believes nature got it right – it makes perfect sense that we lead the colour industry in finding the best ways to adopt sustainable practices for the future,” said Hansen.
Oterra is a key supplier of natural colours to most of the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers.
Sponsored Post – VOG Products, the South Tyrol fruit-processing company, has integrated sustainability into its corporate strategy. Priorities, measures and objectives are set out in the sustainability report , which has now been presented for the first time.
Sustainability has been firmly embedded in the DNA of VOG Products since it was founded in 1967. “Our founders’ desire and goal was to give every apple a value – regardless of whether it was too small, too big or didn’t have enough colour – according to the principle: every apple is a good apple,” said Christoph Tappeiner, CEO of VOG Products.
click picture to download the sustainability report
For VOG Products, sustainability is comprehensive: it includes social, ecological and economic aspects. VOG Products’ sustainability strategy is based on six key themes: water, energy and climate protection, health and occupational safety, regional added value, healthy products and innovation. The management and the 210 employees are working hard at every level to achieve their ambitious goals.
These range from a reduction in energy and water consumption to the improvement in the carbon footprint, a safe working environment (goal: zero serious accidents in the workplace) and added value that benefits the members who leave the raw materials to the company. The sustainability report provides information about the strategic approach, measures implemented and planned and the goals being pursued. The report (entitled: “Sustainability is part of our DNA”) has been prepared according to the GRI Standard (Global Reporting Initiative) and refers to the financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Measures for greater sustainability
Probably the key environmental measure implemented in the 2022/23 financial year is the exhaust vapour compression project: the existing evaporation system, which is used in the production of concentrates, will be expanded to include mechanical exhaust vapour compression. The compressed exhaust vapour will in future be reused over several stages to evaporate the remaining water in the juice. In addition to saving steam, the performance required of the cooling tower is also reduced, as are CO2 emissions.
The cooling water has already been optimised: VOG Products has calculated a savings potential of 700,000 cubic metres by using water twice as cooling and transport water.
The producer organisation’s corporate carbon footprint has been calculated since 2020/21. A key partial goal has already been achieved in the past financial year: VOG Products has achieved CO2 neutrality for Scope 2 since green energy solely from hydropower is being purchased in the electricity sector. Efforts to reduce CO2 emissions are aimed at reducing energy consumption in the gas sector and expanding the company’s own photovoltaic system.
EcoVadis, the world’s most reliable provider of sustainability assessments for global supply chains, recently recognised VOG Products’ continuous efforts by awarding them a silver medal.
Sponsored Post – VOG Products attaches the utmost importance to sustainability, quality and product safety along the entire supply and production chain. This is also evidenced by the EcoVadis silver medal and SGF membership.
The sustainable and careful use of resources runs through the entire production process at VOG Products – from field to processing, particularly since the South Tyrol fruit processing company is closely linked through its members to regional farming, which is based on a long tradition of growing fruit.
Christoph Tappeiner (Photo: VOG Products)
“We know where the raw materials come from and which production steps they have gone through. This traceability to the source and comprehensive quality controls along the entire production line are key prerequisites for creating safe, sustainable, high-quality products”, Christoph Tappeiner, CEO of VOG Products, emphasises.
VOG Products belongs to three producers’ organisations from South Tyrol and Trentino, plus 18 cooperatives from South Tyrol. The membership comprises around 6,000 small, family-run operations: fruit-growers who tend their orchards with passion and devotion.
The entire supply chain is involved
Sustainability is firmly embedded in VOG Products’ strategy and is actively implemented throughout the production process. This was also recently confirmed by EcoVadis, the world’s most reliable provider of sustainability ratings for global supply chains, which rewarded the efforts of VOG Products with a silver medal. The silver status means that VOG Products is among the top 25 per cent of all companies rated. The EcoVadis rating looks at environmental aspects, as well as employment and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.
Criteria that also play an essential role for VOG Products as an SGF-certified member. “SGF” stands for the fruit juice industry’s “Sure – Global – Fair” industrial self-regulation, which has established in this a voluntary control system (VCS) for all the production and trading stages of its products. In other words, the quality, safety, authenticity and sustainability of juices, fruit nectars, and other products made from fruit are controlled on the global market and action is taken against food fraud. This is how SGF guarantees fair competition and compliance with legal and industrial quality and safety standards.
The control system includes factory inspections as well as checks on semi-finished and finished products throughout the entire supply chain. Specifically, this means that the suppliers are also included. They are subject to checks on hygiene, traceability and documentation, for instance, and they adopt the Code of Conduct, which regulates environmental and social aspects.
VOG Products are represented on the SGF Executive Committee by their CEO, Christoph Tappeiner.
This juice industry report is a first edition of many more to follow, monitoring the progress made and to enhance easy access to successful ways of working.
In this document, members of the IFU and Sustainability Working Group have provided examples of how they see any or all of these areas are addressed. It is essentially a collection of the practical inroads which companies and regions are making in moving towards the fulfilment of the aspirations of sustainability of our industry.
Nektium is taking steps to secure the long-term sustainability of its Rhodiolife® Rhodiola rosea extract by switching a significant proportion of its raw material sourcing to cultivated plants. The move – an industry first on such a large commercial scale – will reduce reliance on under-pressure wild-grown supplies.
Rhodiola rosea is one of the most powerful adaptogens found in nature, offering a range of cognitive and sports nutrition benefits. It grows wild in the remote Altai mountains in south and central Asia at the intersection of Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China. The rapidly growing market for adaptogens has increased demand for Rhodiola rosea roots, leading to concerns about over-harvesting.
In response, Nektium has worked with its long-standing local partner to establish fields that offer conditions optimal for the controlled growing of Rhodiola rosea. Together, they have converted barren land in undeveloped, unpopulated locations, ensuring minimal impact on communities close by. After a successful trial, initial exploratory fields were extended to provide full-scale sustainable cultivation sufficient to satisfy market demand at an industrial level.
The plant material used to grow Nektium’s cultivated Rhodiola rosea for Rhodiolife® was originally taken from wild-harvested Siberian plants growing near where the fields have been established. This means there are no physical or phytochemical differences between Rhodiolife® produced from wild-harvested roots and that produced from cultivated raw materials.
Debbie Thoma, Marketing Manager at Nektium, said: “As a responsible supplier of botanical ingredients, we are acutely aware of the importance of conservation, and this initiative will help to secure a sustainable and reliable source of Rhodiola rosea roots for years to come. In addition, cultivation in a controlled setting results in a more predictable and secure long-term raw material supply, which leads to improved price stability, superior safety, and more effective quality control. It also offers greater peace-of-mind around authenticity, which is especially significant in an age of widespread adulteration.”
Rhodiola rosea’s adaptogenic activity is usually attributed to four principal compounds – salidroside, rosin, rosavin, and rosarin – all found at high concentrations in the roots. Nektium’s Rhodiolife® standardised Rhodiola rosea ingredient was launched 25 years ago, since when it has earned a reputation as a high-quality and effective botanical extract. It is also available certified drug-free for athletes by the third-party Banned Substances Control Group.
Firmenich, one of the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance and taste companies, released its annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, tracking progress toward the group’s groundbreaking sustainability targets. Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 was marked by strong sustainability performance across the Group’s three key pillars, climate, nature, and people, backed by growing, best-in-class independent evaluation and reinforced ESG governance.
FY2022 ESG Performance Highlights
Acting on Climate Change: Firmenich was one of only two companies to receive a fourth consecutive CDP Triple A rating for climate, water, and forests. Three manufacturing sites, in Norway, Singapore and South Africa, were carbon neutral in FY22, all operating without the use of offsets. Firmenich maintained decoupling of growth in manufacturing output from its CO2 emissions: in FY22, Scope 1 and 2 emissions were reduced by 36.1 % vs. 2017, and the new ingredients sites reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 12.2 % vs. 2020. The Group maintained 100 % Renewable Electricity in its operations including in new acquisitions1. Firmenich aims to reach carbon neutrality in its direct operations by 2025, absolute carbon emissions reduction by 2030 in line with limiting temperature rise to 1.5˚C, as well as net-zero emissions by 2039 across its direct operations and value chain (Scopes 1, 2, and 3). Its net-zero targets were validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in August 2022, making Firmenich the first company in its industry to receive SBTi approval.
Embracing Nature: Building on UEBT validation of the Group’s biodiversity strategy, work began on restoration at 15 % of Firmenich sites with biodiversity risk, in line with Science-Based Targets for Nature. Implementation of 100 % verified Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) was increased. Firmenich continued to expand the proportion of ultimately or partially biodegradable ingredients in its fragrances to 96.6 % on average, having surpassed its 95 % target a year earlier. Firmenich reinforced green proteins in product development, enabling customers to accelerate the plant-based food revolution and contribute to climate change mitigation.
Caring about People: Building on gender pay equity and its work to strengthen inclusion, Firmenich achieved Living Wage certification by Fairwage Network in 2022 ahead of the Group’s 2025 target, a key step to ensure decent living standards for all employees and their families. The Group advanced its high global health and safety standards with an improved 0.26 Total Recordable Case (TRC) rate, and a third consecutive Gold Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Firmenich continued to maintain zero human rights non-compliance and scaled up its effort to drive concerted business action by becoming United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Impact Sponsor for Labor and Decent Work.
Overall, Firmenich achieved an upgraded rating from Sustainalytics with a score of 7.5, in the global top 50 of approximately 15,000 companies, that highlights the Group’s low ESG risk profile. A second consecutive Platinum rating by Ecovadis with an industry-leading score of 88 % placed Firmenich in the top 1 % of all companies assessed worldwide. The Group was also rated for the first time as one of the “2022 World’s Most Ethical Companies” by Ethisphere®, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.
Firmenich continued to work actively in alliances and partnerships, including the UN Global Compact, the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT), One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B), and the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), to drive positive change at scale and foster effective action on climate, nature, and people in the business community.
1Firmenich moved to majority ownership of ArtSci in May 2022. This entity is not included in the scope of the report and will be integrated gradually in the Group’s ESG framework in FY2023.
Sponsored Post – Sustainability is firmly embedded in the strategy of VOG Products. The prestigious EcoVadis award, the world’s most reliable provider of sustainability ratings for global supply chains, has confirmed the company’s active effort in the entire production process, rewarding it with a silver medal a few weeks ago.
Christoph Tappeiner (Photo: VOG Products)
“We are proud and happy to have received this honour, which is an important signal to our customers and consumers: we offer safe, sustainable and high-quality products,” said Christoph Tappeiner, the CEO of VOG Products. The silver status means that VOG Products is among the top 25 per cent of all companies rated. The EcoVadis rating looks at environmental aspects, as well as employment and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.
Two years ago, VOG Products passed the «GLOBAL G.A.P. Farm Sustainability Assessment» with the FSA Gold label and since then, has systematically taken next steps. For example, it invested in the continuous development of its own photovoltaic system and now obtains 100 per cent of its power from renewable energy. “We calculated our corporate carbon footprint and verify it every year. By doing so, we can systematically implement measures to increase energy efficiency and further lower our CO2 emissions,” said CEO Tappeiner.
From the field to processing: saving water at all levels
Water is a special focus of VOG Products: with the “Cooling water optimisation” project, the company saved as much water in 2022 as 15,000 people consume in one year – by using the same water twice as cooling water and as transport water.
Water is not only saved on the company grounds in Laives, but also along the VOG Products supply chain: infact, the Laimburg Research Centre collaborated with the Alto Adige Consultancy Centre to develop “Smart Land”, a system that uses high-quality sensor technology to measure soil moisture in the field and connect it to current weather and temperature data. The data are then transmitted via app in real time to farmers, who use it for the needs-orientated watering of the fruit orchards. With “Smart Land”, water savings of up to 50 per cent can be achieved.
Consumer fears over climate change have escalated around the globe over the last year. According to new research from the 2022 Mintel Consulting Sustainability Barometer, the number of global consumers citing climate change as a top three environmental concern has risen from an average of 39 % to 46 % between 2021-22*.
In addition to climate change, concern over water shortages (up from 27 % in 2021 to 31 % in 2022) and food shortages (up from 17 % to 23 %) have made the most significant gains in terms of environmental priorities in the past 12 months as extreme weather events and the conflict in Ukraine make these troubling realities more commonplace.
Climate change remains the world’s highest environmental priority with nearly half (46 %) of consumers globally citing it among their top three concerns. Air quality (eg exhaust fumes, industrial emissions) (36 %) and plastic pollution (eg ocean plastic) (33 %) complete the world’s top three environmental concerns; however, concerns about plastic pollution are down slightly from 36 % in 2021.
Growing awareness is evident as just under three in five (58 %) consumers globally agree that extreme weather events (eg flooding, heatwaves) in the country where they live encourage them to personally do more activities to protect the environment. And it seems helping the planet brings with it a feel-good factor as an overwhelming 68 % of consumers globally say doing things that benefit the environment makes them feel happy. While 38 % say they want to show other people how they are doing good for the environment (eg by sharing on social media). A further 24 % say they have researched their annual carbon footprint (eg with an online calculator or app).
While environmental priorities have shifted in the last year, consumers’ sustainable behaviours remain focused on simplicity and frugality: recycling packaging (59 % in 2022 v 60 % in 2021), meal planning to avoid food waste (53 % in 2022 v 52 % in 2021) and reducing clothes buying (50 % in 2022 v 52 % in 2021) remain the top global sustainable behaviours 2022-2021. Furthermore, global consumers’ optimism has stalled with 55 % believing that if we act now, we still have time to save the planet, compared to 54 % who said the same last year.
The second annual Mintel Consulting Sustainability Barometer features research and insight on consumers’ sustainability attitudes, behaviours and purchase preferences across 16 countries*. It offers recommendations for companies and brands based on best-in-class innovations, communications and campaigns.
Richard Cope, Senior Trends Consultant, Mintel Consulting, said: “The fact that concerns around climate change and water and food shortages are being prioritised ahead of previous preoccupations with waste and plastic pollution points towards the emergence of a more informed and hardened global consumer. Soaring temperatures, extreme weather events and disruptions to food, water and energy supply chains have given consumers a harsh reality check, hurting their health and wallets, and activating them in the process.
“In the meantime, escalating activism, regulatory reaction and the sheer scale of the challenges ahead and solutions required have educated global consumers enough to sniff out greenwashing campaigns and there’s no going back from that. This means companies will increasingly need to assert—and clearly communicate—the truly impactful actions they are taking to reduce emissions, rather than simply offset them or dip their toes into populist ‘plastic free’ campaigns. This growing awareness around resource inputs and emission and waste outputs will also spell the end for ‘environmentally friendly’ as a credible marketing term.
“Our research shows that the majority of consumers continue to see recycling and mitigating waste as important sustainable behaviours. This tells us that simple, frugal behaviours are the most popular among consumers which underlines the fact that brands’ sustainability initiatives need to deliver on value and convenience. Looking ahead to 2023, expect to see resource (food, water, money) conservation ascend further up the agenda and the use of economising technology refurbishers and urban peer access sharing economies to grow. For consumers, the connections between saving the environment, its resources and their money will strengthen.”
*1,000 internet users aged 16/18+ across 16 countries were surveyed in April 2022: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, UK, US; 500 internet users aged 16/18+ across 16 countries were surveyed in March 2021 with Indonesia and Mexico replaced by Poland and Ireland.
100 % grape must suppliers for entire MARTINI portfolio certified sustainable
After decades spent pioneering sustainable practices, MARTINI, the world’s number one Italian sparkling wine and vermouth from family-owned Bacardi, has reached a sustainability milestone – 100 % of the wineries for the entire MARTINI portfolio are now certified sustainable.
Every drop of grape juice used in the production of MARTINI vermouth and sparkling wines, including MARTINI Fiero and the new MARTINI Non-Alcoholic Aperitivo range, is now sourced from wineries certified according to the standard set by Equalitas, the most comprehensive sustainability standard in Italian wine making.
With the sugarcane for BACARDÍ® rum and the 10 botanicals for BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® already 100 % sustainable sourced, this news is another major step towards Bacardi achieving its 2025 goal of sourcing 100 % of its key ingredients from sustainably certified suppliers.
Established 160 years ago next year, MARTINI has long pioneered doing the right thing for the environment. In 1987, L’Osservatorio MARTINI – the MARTINI Observatory – was established in Northern Italy as a center dedicated to promoting sustainable farming methods, first for its wines and, more recently, the many botanical ingredients used to craft its iconic vermouths and non-alcoholic aperitivo range.
About Equalitas Equalitas is an Italian-born sustainability initiative promoted by Federdoc. Federdoc is the Italian Confederation of Voluntary Consortia for the Protection of the Designations of the Italian Wines. In 2015, Federdoc began several initiatives in the Italian wine value chain including the promotion of one main, certifiable, sustainability standard for companies in the wine sector. Equalitas is a so called “standard owner”, and it has issued the SOPD Equalitas standard, a set of good practice requirements and sustainability indicators. Through an audit made by third party Certification Bodies, wineries can certify against SOPD Equalitas.
As the first company in the industry, Symrise is sourcing Hibiscus verified at Gold level of SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA). Symrise has committed itself to promoting sustainable agricultural practices in multiple crops and regions, including in its hibiscus supply chain. Its focus lies on working conditions and the sustainable use of water and soil. This brings the company one step closer to achieving its goal of sourcing all strategic biological raw materials sustainably by 2025.
The SAI verification audit took place in December 2021. Now, Symrise can offer the first sustainable hibiscus in the industry. This represents an important milestone in the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices. The plant grows in arid regions and its cultivation requires extensive manual labour. Both the harvest and the separation of seed from calyx for the plant’s reproduction happen by hand.
Symrise sources its hibiscus from the Egyptian region of Aswan. The company has been working with its well-established local partner El Mahaba for over 25 years. Thanks to this long-term cooperation, Symrise has gained direct access to the raw material’s source and can make use of the established practices. It can also identify opportunities that help secure sustainable supply chains. The use of a modern extraction process for the raw material results in an enormous reduction in water consumption and simultaneously increases the yield of the rich hibiscus colour.
Program supports farmers in the region
Symrise wants to use the program to address the needs of the next generation of hibiscus farmers by further advancing its holistic and collaborative approach. The company is involving more farmers in its program and is networking more closely with its customers, thereby increasing the positive effects that the partners can achieve together. “Our collaboration with El Mahaba and the local farmers supports those directly involved and the entire region. In addition, the sustainable cultivation of hibiscus that we promote conserves resources and thus contributes to climate protection,” says Laurence Briand, Sustainable Development Manager at Symrise.
Verified hibiscus promotes the quality of many products such as cosmetics and beverages
To fulfill the criteria for verification and maintain them continuously, independent third parties audit the farms every three years. They ask the farmers and operating groups to evaluate and grade their social, environmental, economic, and general management practices.
With the sustainable cultivation of hibiscus, Symrise is continuing to pursue its goal of sourcing 100 percent of its strategic biological raw materials sustainably by 2025. As part of this goal, the company wants to generate added value along the entire supply chain and expand the portfolio of sustainable raw materials for its customers.
Premium fruit and vegetable ingredient supplier SVZ announced a strategic investment for its Belgian processing plant in Rijkevorsel. The latest in a series of global growth and sustainability-focused investments, SVZ seeks to expand the facility’s capacity to meet rising consumer demand for fruit and vegetable ingredients – while also boosting its sustainability credentials.
Growing capacity
Demand for naturally healthy, nutritious ingredients is growing as consumers become more aware of the impact what they consume has on their wellbeing. To fulfil this need, SVZ is investing in the capacity and processing technology required to process larger quantities of fruit and vegetable ingredients on-site without compromising on quality. A new pasteuriser in the plant, for example, will allow its Belgium facility to boost its puree production significantly.
This investment follows similar expansions across SVZ’s global processing plants, as the business meets this heightened demand for fruit and vegetable ingredients. In Poland, for example, the Tomaszów facility’s concentrate line has been bolstered, while SVZ’s US-based plant has not only boosted its puree line but is also investing in new automation technology to streamline the production process even further.
Sustainability first
SVZ’s investment in the Rijkevorsel plant also supports the business’ sustainability efforts – and progress towards its 100 % sustainable sourcing goal. The Belgium facility has seen a massive reduction in CO2 emissions over the last two years – and this new effort will aim to build on this by further decreasing heat consumption and exploring new ways of reusing expended energy within the facility. Indeed, the new pasteuriser will reduce emissions by 19 % – a crucial step in SVZ’s journey to low carbon production.
This new investment also contributes to SVZ’s broader mission of boosting the sustainability credentials of all global processing sites. SVZ’s Spain-based plant in Almonte, for example, has been recently fitted with solar panels, and a new cold storage facility has also been constructed to reduce reliance on third party-storage and transportation. Meanwhile, SVZ’s US processing plant has focused recent investment on water treatment, so water can be cleaned and reused.
Growing better, together
“SVZ has its sights set firmly on the future,” says Pieter Spanjers, CEO at SVZ. “This new investment increases our Rijkevorsel plant’s processing capacity and capabilities to ensure future growth. We are working on an agreement that will significantly increase our sourcing capacity, and we need a facility that allows us to efficiently absorb those heightened volumes, as well as serve our customers while keeping the highest standards of quality.
“We’re passionate about creating a healthier, greener planet and we want to do our part in ensuring it for all generations. This investment will enable us to continue our mission effectively and support our customers in creating tomorrow’s food and beverage products.”
EXBERRY® colouring foods supplier GNT has published a major new report that sets out its plans to become the leader in its field on sustainability.
Each year, GNT produces more than 11,500 metric tons of EXBERRY® concentrates from edible fruit, vegetables, and plants – enough to colour over 40 billion servings of food and drink.
To ensure the company is fit for the future, it has unveiled a sustainability roadmap for 2030 to optimize its environmental and social impacts across its global operations. The full plans feature in GNT’s new ‘Sustainability Report 2021,’ which also includes detailed information on its performance last year.
Frederik Hoeck, Managing Director at GNT Group B.V., said: “Since GNT was founded in 1978, we’ve been revolutionising the food colouring industry with our plant-based EXBERRY® solutions. Today, we’re known for offering the most natural solutions on the market. We now want to take this to the next level and lead the industry in sustainability too. As a family business, sustainability and caring for future generations have always been part of our DNA.”
GNT’s sustainability strategy is built around four key pillars: better products, better operations, better agriculture, and better for people. It features a total of 17 targets for 2030, including cutting the Product Environmental Footprint for EXBERRY® product ranges by 25 % and reducing the intensity of factories’ CO2-equivalent emissions by at least 50 %.
Furthermore, due to GNT’s strong vertical integration, the company will soon be in a position to report on greenhouse gas emissions for 80 % of EXBERRY® products. Covering scopes 1, 2 and 3, this data will provide important advantages for food and beverage brands as it will enable them to calculate final products’ total environmental footprint.
Rutger de Kort, Sustainability Manager at GNT Group B.V., said: “We’re positioning our EXBERRY® brand as the most sustainable food colouring solution on the market. GNT is committed to driving industry standards higher than ever before by providing colours that deliver on cost-in-use, performance, naturalness, and sustainability. Achieving our goals won’t be easy, but we’re already making excellent progress across multiple areas.”
Top 4 megatrends shaping global beverages in the year ahead
TREATT take a look at the top 4 megatrends set to shape the future of the beverage industry, sharing the latest global data and insights.
For each megatrend TREATT get closer to the key drivers affecting consumer behaviour, what this means for beverages across the world and helps to answer your questions around consumer trends.
The megatrends are:
1. Health and wellbeing
Health and wellbeing has morphed from a trend to a way of life but remains a key motivator of consumer behaviour globally. From the silent generation to Gen Z, all are embracing both a preventative and curative approach to health in a holistic and more personalised way than ever before. Across the CPG landscape TREATT is witnessing a rapid evolution of this megatrend.
2. Sustainability and ethics
The health of the planet is now the top consumer concern. There is a mounting awareness and concern surrounding the scale, complexity, and interdependence of shared social and environmental challenges globally. As the pandemic continues to highlight global inequalities, sustainability and ethical consumption concerns will only increase in significance and further impact consumer purchasing behaviours.
3. Sensory and indulgence
Consumers are seeking enjoyment beyond tangible products themselves. They are becoming more “experience-driven” and are willing to pay more for an enhanced brand experience. It is therefore becoming increasingly important for brands to perform at an experiential level, and offer varied, novel, and complex sensations for optimal enjoyment.
4. Digital lifestyles
Shopping and consumption patterns continue to evolve at a rapid pace in our digital world. In a hyper-connected, technology-enabled society, consumers seamlessly integrate the use of multiple technologies into their lives an d buying behaviour.
Elopak, a leading global supplier of carton packaging and filling equipment, has been awarded a platinum rating for its sustainability performance by EcoVadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. This achievement places Elopak in the top 1 % of companies evaluated across all industries.
EcoVadis is a trusted sustainability ratings provider, with a global network of more than 75,000 rated companies. They assess sustainability performance; how well a company has integrated the principles of CSR into their business and management system. The methodology covers 21 criteria across four themes of environment, labour & human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. It is built on international sustainability standards, such as the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, and the ISO 26000.
Carbon neutral since 2016, Elopak was one of the first companies to sign up to the Science Based Targets initiative to keep global average temperature rise below 1.5 °C in 2019. In line with this commitment, Elopak has pledged a 55 % reduction in internal GHG emissions by 2030 and a 16 % reduction in emissions across the value chain by 2030 from a 2017 baseline. In 2021, Elopak joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact as a participant in recognition of its commitment to advancing sustainability and working collaboratively in pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
innocent, manufacturer of healthy drinks, opens its own factory, the blender, for the first time since it was founded in 1999. After a trial period, the first juices and smoothies roll off the conveyor belt last week. The production has a total capacity of up to 300 million litres per year for the whole of Europe.
innocent was the first customer to choose Rotterdam Food Hub as its location, because its products and ingredients have to travel much shorter distances here, reducing its logistics chain by 20 %. The blender is a completely carbon neutral electric drinks factory, in which everything revolves around sustainability. The brand new factory will create 200 new jobs for Rotterdam and the surrounding area.
The blender: carbon neutral and sustainable
One of the ways in which innocent achieves its sustainability ambition is by generating energy from wind turbines and solar panels. The heat from the factory is also reused. The blender is not only carbon neutral, but also sustainable because it uses significantly less water and produces less waste. As part of the cooperation between the 500 B Corps that share the same sustainable ambition, a commitment was made in 2019 to be fully carbon neutral by 2030, 20 years earlier than agreed in the Paris Climate Agreement.
However, innocent harbours the ambition to achieve carbon neutral operations by 2025 through compensation projects. In order to operate completely carbon neutral, innocent has entered into a partnership with Rotterdam-based Zero Emission Transport Company BREYTNER and joint venture partner HN Post & Zonen. They supply a complete fleet of electric 50-tonne trucks for transporting the orange juice by tank. With this step, innocent lays the foundation for completely zero-emission transport in the future. In addition, the smoothie and juice producer hopes to inspire other companies to adopt sustainable, emission-free transport.
innocent opts for the Port of Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam was the best choice for innocent, as it ensures that the distances for delivery of raw materials and distribution of the smoothies and juices are much shorter than elsewhere. “innocent’s supply chain largely comes together in Rotterdam; the juice and other ingredients arrive in containers at the Port of Rotterdam.
“The construction of our own factory in Rotterdam Food Hub will shorten innocent’s supply chain by 20%. It doesn’t stop there. From the drawing board to production, the blender was designed with sustainability in mind. This holistic approach and use of the latest technology makes Blender a factory that is better for people, planet and business.” says Andy Joynson, site director innocent.
Emile Hoogsteden, Commercial Director, Port of Rotterdam Authority: “We are proud to welcome innocent as the first customer of the Rotterdam Food Hub. The arrival of the sustainable blender factory is a great fit with the Food Hub’s concept of accommodating various fresh and frozen food flows. In addition, innocent’s sustainability ambitions are perfectly in line with those of the Port of Rotterdam.”
Rotterdam Food Hub
With the realisation of the Rotterdam Food Hub, the Port of Rotterdam Authority aims to further expand its position as the largest West European transit port for products in the agriculture and horticulture sectors. The business park, located on the Calandkanaal at the entrance to the Maasvlakte, occupies about 60 hectares and has been specially designed to optimally facilitate companies in the agrifood sector.
The agrifood sector involves handling perishable goods and speed is crucial. This is why the Food Hub occupies a central location. The large deep-sea container terminals are just a stone’s throw away, as are Cool Port and the cold storage warehouses on the Maasvlakte and in Eemhaven. The proximity of Greenports such as Barendrecht, Ridderkerk and Westland also make this an ideal location. Another advantage is that various facilities can be shared at the Rotterdam Food Hub site. It means that quays and facilities related to transport, storage, access control and customs, among others, can be shared efficiently.
More than half of the Rotterdam Food Hub site has now been released to customers. More companies will follow in the coming years.
Growth market
Agrifood is a growth market due to the increasing population and the rise in prosperity, especially in emerging economies. After the United States, the Netherlands is the world’s largest agricultural exporter. In 2020, trade amounted to almost €96 billion. It has helped make the Port of Rotterdam the market leader in Western Europe with 19 million tonnes of transshipments per year. The creation of the Rotterdam Food Hub responds to the increasing need of businesses in the agrifood segment for locations offering possibilities for short chains.
During Fruit Attraction, SHAFFE organized the seminar “How the sustainable produce sector could look like in 2030”, which was held on October 6, 2021 in a hybrid conference format, where SHAFFE representatives had the opportunity to share some of the learnings and insights from the last 8 months of work, and visions of what the Southern Hemisphere’s sustainability strategy should look like.
“Sustainability is not a foreign issue for Southern Hemisphere fruit exporters. In fact, it is a matter in which each member of SHAFFE is making great and diverse efforts at both production and export levels. Therefore, SHAFFE’s objective is to generate a strategy that not only reflects where the fresh fruit industry of the South is heading, but also the aspects that are important for markets and consumers in these matters”, says Charif Christian Carvajal, SHAFFE President.
Nelly Hajdu, Secretary General SHAFFE stressed the importance of developing a sustainability strategy for the Southern Hemisphere. “Our purpose with task force is to invite all our members to build a White Paper on Sustainability. We are all united by common challenges about it, therefore, the way forward is to face them together, collaboratively and with a common strategy”.
During the task force process the following 10 common Southern Hemisphere Sustainability Challenges have been identified:
Water
Public-Private Partnerships
Biosafety, biodiversity and waste reduction
Communication and education
Complexity and duplication of external sustainability requirement
Carbon emissions and trade
Financing, investment and economic viability
People
Measuring and reporting
Preserving the ecosystem
“We hope to have the White Paper ready within the next few weeks, with practical, real and possible actions to be taken by 2030“, says Carvajal.
The SHAFFE sustainability committee is made up of Marta Bentancur from Uruguay, Paul Hardman from South Africa, Ricardo Adonis from Chile, Jorge Souza from Brazil, Gary Jones from New Zealand and Gabriel Wasserman from Argentina, who will also lead the group.
The conference at Fruit Attraction brought together live and virtual SHAFFE members from Argentina (Alejandro Pannunzio and Gabriel Wasserman) Brazil (Jorge de Souza), Perú (Sergio del Castillo), Uruguay (Marta Bentancur), South Africa (Paul Hardman), Chile (Ricardo Adonis and Charif Christian Carvajal), and New Zeland (Alan Pollard).
GEA Group presented end of September ist „Mission 26“ strategy in London as part of its Capital Markets Day. The plan for the next five years defines seven key levers to accelerate sustainable, profitable growth. The focus is on sustainability, innovation and digital solutions, New Food, as well as excellence initiatives in sales, service and operations. The company is also looking at targeted acquisitions.
“We have set ourselves the goal of being at the forefront of the mechanical and plant engineering industry,” says Stefan Klebert, CEO GEA. “We take it upon ourselves to protect future generations by offering sustainable solutions for the food and pharmaceutical industries. In these attractive markets, we want to continue to grow profitably while contributing to a better world, as anchored in our purpose – engineering for a better world.”
Ambitious financial targets set for 2026
“Mission 26” sets ambitious financial targets for 2026. Organic sales growth of 4.0 to 6.0 percent per year is expected, leading to sales of around EUR 6 billion (FY 2020: EUR 4.635 billion). The EBITDA margin before restructuring expenses is projected to grow to a record level of more than 15 percent (FY 2020: 11.5 %). The Group-wide return on capital employed (ROCE) is anticipated to increase significantly to over 30 percent (FY 2020: 17.1 %).
In the context of further targets, a stable ratio of net working capital to sales of 8.0 to 10.0 percent is expected by 2026. Capital expenditure (CAPEX) is projected to be around EUR 200 million annually until 2026. Overall, this leads to strong free cash flow generation of around EUR 2 billion from 2022 until 2026.
“We are creating significant value for our shareholders through 2026 and beyond,” says Marcus Ketter, CFO. “Our shareholders will participate in this success with sustainable dividend increases.”
Holistic climate and sustainability approach
In June 2021, GEA presented its interim targets for reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions alongside its net zero ambition for 2040. Greenhouse gas emissions in Scopes 1 and 2 are to be reduced by 60 percent and in Scope 3 by 18 percent by 2030 (base year 2019). The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the globally recognized independent body for reviewing climate targets, validated GEA’s CO2 reduction targets in September 2021. SBTi thus confirms that GEA’s interim targets follow the latest climate science and make an effective contribution to achieving the 1.5-degree Celsius target of the Paris Climate Agreement
In addition to the climate targets already communicated, GEA has set ambitious ESG targets. Combined, these measures focus on environmentally sustainable customer solutions and responsible operations. Furthermore, GEA aims to be the employer of choice in the industry.
“Sustainability is firmly anchored in the company’s DNA and is therefore also an essential part of Mission 26,” says Klebert. “With our ambitious approach, we help our customers achieve their own environmental goals. Likewise, we strive for the highest standards in our operations and support our employees in developing their skills. In this way, we live up to our social responsibility and ensure GEA’s lasting success.”
GEA drives product innovation with R&D and digitalization
“Innovation & Digitalization” are also expected to make a significant contribution to realizing the goals of “Mission 26”. Here, GEA aims to increase the proportion of sales of products that are less than five years old – from the current level of 10 percent to about 30 percent. To fuel this development, GEA will increase its research & development spending by approximately 45 percent over the next few years.
In addition to introducing new products, GEA will offer customers more digital solutions to further enhance their processes and GEA machine efficiency. To drive the digital customer journey and the development of digital solutions forward, these competencies haven been combined under the newly created position of Chief Digital Officer (CDO), effective August 1, 2021.
Growth market New Food: GEA with unique position
In the dynamically growing New Food market, GEA will expand its already strong position and become a market leader. Here, the company intends to leverage its strengths in scaling industrial applications and its unique position as a full-line supplier. GEA anticipates order intake for newly developed and existing machines from this segment to exceed EUR 400 million per year by 2026. “Consumer expectations around food are changing. For example, environmental impact and animal welfare are increasingly prioritized, and demand for high-quality, protein-rich foods is growing rapidly. GEA is optimally positioned to meet this demand,” explains Klebert.
GEA has already demonstrated its strength in this dynamic market by winning one of the largest orders in the company’s history: Novozymes, the world’s largest supplier of enzyme and microbial technologies in Denmark, is entrusting GEA with the turnkey fitting of a large-scale plant in the U.S. to produce plant-based proteins.
Excellence initiatives in sales, service and operations
Further growth opportunities for “Mission 26” lie in sales, service, purchasing and production. In GEA’s regions and countries, sales effectiveness and presence will be better exploited by deploying more of the company’s own sales staff in key markets. Sales of new machines are expected to grow by 4.0 to 5.0 percent per year until 2026.
Further growth potential was also identified in the service area, which is a resilient and profitable business for GEA. The aim is to increase coverage and expand the service business with customers by 2026, thereby boosting recurring revenue. This approach is expected to generate annual organic revenue growth of 5.0 to 6.0 percent in the service business until 2026.
The optimization measures announced at the 2019 Capital Markets Day impacting purchasing, production and logistics will be continued. In the process, purchasing activities were bundled in a central purchasing organization, the production network was improved, and greater flexibility was created at sites. The aim is to enable a transition to best-in-class procurement by 2026, further optimize the production network and reduce delivery times to customers.
“Global Operations is undergoing a comprehensive and long-term transformation process,” explains Johannes Giloth, COO GEA: “In addition to cost reductions, this also involves creating structures for further growth. In this way, Global Operations will continue to have a significant positive impact on profitability in the future.” Between 2022 and 2026, further optimizations in purchasing (EUR 90 million) and production (EUR 60 million) are expected to have a total net impact on EBITDA of EUR 150 million.
GEA examines possible acquisitions
Strong cash generation and a solid balance sheet will enable external growth. GEA will therefore examine value-enhancing acquisitions to strengthen its portfolio.
Outlook for business development in 2021 and 2022 confirmed
GEA confirms the guidance for fiscal year 2021 that was raised in July 2021. Organic growth of 5.0 to 7.0 percent is expected for revenue. EBITDA before restructuring expenses at constant exchange rates is anticipated to be in a range between EUR 600 million and EUR 630 million. The outlook for ROCE at constant exchange rates is likely to be in the range between 23 to 26 percent.
At the Capital Markets Day in September 2019, GEA communicated its targets up to 2022. In March 2021, when the annual figures for 2020 were presented, GEA adjusted its medium-term financial targets for 2022 upwards. GEA has confirmed these again. Group revenue is expected to grow by an average of 2.0 to 3.0 percent annually from 2019 until 2022, the EBITDA margin before restructuring expenses is to increase to a target corridor of 12.5 to 13.5 percent (Capital Markets Day 2019: 11.5 to 13.5 percent) and the ratio of net working capital to revenue is to be reduced to the range between 8.0 and 10.0 percent (Capital Markets Day 2019: 12.0 to 14.0 percent).
Sun-Rype Products, a division of A. Lassonde Inc., a Canadian fruit-based food and beverage manufacturer, announced that they have replaced plastic straws with recyclable, bendable paper straws on all SunRype 200 ml single-serve beverage boxes in Canada. This includes all of SunRype’s 200 ml 100 per cent juice, and 200 ml 60 per cent less sugar juice products.
“We are on track to meet our sustainable development objectives by 2025,” said Claire Bara, President, A. Lassonde. “We plan on incorporating recyclable packaging for all of our products, and the launch of paper straws on our single-serve juice products is another step in the right direction. We know that our customers place a lot of importance on finding products that meet today’s environmental challenges, and these SunRype juice containers with new bendable paper straws are now available at Canadian grocery retailers – just in time for back to school lunch boxes.”
All packaging on SunRype’s 200 ml multi-layered Tetra Pak product containers is recyclable. By choosing this package with SunRype’s new paper straws, made from FSC-certified paper, consumers are making the choice of a more sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging option.
“In 2020, Lassonde was the first company in Canada to manufacture and commercialize the 200 ml bendable paper straw under the Kiju organic brand, as well as our water brands Simple Drop and Fruit Drop,” said Bara. “We are pleased to provide our customers with this environmentally responsible paper straw on all 200 ml beverage containers of our iconic brand, SunRype.
The launch of the paper straw follows Lassonde’s recent launch of new bottles containing 25 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic (rPET) for all its juice brands available in 300 ml portion-size packages in Canada.
By 2023, SunRype is aiming for a 25 per cent post-consumer recycled content in its PET bottles; using 100 per cent recyclable packaging for all its products; and working with governments, industry and associations to promote the collection of recyclable materials.
Following PepsiCo’s introduction of Pep+, a policy that aims to improve the company’s agricultural footprint by addressing its packaging processes and greenhouse gas emissions;
Holly Inglis, Beverages Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:
“Pep+ will keep PepsiCo ahead of the competition amid consumers’ ever-increasing demand for sustainability. The policy will be popular with the 70 %* of global consumers that stated they prefer ingredients that are sourced sustainably and ethically.
“GlobalData notes that consumers are yearning for drinks that are both better for them and better for the planet. Therefore, focusing on beverages that are thought of as ‘healthy’ and ‘sustainable’ such as dairy alternatives, flavoured waters and iced teas may be a good bet in the long term given their historical popularity in a number of markets across the globe. If PepsiCo continues to utilize these categories like Lipton, in combination with the new policies, the company will be able to get a big leg up on its competitors.
“It is clear that consumers are watching brands’ actions closely, as well as changing their purchasing habits based on how brands respond to the environmental crisis. GlobalData’s Q1 2021 global consumer survey reports that 33 %** of people worldwide like to see news about a brand’s sustainability initiatives.”
*GlobalData’s Q2-21 Consumer Survey – Global – Combined responses: “somewhat appealing” and ‘very appealing” for the question “how appealing do you find the following? Sustainably/ethically sourced ingredients” **GlobalData’s Q1-21 Consumer Survey – Global
PepsiCo, Inc. introduced pep+ (pep Positive), a strategic end-to-end transformation with sustainability at the center of how the company will create growth and value by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet and people. pep+ will guide how PepsiCo will transform its business operations: from sourcing ingredients and making and selling its products in a more sustainable way, to leveraging its more than one billion connections with consumers each day to take sustainability mainstream and engage people to make choices that are better for themselves and the planet.
Ramon Laguarta (Photo: Amanda Taraska)
“pep+ is the future of our company – a fundamental transformation of what we do and how we do it to create growth and shared value with sustainability and human capital at the center. It reflects a new business reality, where consumers are becoming more interested in the future of the planet and society,” said Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo’s Chairman and CEO. “pep+ will change our brands and how they win in the market. For example, imagine Lay’s will start with a potato grown sustainably on a regenerative field, and then be cooked and delivered from a Net-Zero and Net Water Positive supply chain, sold in a bio-compostable bag, with the lowest sodium levels in the market. That’s a positive choice. That’s the best tasting, #1 potato chip of the future. That’s how pep+ will be better for people, for the planet, and for our business. Now, imagine the scale and impact when applied to all 23 of our billion-dollar brands.”
pep+ drives action and progress across three key pillars, bringing together a number of industry-leading 2030 goals under a comprehensive framework:
Positive Agriculture: PepsiCo is working to spread regenerative practices to restore the Earth across land equal to the company’s entire agricultural footprint (approximately 7 million acres), sustainably source key crops and ingredients, and improve the livelihoods of more than 250,000 people in its agricultural supply chain.
Positive Value Chain: PepsiCo will help build a circular and inclusive value chain through actions to:
Achieve Net-Zero emissions by 2040;
Become Net Water Positive by 2030; and
Introduce more sustainable packaging into the value chain.
PepsiCo announced new goals to cut virgin plastic per serving by 50 % across its global food & beverage portfolio by 20301, using 50 % recycled content in its plastic packaging and scaling the SodaStream business globally, an innovative platform that almost entirely eliminates the need for beverage packaging, among other levers.
The company will also progress its more than $570 million diversity, equity and inclusion journey; and
introduced a new global workforce volunteering program, One Smile at a Time, to encourage, support and empower each one of its 291,000 employees to make positive impacts in their local communities.
Positive Choices: PepsiCo continues to evolve its portfolio of food & beverage products so that they are better for the planet and people, including by:
Incorporating more diverse ingredients in both new and existing food products that are better for the planet and/or deliver nutritional benefits, prioritizing chickpeas, plant-based proteins and whole grains;
Expanding its position in the nuts & seeds category, where PepsiCo is already the global branded leader, including leadership positions in Mexico, China and several Western European markets;
Accelerating its reduction of added sugars and sodium through the use of science-based targets across its portfolio and cooking its food offerings with healthier oils; and
Continuing to scale new business models that require little or no single-use packaging, including its global SodaStream business – an icon of a Positive Choice and the largest sparkling water brand in the world by volume. SodaStream, already sold in more than 40 countries, is bringing PepsiCo flavor options like Pepsi Zero Sugar, Lipton and bubly to 23 markets, and its new SodaStream Professional platform will expand into functional beverages and reach more than 10 additional markets by the end of 2022, part of the brand’s effort to help consumers avoid more than 200 billion plastic bottles by 2030.
“pep+ directly links the future of our business with the future of our planet, for the benefit of both – from how we source ingredients and make and sell our products; to how we inspire consumers through our iconic brands to make better choices for themselves and the planet; to how we support communities and improve livelihoods throughout our supply chain,” said Jim Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer, PepsiCo. “Take SodaStream, for example. By rapidly expanding the SodaStream ecosystem, we are meeting the needs of consumers at home, away from home, and on-the-go. At the same time, we are also offering consumers positive choices that use less plastic, create fewer emissions, and are better for people. pep+ is our roadmap to create the food and drinks people love in a way that helps build the sustainable future we all must have.”
The company’s brands across its food & beverage portfolio are accelerating their efforts to realize PepsiCo’s sustainable packaging vision and leveraging their influence to educate consumers on recycling and the planetary impacts of their choices.
11 European markets are moving key Pepsi-branded2 products to 100 % rPET bottles by 2022. PepsiCo estimates that shifting to a 100 % rPET bottle will lower GHG emissions by approximately 30 % per bottle.
In the U.S., all Pepsi-branded products will be converted to 100 % rPET bottles by 2030, with Pepsi Zero Sugar beginning to be sold in 100 % rPET bottles by 2022. The brand is celebrating this important move to sustainable packaging with a new consumer-centric platform leveraging fall football and driving recycling awareness, education and advocacy, which are critical because rPET availability depends on consumers’ commitment to recycling.
PepsiCo has been investing in breakthrough food packaging technology and is now introducing a fully compostable bag made with plant-based materials. Starting with Off The Eaten Path, one of Frito-Lay’s plant-based brands, this industrially compostable packaging will be available to consumers in the U.S. at Whole Foods stores beginning this month. Notably, the company also announced today that it is willing to work with other companies to license the same technology at no cost given the importance of creating a circular food packaging system.
1Against 2020 baseline. 2Includes Pepsi, Pepsi MAX, Pepsi MAX Lime, Pepsi MAX without caffeine, Pepsi Light, Pepsi Light without caffeine.
Tate & Lyle PLC, a leading global provider of food and beverage ingredients and solutions, has launched a new sustainability programme to enable stevia growers in China to lower their environmental impact and gain greater economic benefit from production of this in-demand no calorie sweetener. Developed with environmental charity, Earthwatch Europe, and being rolled out with support from Nanjing Agricultural University (NJAU), the outreach programme provides farming families in Dongtai, East China with training to help them to modernise farming practices and achieve sustainability-related accreditation for their stevia.1
As a leading global stevia supplier, in 2019 Tate & Lyle commissioned Earthwatch to undertake a first-of-its-kind study to assess the environmental impacts of different approaches to stevia production in China, where most of the world’s stevia is grown. The study identified a significant opportunity to drive environmental improvements in stevia production and support the Company’s suppliers in Dongtai, one of the first areas in China where stevia was cultivated around 40 years ago and one of the main seedling supply areas in the country. Learnings from this study have been incorporated into the new sustainable stevia programme, with key areas identified by Earthwatch including:
Lowering the environmental impacts of stevia production by changing usage of synthetic fertiliser and pesticides to more sustainable alternatives, and providing guidance on application timing, targeting and volumes.
Taking a comprehensive prevention and control approach to protect against pests, crop diseases and weeds, replacing plastic materials used for mulching with more sustainable alternatives.
Developing farming practices to help maintain soil health, keep carbon locked in and improve on-farm composting.
Stevia experts from nearby NJAU are supporting growers in the programme through training, farm visits and best practice sharing. In a new pilot study, the NJAU team will also apply more sustainable fertiliser to an area of land and monitor its impact to help demonstrate and communicate the benefits of this intervention, the main recommendation for Dongtai farmers in the 2019 study. Stevia growers will also benefit from mentoring throughout the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) certification process.
1Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) is one of the main global food and drink value chain accreditation initiatives aimed at accelerating the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. This pilot programme will run until 2022.
Mella Frewen, FoodDrinkEurope Director General, said:
“The EU Code of Conduct marks a significant step towards delivering more sustainable food systems in Europe. The past few months have been intense with a wide range of stakeholders providing input into the process. Participants came from across the entire food chain including international organisations, NGOs, trade unions, and the European Commission.
As the organisation of the largest manufacturing sector in the EU, we take our responsibilities very seriously and aim to show leadership in the transition towards more sustainable food. We were therefore privileged to take the chairmanship of the Task Force developing the Code, but credit must go to all contributors for this collaborative effort.”
Marco Settembri, FoodDrinkEurope President and Nestlé CEO for EMENA, said:
“The real hard work begins now. By signing up to the Code the industry is committing to drive actions that will contribute to healthier living, a greener planet and a thriving European economy.
“In order to take everyone along on the food sustainability journey, including the SMEs that make up 99 % of Europe’s food and drink sector, we count on continued support from the European Commission and other public authorities. We invite all stakeholders to continue this collaboration towards our common goal of sustainable food systems where progress is real and where Europe can become the gold standard for sustainable food.”
FoodDrinkEurope will now promote the Code among its network and work with its members to make it a success.
Eckes-Granini and Refresco today announced that they have established the JuicyChain Foundation. This is a nonprofit organization with the purpose of making the global juice supply chain more sustainable. The foundation will manage and further develop the “JuicyChain”, which is an open source blockchain-based traceability and transparency platform. IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative is acting as an Advisor to the Board of the JuicyChain Foundation.
This new platform, based on The New Fork’s open food chain platform, was designed to create added value for all parties involved in the juice supply chain: from growers to processors, bottlers, brand owners, retailers and consumers. JuicyChain supports a move towards a significant increase in availability of sustainable juice in the marketplace. All companies in the juice industry can join JuicyChain and share information about sustainable juice easily and efficiently. Consumers and other stakeholders will be able to examine provenance and sustainability data by scanning a unique QR code on a finished juice product.
The New Fork has developed the platform blueprint and are the JuicyChain Foundation’s IT Provider. This blockchain based platform brings transparency to the efforts to increase the sustainability of juice in the industry.
“The blockchain technology brings us new and exciting possibilities to drive positive change. With the JuicyChain, we are continuing to work on increasing digitalization and sustainability of our business processes.” explains Holger Schlenger, CIO at Eckes-Granini.
JuicyChain aims to accelerate the uptake of sustainable juice volumes by providing supply chain transparency and trust. It enables customer and consumer-facing communication on sustainable juice with minimum entry barriers. JuicyChain members will need to be aligned with the sustainable sourcing definitions under the Sustainable Juice Covenant, hosted by IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative.
More companies are invited
We invite all parties in the juice supply chain to join JuicyChain so that we can further develop the platform together. Join us and be a frontrunner driving traceability, transparency and sustainability in global juice supply chains. As Coert Michielsen, CPO at Refresco says: “By teaming up with others we can move faster towards a common goal of more sustainable juice supply chains and promote the uptake of sustainable juice across the supply chain.”
Tetra Pak announced it is ready to deploy its portfolio of tethered cap solutions. The portfolio brings numerous benefits to food and beverage manufacturers and consumers, as the company builds on its vision of the most sustainable food package. These benefits include minimising litter, as the cap will stay attached to the package. The carbon footprint can also be reduced because the company’s tethered caps are planned to become available as a plant-based option, therefore increasing the renewable content of the package.
U-paper straw on Tetra Pak carton package (Photo: Tetra Pak)
In tandem, the company is accelerating the expansion of its paper straws offering to ensure further renewable and low carbon materials across the range of packaging solutions. The aim of this is to address a broad range of customer sustainability needs without compromising on food safety, while still delivering on the end-user drinking experience.
Lars Holmquist, Executive Vice President Packaging Solutions and Commercial Operations, Tetra Pak, says: “These are key milestones in our journey towards the world’s most sustainable food package: a carton that is fully made from renewable or recycled materials, is fully recyclable and carbon-neutral. We consistently strive to deliver products and services that adds value to food and people while protecting the planet. Our promise, ‘PROTECTS WHAT’S GOOD™,’ allied with this strong purpose means we are providing customers with innovative products that also meet the rapidly changing demands of society.”
Tetra Pak’s tethered caps and paper straws developments mark the latest additions to its range of responsible end-to-end solutions, allowing manufacturers to achieve their ambitions in three essential areas – food safety, food waste and the environment – simultaneously.
Lars Holmquist (Photo: Tetra Pak)
Holmquist continues: “Approximately 32 % of all plastic packaging is not collected and plastic can take hundreds of years to degrade[1]. We focus on recycling by design, committing to invest approximately € 100 million per year over the next 5 – 10 years to develop more sustainable packaging solutions. This includes alternatives to replace fossil-based plastics and avoid littering, as well as maximising the use of renewable, responsibly sourced materials in our packages. Addressing people’s needs for recycling is a critical component for not only becoming more sustainable but making food more available and safer for all consumers.”
These steps are also central to ensuring that Tetra Pak’s customers in Europe will be ready to comply with the Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive, an integral part of the wider approach announced in the Plastics Strategy and an important element of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan[2].
With this in mind, Tetra Pak has accelerated innovation in the caps domain. Holmquist adds: “The significant challenge of deploying tethered caps is the scale of the change that this brings across the value chain. If we look at Europe alone, more than 1,000 packaging lines supplied by us will be potentially transformed, translating into over 20 billion packages which are expected to be converted. All of that in three years, while minimising impact on our customers’ operations, optimising the consumer experience and contributing to both minimising litter and creating a carton package with increased plant-based and recycled content.”
Tetra Pak is progressing on this complex journey by working seamlessly across various project streams. Overall, this covers approximately 40 different packages with tethered caps. Those caps are all planned to become available as a plant-based option. The first one to be released on the market is the HeliCap™ 26 Pro closure. This product features a new screw and flip concept with a self-locking hinge, securing food protection while providing convenience for in-home consumption. Its opening and closing mechanism has proven popular with consumers, demonstrating that the solution is delivering further benefits in addition to meeting legislative requirements[3].
Holmquist concludes: “We won’t stop here. We are continuously innovating our sustainable openings offering. We envision a world where carton packages never become waste and where every carton is collected and recycled.”
[1]Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ [2]Main objective of Directive 2019/904 is the prevention and reduction of marine litter from single-use plastic items. The implementation of this directive into EU member states’ national legislation will lead to a ban of selected products from the market, whenever affordable alternatives are available, among other measures. While bans on plastic straws will come into force by July 2021, EU-based beverage producers, retailers and manufacturers, as well as importers, are obliged to implement tethered caps and lids – designed to remain attached to containers – by July 2024. [3]Source: consumer research conducted in Spain, Italy and Poland in November 2019, with 300 consumers through face to face interviews, focussed on HeliCap™ 26 Pro opening on Tetra Prisma® Aseptic 1000 Square package.
Following the news that the Coca-Cola Company is trialling its first paper bottle; Alice Popple, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:
“Coca-Cola trialling a new paper bottle comes as no surprise as there has been an increase in sustainability initiatives from brands attempting to revamp strategy and ensure longevity post COVID-19. Brand’s sustainability initiatives will be vital in the future as GlobalData’s research reveals that nearly half (48 %)1 of global shoppers view ‘plastic-free packaging’ claims to be more important to them now, than before the COVID-19 pandemic, with 13 %1 claiming that it is a top priority.
“Last year saw a decline in revenue for Coca-Cola as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic2, therefore a strategy switch up is necessary to boost sales and interest in the brand. One in three (31 %)3 of global consumers say that they have stopped or are buying less carbonated soft drinks than before the pandemic – a main reason for this may be the excess of single-use plastic in the sector, aligning to the high degree of importance that plastic free packaging is currently experiencing.
“Joining the zero-waste initiative is vital for consumer satisfaction in 2021, with over a third (36 %)1 of global shoppers being specifically interested in a brand’s new sustainability initiatives following the pandemic. Coca-Cola’s trial of its first paper bottle will stem other market leaders to follow suit.”
1GlobalData’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Recovery Consumer Survey Results: Week 11 – Global (Published 9th December 2020) – Combined responses: “It is now my top priority”, “It is significantly more important to me”, and “It is slightly more important to me” 2GlobalData’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Company Impact: Coca-Cola H2 Update 3GlobalData’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Recovery Consumer Survey Results: Week 11 – Global (Published 9th December 2020) – Combined responses: “I have stopped buying this”, “I am buying significantly lower quantities than before”, and “I am buying slightly lower quantities than before”
Fooditive® BV and Frutco AG, are pleased to announce a partnership to bring the Fooditive® banana sweetener line to Europe. Fooditive B.V. confirms its commitment to the fight against “food waste” and for more sustainability, and its promise to supply consumers with products of the highest quality. Frutco® is one of the largest processed tropical fruit companies in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America. As an exclusive partner, Frutco® will use the Fooditive production methods for bananas, and the Fooditive® banana sweeteners will be industrially manufactured and distributed.
Investing in a sustainable use of resources in the food industry, using affordable technologies, supports our customers in minimizing their CO2 footprint. In order to further strengthen their commitment in the fight against “food waste” and for sustainability in the food industry. Fooditive® and Frutco® AG, is constructing a multi waste- and residues-based biodiesel plant that can handle all banana side streams and tropical fruits as the aim of group of companies has a plant for continuous fermentation. It will process the side streams – including those from banana processing, but also from other tropical fruits – into fruit extracts and sweeteners.
Sustainable future
With the commitment and promise of Frutco® AG to deliver on sustainability and providing the world, with plant-based sustainable sweetener, that can improve our health and remove carbon emissions from the supply chain.
“Years ago, we made it our mission to be 100 % sustainable by 2030, making the world a better place bit by bit and doing our part. With Fooditive by our side, we are now expanding our product range and creating a new sweet world, but one that is resource efficient and healthier. We are confident that this project will allow us to achieve another milestone in continuing to conserve resources, protect the environment and strengthen the health of many people.” Ms. Claudia Lauener Hofer COO, Frutco® AG
The plant will use very latest technology of Fooditive® B.V. that enables the processing of all types of fruits and vegetables side stream, including by-products from food processing, and waste from the food industry, and non-food crops grown on marginal land. Banana sweetener will be product that provide functionalities, taste and fiber intake that will provide products better sugar substitutes.
“ This project will be the leading future for better world, a world in which we use all types of plant-based side streams that can make and improve people life providing food ingredients that are healthy and sustainable , our project with Frutco AG is the promise for delivering the product with the highest standers and only the best business partners” says Moayad Abushokhedim – CEO, Fooditive® B.V.
By combining the passion from Fooditive® and Frutco® AG expertise’s and culture of innovation with the capabilities of critical partners from food industry, we have introduced products that strengthen the future of food and use the world innovation to make big impact.
The project and production capacity will be the ground breaking on the industry that uses first continues fermentation to produce sweeteners and functional ingredients . Project will commence in January 2021, with the plant due to open in mid 2022. The new facility will create around new direct jobs and ability to provide healthier options for food industry that has challenges.
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The ideal climatic and agronomic conditions in the Trentino-South Tyrol region provide VOG Products with a clear mission in addition to high-quality raw goods in secure quantities: what began on the region’s fields continues in the fruit processing facilities.
Trentino-South Tyrol looks back on a long fruit-growing tradition. After all, the climate with 300 sunny days per year and cool nights is ideal – growing conditions that are naturally reflected in taste and aroma. It’s no coincidence that VOG Products was established there in 1967. The great importance of agriculture is generally acknowledged throughout the region. Dealing with land and its resources respectfully and sustainably has always been firmly embedded in the culture there. There are good reasons why Trentino-South Tyrol regularly ranks at the top in comparisons of quality of life across Italy.
The region’s apple farmers can rely on a unique centre of excellence: a network comprising cooperatives, consulting structures, and renowned research institutes such as the Laimburg Research Centre, the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, and NOI Science and Technology Park supports them with advice and assistance.
Along the entire production chain – from qualified staff to state-of-the-art infrastructure –, nothing is left to chance. Each production step is structured and monitored. “That’s what is so special about this region,” affirmed Christoph Tappeiner, CEO of VOG Products. “It turns origin into a guarantee of security. We benefit from an ideal agronomic setting in which decades of experience are consciously combined with innovative approaches.”
This interplay ensures that technical aids and know-how are always at the cutting edge. For example, three-quarters of the areas under cultivation have frost-protection sprinklers, ensuring quantity security even in the event of freak weather.
The varietal strategies are another key indicator for innovation and advanced development. “On the one hand, if we think of Golden, the varieties are an expression of tradition. On the other hand, development takes place continuously in order to lift the region to a new level,” explained Tappeiner. New varieties such as Envy, Cosmic Crisp, Crimson Snow, Sweetango, Giga, Red Pop, Ambrosia, Enjoy, Morgana, Bonita and Tessa represent the new level. “This range of different varieties covers the entire spectrum from light to dark and sweet to sour.”
A total of 28,000 hectares of apple plantations make the Trentino-South Tyrol region Europe’s largest contiguous growing region. VOG Products processes and refines every fifth apple from the region.
“We know where the apples come from before they land in our safe, competent hands. Controlled, good raw goods are the indispensable basis for a safe, high-quality product,” said the director of VOG Products.
Today, the fruit processing company in the heart of the Dolomite Alps belongs to 18 cooperatives in South Tyrol and Trentino and 4 producer organisations with more than 13,000 members, most of which are small family operations that care for their apple orchards with love and devotion. A level of care that is decisive, particularly in the growing organic sector. By the way, South Tyrol is the only province outside of Germany with an active Bioland regional association.
“We put all our effort into continuing and supporting what began on the fields – thanks to processing that is monitored 24/7, innovative technologies, state-of-the-art methods of analysis and plants, and qualified staff,” said Tappeiner to summarise VOG Products’ mission.
ACE welcomes European Commission President von der Leyen and the Council of the EU’s support for increasing the global ambition for biodiversity and endorsing the “Leaders’ Pledge for Nature” at the UN Summit on Biodiversity on Monday 28 September. The beverage carton industry is dedicated to preserving biodiversity, committing to only source wood fibre from sustainably managed forests.1
Biodiversity supports healthy and resilient ecosystems, keeps the climate in balance, provides essential resources for communities and a stable supply of raw materials for our industry. Global support is essential to help reverse the effects of climate change and restore and maintain nature.
While supporting global initiatives that put biodiversity, climate and environment at the centre of national and international cooperation, we cannot forget that there is work to be done at EU level. “We are delighted to see action on biodiversity taken seriously at a global level,” said Annick Carpentier, Director General. “In most parts of Europe, sustainable forest management already guarantees sound biodiversity. However, there is still action to be considered as policy makers develop the EU Forestry Strategy.”
ACE is committed to:
Promoting the use of credible sustainable forest management standards, which are instrumental to support the protection of biodiversity, and continuing to demonstrate full traceability of all wood supply to certified sustainably managed forests.
Ensuring transparency and credible traceability of wood fibre flow by third party chain of custody certification, from carton to forest.
Ensuring responsible sourcing for all materials, not just wood fibre, demonstrated by third- party certification, credible sustainability standards as the basis for preservation of biodiversity and showing industry leadership.
Supporting the development of a coherent and growth-oriented EU Forest Strategy which links and recognises biodiversity management and decarbonization, fills knowledge gaps to keep the industry competitive, sets biodiversity targets and ensures Member States meet these targets. ACE calls on the Commission to include such measures in the aforementioned Strategy.
The use of internationally recognised sustainable forest management certification systems is crucial for sustaining biodiversity and minimising future loss. ACE applauds those MEPs who have recently called on the Commission to promote sustainable forest management and biodiversity through a non-binding Parliament resolution.
About ACE ACE – The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment – provides a European platform for beverage carton manufacturers and their paperboard suppliers to benchmark and profile beverage cartons as a safe, circular, and sustainable packaging solution with low carbon benefits. ACE members include beverage carton producers Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc, and Elopak. They develop, manufacture, and market safe, circular, and sustainable systems for the packaging and distribution of food and beverages, and produce packaging material at 20 plants in Europe. Around 98% of the paperboard used by ACE members to produce beverage cartons in Europe is produced by Stora Enso in Skoghall (Sweden) and Imatra (Finland), and BillerudKorsnäs in Gävle and Frövi (Sweden), who are also members of ACE.
Lassonde announced that bendable paper straws will replace plastic straws in all 200 ml single-serve boxes of Kiju and Simple Drop Natural Spring Water products. This initiative marks a first-to-market in Canada and provides consumers with 100 % recyclable packaging. Kiju and Simple Drop products are managed by its Nothing but Nature division. These products are now available at major Canadian grocery retailers, just in time for back-to-school.
“Adding paper straws to two of our brands is an important step for Lassonde to make our packaging even more eco-friendly,” says Jean Gattuso, President and COO of Lassonde Industries Inc. “The market testing we did in fall 2019 on adding paper straws to our 200 ml containers showed consumer interest for innovative packaging. We’re pleased to offer consumers 100 % recyclable packaging made largely from renewable material.”
The paper straws are made from FSC-certified paper, and both the straws and multi-layer boxes meet the highest standards of quality.
“We decided to add paper straws to two brands that are popular with consumers who are particularly concerned about the environmental impact of their purchases. Kiju is the most popular brand of organic juice in Canada, while Simple Drop natural spring water offers an alternative to plastic water bottles., During this pandemic, it’s important to provide alternative option since it has become more difficult to access water fountains in schools, offices and public spaces,” adds Claire Bara, Executive Vice-president and General Manager, Marketing, Trade and Product Development for A. Lassonde Inc.
Multilayer cartons now recycled in Quebec
In May 2020, Sustana Fiber’s mill in Lévis, Québec, announced a Canadian first with the development of new processes to recycle multilayer juice and milk cartons. It can now annually process 3,000 to 4,000 tons of these cartons collected from across the country. The replacement of plastic straws will increase the percentage of recyclable fibre and supply the new facility in Lévis.
“Each recycled multilayer carton provides the raw material needed to continue producing essential items like toilet paper and paper napkins.” says Isabelle Faucher, Managing Director of the Carton Council of Canada. “Stable and thriving end-markets for post-consumer cartons are important to the success of national recycling and recovery efforts. Increased carton recycling helps preserve natural resources, meet important diversion and recycling goals, create jobs and, in the case of COVID-19, helps to avoid shortages of the pulp needed to manufacture essential items.
Sustainable development at Lassonde
This initiative is in line with the company’s sustainable development objectives. By 2025, Lassonde wants to:
Find alternatives to plastic straws
Incorporate 20 % post-consumer recycled content in its packaging
Introduce 100 % recyclable packaging for all its products, while working with governments, the industry and associations to promote the efficient sorting and collection of recyclable materials.
Other Lassonde environmental initiatives include ongoing efforts to reduce its packaging weight and the quantity of water used in its chilling and purification processes.
About Lassonde Lassonde Industries Inc. is a North American leader in the development, manufacturing and sale of a wide range of fruit and vegetable juices and drinks marketed under recognized brands such as Apple & Eve, Everfresh, Fairlee, Fruité, Graves, Oasis, Old Orchard and Rougemont. Lassonde is the second-largest producer of store brand ready-to-drink fruit juices and drinks in the United States and a major producer of cranberry juices, drinks and sauces. Lassonde also develops, manufactures and markets specialty food products under recognized trademarks such as Antico and Canton. The Company imports and markets selected wines from various countries of origin and manufactures apple ciders and cider-based beverages. The Company produces superior quality products through the efforts of some 2,200 employees working in 15 production facilities across Canada and the United States.
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VOG Products, the modern, innovative fruit processing company in Trentino-South Tyrol, has set new standards for sustainability. The company fully satisfies the GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Sustainability Assessment and has earned the Gold Standard.
VOG Products was established in South Tyrol – Südtirol in 1967 – in the heart of the Dolomites, a region with a long tradition of orcharding. Using the land and its resources respectfully and sustainably has always been part of our corporate culture. There are good reasons why the Trentino-South Tyrol region regularly ranks at the top in nationwide comparisons when it comes to quality of life.
Today, VOG Products comprise 18 South Tyrolean and Trentino cooperatives and four producers’ organisations with more than 13,000 members. Most of them are small family-run enterprises that passionately and sustainably manage a total of 28,000 hectares of cultivated land.
Their commitment to sustainability has also been certified in accordance with the highest possible standard since June 2020. In May, VOG Products successfully completed the GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Sustainability Assessment (GGFSA) with an audit by the CSQA certifying institution. At the first go, VOG Products earned the highest sustainability category: Gold.
With this achievement, VOG Products has set new standards in the fruit processing sector. More than 300,000 tonnes of raw goods from 13,000 enterprises are processed and refined on the eight-hectare premises in Laives year after year, and the fact that they all fully satisfy the highest standards is simply unique.
With the GGFSA, the global SAI platform (Sustainable Agriculture Initiative) has joined up with GLOBALG.A.P to offer an innovative solution based on the GLOBALG.A.P. standards for crops. It unites all the FSA sustainability requirements in one compact, verifiable standard, making it easier for distributors and producers to procure safe, sustainable products transparently and more efficiently. The certificate is awarded in three performance categories: Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
Johannes Runggaldier (l), Chairman of VOG Products & Christoph Tappeiner (r), General Manager
“We are quite pleased that our many years of commitment have now been recognised with the FSA Gold label,” explained Johannes Runggaldier, the Chairman of VOG Products. “Sustainability is not a superficial label. Instead, it reaches right down to the roots of our production chain. One of the factors that safeguards it is traceability from the end product to the farmer.”
“That is our guarantee to our customer and ultimately, consumers,” added General Manager Christoph Tappeiner. “We actively embrace sustainability as part of our corporate culture and as such, further develop it with a view toward the future challenges and requirements in the market.”
Social criteria play as much of a role when it comes to sustainability as respect for nature and the products, as do the use of state-of-the-art safety systems and technology.
For example, VOG Products has a photovoltaic system with a power output of 998 kWp. It is used to generate electricity, hot water, and steam in conjunction with a cogeneration plant. Annually, around 8,230,000 kWh electricity and 3,070,000 kWh heat are generated. Further, its waste water is used in the nearest water treatment plant to generate gas and electricity, and production waste is delivered to various biogas plants to be used a source of energy.
VOG Products is an innovative company specialising in the processing of apples and other fruit. It is owned by 18 cooperatives in South Tyrol and Trentino and four producers’ organisations comprising over 13,000 family-run enterprises. Every year, VOG Products process more than 300,000 tonnes of raw goods to create healthy, safe products for the international market.
Ozarka®, Deer Park® and Zephyrhills® join Poland Spring® in using 100 % rPET bottles in multiple sizes. All Nestlé Waters North America U.S. domestic packaging continues to be 100 % recyclable.
Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) announced that three more of our U.S. domestic still water brands have started to convert their packaging to 100 % recycled plastic. Ozarka® Brand 100 % Natural Spring Water, Deer Park® Brand 100 % Natural Spring Water and Zephyrhills® Brand 100 % Natural Spring Water packaging, which has long been 100 % recyclable, will now be both 100 % recyclable and made from 100 % recycled plastic. With the expansion of recycled plastic (rPET) to these brands, nearly 60 % of all households in the U.S. will have access to one of Nestlé’s regionally distributed spring water brands in bottles made entirely with recycled plastic.
The packaging conversion for these three brands means that NWNA has now doubled the amount of rPET used since 2019 across its U.S. domestic portfolio to 16.5 %. This step brings the company closer to achieving its goals of using 25 % rPET across its U.S. domestic portfolio by 2021 and 50 % rPET by 2025. By accelerating the use of rPET in its bottles, NWNA is leading the shift from virgin plastic to recycled plastic and helping to create an end-market for sustainable rPET. Using recycled plastic can help keep it out of landfills, waterways and oceans, and reduces greenhouse gases by 67 % compared to using new plastic1.
To help consumers identify the new rPET bottles, all three brands will include a new message on the labels of the 20 oz, 700 mL, 1 L and 1.5 L bottles, stating they are both 100 % recyclable and now are also made from 100 % recycled plastic. To provide greater transparency about the source of the water, the labels will also include a QR code that allows people to scan and track the journey of the water they’re drinking, as well as the bottle. Ozarka will be launching a TV, digital and social media campaign this summer to inform Texans of the new rPET bottles. Understanding that bottles need to be recycled in order to create bottles with other bottles, Zephyrhills will be launching limited edition labels that encourage consumers to recycle through a bold message stating, ‘I’m Not Trash! I’m 100 % Recyclable.’ This message will accompany the “100 % recycled” message on the applicable bottle sizes.
NWNA’s ability to expand its use of recycled plastic partially relies on existing bottles being recycled when empty. Unfortunately, right now, less than 30 % of PET bottles are recycled and many recovered beverage containers are being down-cycled and used in non-food contact applications versus being made back into beverage containers. While giving a plastic beverage container another life in products such as carpets and textiles ensures one more use, it does not represent the highest and best use of food-grade recycled material. Recognizing these challenges in obtaining enough rPET to incorporate into more of our product packaging, NWNA will continue to work collectively with industry, NGOs, governments and consumers to address critical issues related to infrastructure, collection, policy, consumer education, and development of end-markets for recycled materials.
To help the underfunded and often outdated recycling infrastructure in the U.S., NWNA made a $6 million investment in the Closed Loop Infrastructure Fund to support projects that help increase recycling capabilities throughout the country. In 2019, Poland Spring collaborated with The Recycling Partnership to launch the first Instagram recycling hotline to help Americans understand what is recyclable in their communities. NWNA was also the first beverage company to add How2Recycle information on the labels of its major U.S. brands, reminding consumers to empty the bottle and replace the cap before recycling.
1Association of Plastic Recyclers (2018)
New state-of-the-art fully automated high-bay cold-storage facility at City Terminal Rotterdam
Kloosterboer starts the construction of a new state-of-the-art fully automated multi-customer high-bay cold-storage facility with a storage capacity of 60,000 pallets at City Terminal Rotterdam (NL). The building is expected to be finished by January of 2022.
Two years after the realisation of Kloosterboer Cool Port I, an ultra-modern fruit terminal that offers a combination of cool and cold storage capacity, Kloosterboer is now developing a state-of-the-art fully automated high-rise cold-storage warehouse at City Terminal Rotterdam. Pallets will be brought in on self-unloading or conventional trucks and are then automatically taken from the shipping hall via conveyer belts, turntables and sluices to the cold-storage facility, where cranes will automatically place the pallets in their designed position.
Sustainability is a key concern for Kloosterboer. The high-rise cold-storage warehouse is 35-45% more energy efficient than a conventional cold-storage facility. The forty-metre-tall building will be constructed in accordance with the high BREEAM requirements. Kloosterboer intends to install approximately 2,700 solar panels on the building’s roof. Together with the existing solar panel installation at Cool Port I, which consists of 11,000 solar panels, this makes Kloosterboer one of the leading companies in the port of Rotterdam when it comes to generating solar power for in-house use.
Kloosterboer is an entrepreneurial, innovative and sustainable logistics service provider. The construction of Cool Port II still leaves Kloosterboer with ample space for the next phase; Cool Port III.
Diageo, makers of Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff and Guinness, announced that it has created the world’s first ever 100 % plastic free paper-based spirits bottle, made entirely from sustainably sourced wood. The bottle will debut with Johnnie Walker, the world’s number one Scotch Whisky, in early 2021.
It comes as Diageo announces that it has launched a new partnership with Pilot Lite, a venture management company, to launch Pulpex Limited, a new world-leading sustainable packaging technology company. To ensure that the technology can be used in every area of life, Pulpex Limited has established a partner consortium of world leading FMCG companies in non-competing categories including Unilever, and PepsiCo, with further partners expected to be announced later in the year. The consortium partners are each expecting to launch their own branded paper bottles, based on Pulpex Limited’s design and technology, in 2021.
Pulpex Limited has developed a ‘first-of-its-kind’ scalable paper-based bottle designed and developed to be 100 % plastic free and expected to be fully recyclable. The bottle is made from sustainably sourced pulp to meet food-safe standards and will be fully recyclable in standard waste streams. The technology will allow brands to rethink their packaging designs, or move existing designs into paper, whilst not compromising on the existing quality of the product.
Pulpex Limited’s technology allows it to produce a variety of plastic-free, single mould bottles that can be used across a range of consumer goods. The packaging has been designed to contain a variety of liquid products and will form part of Diageo’s commitment towards Goal 12 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’.
PepsiCo, Inc. published its 2019 sustainability report, highlighting progress toward its sustainability goals and reaffirming the company’s agenda to help build a more sustainable food system.
“Today’s global environmental and societal pressures are bringing into sharp focus the need for systemic change,” said Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo’s CEO and Chairman. “These challenges not only require deeper commitment from the private sector, they also require demonstrated and sustained action. As a global food and beverage leader, we have a responsibility to use our scale and influence to help tackle long-term challenges, including addressing the threats to our food system which have been further strained by the unfolding pandemic. We’re making significant progress that I’m very proud of. We know it will take even more, however. From how we grow food and make products, to inspiring positive change – we are committed to help build a better future for people and the planet.”
The 2019 Sustainability Report shares progress across the priority areas where PepsiCo believes it can have the most meaningful impact: agriculture, water, climate, packaging, products, and people. Highlights include:
Delivering Safe Water Access: PepsiCo believes water is a human right and its philanthropic arm The PepsiCo Foundation has helped more than 44 million people in underserved communities around the world gain access to safe water through distribution, purification and conservation programs since 2006, far surpassing its goal to reach 25 million by 2025. Building on the success of these programs, PepsiCo has set an ambitious new target to reach a total of 100 million people by 2030 and will focus its near-term work on water distribution, sanitation, and hygiene programs to bolster public health in the wake of COVID-19.
Sourcing Ingredients through More Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture: On farms around the world, PepsiCo is working to improve farmer livelihoods, while raising standards for efficient resource use, environmental consciousness, and worker rights. Through the company’s Sustainable Farming Program (SFP), in 2019, nearly 80 % of PepsiCo’s farmer-sourced agricultural raw materials, like potatoes, whole corn, oranges, and oats were verified as sustainably sourced, meeting the SFP’s robust criteria, progress towards meeting its goal to reach 100 % by the end of 2020.
Accelerating Climate Action: PepsiCo reduced its absolute GHG emissions by 6 % across its global value chain in 2019. In April 2020, PepsiCo affirmed its plans to accelerate action on climate change by signing the UN’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C pledge, joining other leading companies in committing to set science-based emissions-reduction targets across its entire value chain, aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5°C, while also developing a long-term strategy for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This builds on PepsiCo’s announcement earlier in the year that the company is shifting to 100 % renewable electricity through a diverse portfolio of solutions for direct operations in the U.S., its largest market. Nine countries in PepsiCo’s European business operations already use 100 % of their electricity from renewable sources.
“As we look to the decade ahead, global efforts to mitigate climate change and support a more sustainable and inclusive future are more crucial than ever,” said Simon Lowden, PepsiCo’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “From providing access to safe water in underserved communities, to working with farmers to grow crops more sustainably, to innovating around packaging, we remain focused on our long-term agenda. It will require agility, collective action and collaboration, and as we think about our approach, we’re determined to embrace an important lesson of COVID-19: The world can mobilize quickly when working together toward a shared goal. We know building a more resilient food system is possible, and we’ll continue working with partners around the world to catalyze change for a better tomorrow.”
The report and downloadable assets are available here.
The company announces commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its own operations by 2030, with the ambition to achieve net zero GHG emissions for the entire value chain by 2050
Tetra Pak reconfirms its strategic priority in driving the sustainability transformation by setting an ambition for net zero emissions across the value chain by 2050, supporting this with an intermediate 2030 target of net zero carbon emissions across its own operations. The company will also set emissions reduction targets in line with 1.5°C according to the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative across scopes 1, 2 and 3.
Tetra Pak was founded on the idea that a package should save more than it costs, with sustainability always at the core of how the company operates as a business. Since 1999, the company has been collecting data on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from across the organisation on an annual basis, with its GHG accounts audited by an independent third party since 2013.
Lars Holmquist (Photo: Tetra Pak)
Lars Holmquist, Executive Vice President Packaging Solutions and Commercial Operations at Tetra Pak, said: “We have consistently delivered on our climate goals, right from the first goal set in 2002, again in 2005 and we are on track to meet our 2020 goal. In 2017, we were the first company in the food and beverage industry to have our climate impact reduction targets approved by the SBT initiative. More recently, we joined the European Alliance for Green Recovery, the first pan-European call for mobilisation on post-crisis green investment solutions. Today, we’re once again leading the way by setting ambitious net zero emissions targets that will drive transformation right across our sector and the entire value chain. The planet’s greatest environmental challenge demands nothing less from us.”
Tetra Pak will focus on four key areas to reach net zero GHG emissions across its own operations by 2030, and to realise its 2050 ambition along the entire value chain:
Lowering energy-related emissions through energy conservation, improvements in energy efficiency, installing on site solar photovoltaics (solar PV) and purchasing renewable energy. Since 2011, Tetra Pak has invested over €16 million in energy efficiency, preventing energy use from increasing by 23% over this period. To date the company has installed approximately 2.7 MW of solar PV (or about 8000 panels), delivering low carbon electricity whilst saving operational costs. A member of the RE100 initiative, Tetra Pak has gone from 20% use of renewable electricity in 2014 to 69% in 2019, and it is on track to achieve its 2020 target of 80%. This journey included the installation of solar panels across its operations and the purchasing of renewable certificates, with the company being one of the first to do so in countries such as Thailand and South Africa.
Partnering with suppliers and other stakeholders along the value chain to significantly reduce carbon footprint. Tetra Pak is working with suppliers to cut upstream carbon emissions, including setting ambitious renewable energy targets and increasing the use of renewable and recycled materials, which are critical to make a low carbon circular economy possible.
Accelerating the development of its low carbon circular packaging and equipment portfolio and working to help customers achieve their emission reduction targets. A step change in investment levels in sustainable innovation is helping the company to realise its ambition of a fully recyclable package made solely from renewable or recycled materials as well as to offer processing and packaging lines with minimal carbon footprint.
Developing sustainable recycling value chains, via collaboration with customers, waste management companies, recyclers, municipalities, industry associations and equipment suppliers. Tetra Pak’s vision is that all beverage cartons can be collected for recycling, and zero beverage cartons become litter or are sent to landfill.
Lars Holmquist concluded: “Ten years ago we set a climate goal to cap our 2020 impact across the value chain at 2010 levels, while growing the business. This helped us save 12 million tonnes of GHG emissions to date. We believe that our ability to set and demonstrate progress in line with science and societal expectations, our innovation drive and the collaborative approach across the value chain put us all on the right path to achieve our new ambition.”
SIG’s fully recyclable and renewable paper straw solution for aseptic carton packs is being launched for the first time in Europe by Intermarché, one of the most popular retail chains in France.
Intermarché is the first company in France to launch paper straws with aseptic carton packs. By offering this solution across its three brands – Paquito, Look and top Budget – it will save 10 tonnes of virgin plastic per year.
The company will be offering the juices and beverages of these brands in combiblocMini packs with SIG’s 6 mm straight paper straw solution – one of several options available in SIG’s paper straw portfolio. The cartons are filled at Antartic, a production unit belonging to Agromousquetaires, a food-processing subsidiary of Groupement Les Mousquetaires.
SIG was the first in the industry to offer a market-ready paper straw solution for aseptic carton packs, enabling customers to meet the urgent need for alternatives to plastic drinking straws – which will be banned across Europe from the beginning of 2021 in line with the Single-Use Plastics Directive.
SIG’s paper straws offer a more sustainable solution that is renewable and fully recyclable. They are an ideal companion for SIG’s fully recyclable carton packs, which are mainly made of renewable paper board.
The paper used to make SIG’s paper straws originates from FSCTM-certified forests and other controlled sources. The blister for the straw has also been redesigned to help prevent litter by remaining attached to the pack to be recycled together.
SIG offers both straight and U-shaped paper straws. Paper straws are available for use with SIG’s combiblocSmall or combiblocMini packs to maintain the convenience of small-size formats for consumers looking for on-the-go beverages.
The innovative structure and diagonal cut make the straw robust enough to pierce the closed straw hole of the carton. Positive results in consumer tests showed no compromises in convenience compared with conventional plastic straws. Customers can use existing straw applicators to attach them to packs.
Elopak, a leading global supplier of carton packaging and filling equipment for liquid food, has launched the Pure-Pak® Imagine, its most environmentally friendly carton to date. The new carton is a modern version of the company’s original Pure-Pak® carton, designed with an easy open feature.
“Increasingly, we see that our Pure-Pak® carton system is the natural solution to the global need to reduce the usage of plastic bottles,” says Elopak’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Patrick Verhelst.
Beverage cartons already have the lowest CO2 footprint among liquid food packaging today. Using renewable, recyclable and sustainably sourced materials, Elopak provides innovative packaging solutions that offer a natural and convenient alternative to plastic bottles and fit with a low carbon circular economy.
“With the launch of Pure-Pak® Imagine, Elopak is supporting the critical causes that represent the issues of our times – but the call to action is timeless,” Verhelst added.
Elopak’s strong focus on sustainability, alongside food safety and consumer convenience, has seen the company record a number of important environmental milestones in recent years. Carbon neutral since 2016, Elopak uses 100 per cent renewable electricity and has reduced emissions by 70 per cent over the past decade. With cartons manufactured from responsibly managed forests and FSC™ (FSC™C081801) certified material, Elopak offers customers 100 per cent renewable cartons that use wood-based renewable plastics, rather than relying on petroleum-based plastics.
“We wish to play our part in the global shift towards a low carbon circular economy and have therefore created the most environmentally friendly carton possible,” Verhelst explains.
“The Pure-Pak® Imagine carton has no plastic screw cap and is 100% forest based made with Natural Brown Board. The carton is fully renewable and carbon neutral, creating the perfect low carbon, circular economy approach,” he continues.
Many will recognize the easy-to-open feature from the 70’s and 80’s before the screw cap was first introduced. The Pure-Pak® Imagine carton’s unique top fin helps guide consumers how to open the carton. In combination with the modern functionality of the easy-pour and easy-fold features, the new carton design sets a new benchmark in reducing plastics.
The Pure-Pak® carton historically is the iconic fresh beverage pack, and with the new shape of the top fin introduced with the Pure-Pak® Imagine, Elopak adds a further important point of differentiation. Shape is the first recognition point for consumers, so this is especially important in markets less familiar with the easy opening feature. The design of the Pure-Pak® Imagine carton will create recognition on shelves across our markets and is applicable to all fresh categories.
“With Pure-Pak® Imagine we aim to help consumers make conscious environmental choices. The carton’s easy opening gives the environmentally-minded consumer a more sustainable pack, with less plastic and more natural renewable materials,” concludes Verhelst.
Clearly and successfully communicating sustainability credentials to consumers is key to developments in food and drinks packaging. This benchmark has been crowned by Innova Market Insights as the Top Packaging Trend in 2020. Innova’s consumer research indicates that consumer expectations around sustainability are higher than ever, pushing companies to prioritize eco-efficiency, especially in reducing food and plastic waste. In response, the food industry is increasingly committing to answering a more mindful consumer’s expectations in this area, while marketing this commitment on-pack.
Innova Market Insights continuously analyzes global developments in food and drinks launches and consumer activities to highlight the trends most likely to impact industry over the coming year and beyond. Its top five trends packaging trends for this year are:
1. The language of environmental sustainability
As consumer expectations continue to grow, companies are increasingly using packaging as a canvas to communicate sustainability. Over the 2015 to 2019 period, over one-third of all food and beverage launches tracked by Innova Market Insights carried an ethical packaging claim (e. g. recycled or recyclable materials). A whole range of different avenues can be used for storytelling to communicate packaging sustainability, which encompasses energy use, renewable materials, plastic free, source reduction and end of lifecycle. The use of trust certifications, marks and logos, such as Plastic Free and Metal Recycles Forever, increasingly used to communicate resource circularity.
2. Plastics come full circle
As circular economy targets loom on the horizon, the incorporation of recycled plastics into packaging is on the rise, with PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) supply partnerships and chemcycling tie-ups rising globally across a range of industries. In the meantime, more bottles are hitting the 100 % recycled plastics milestone, while other formats such as trays and pots are playing catch up with increasingly high percentages of PCR material. As suppliers come up with more recycle-ready mono-material solutions, developments such as NEO plastics can increase energy output at landfills. A rising tide of companies are supporting initiatives aimed at mitigating the impact of plastic pollution, particularly ocean clean up.
3. Packing an e-punch
Continuing strong growth in online retail channels with an associated rise in demand for corrugated board is driving e-commerce packaging. Developments in strong, lightweight recyclable boxes made with minimal resources aim to minimize damage during transit, while still offering a unique and engaging unboxing experience for consumers. There is also ongoing activity in sustainable alternatives to single-use protective filler materials, as well as developments offering a reduced carbon footprint.
4. Internet of packaging
As IoT (Internet of Things) technologies become all-pervasive, QR codes, NFC and blockchain are elevating engagement and transparency. Top reasons for scanning include promotions/rewards, interactive content, product authenticity, supply chain transparency and consumer brand engagement. The use of blockchain, for instance, can offer traceability and transparency, while NFC can be a valuable avenue for digital storytelling.
5. Plant-based packaging
There is an increasing focus on developing biodegradable and compostable alternatives from renewable resources. Cellulose-based packaging has been at the forefront of plant-based innovation, but there are numerous developments in biodegradable/compostable initiatives, led by snacks and confectionery, which accounted for over 60 % of global food and drinks launches with certified compostable claims tracked by Innova Market Insights over the 2017 to 2020 period.
SIG’s Corporate Responsibility (CR) Performance Update for 2019 explores key aspects of the company’s Way Beyond Good ambition, highlights its sustainability stories of the year, and reports progress towards its targets for 2020 and beyond.
„Our packaging has delivered food safely to billions of people all over the world. We want to help shape a sustainable food system that gets the most from what it uses and gives more than it takes,” said Rolf Stangl, CEO of SIG. “To do this, we need to go further than we’ve ever gone before. We took some more big steps forward this year and the increased uptake of our most sustainable packaging solutions shows we’re using growth as a driver for good.”
Highlights in 2019
SIG continues to build on its track record of sustainable innovation and industry firsts. Highlights this year include:
Launching the world’s first Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) labelled packs and the first aseptic carton packs with all three key materials from certified sources – paperboard, plant-based polymers and aluminium foil
Increasing uptake of SIG’s most sustainable products, such as SIGNATURE PACK and combibloc EcoPlus
Introducing the first paper straws for carton packs – first straight and then U-shaped
Accelerating the timeline to cut greenhouse gas emissions from SIG’s business – by 60 % by 2030 – with a new 1.5°C target approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative
Engaging in new recycling partnerships around the world, including the innovative so+ma programme that is rewarding consumers in Brazil for recycling
Turning food loss into over 9,200 school meals for underprivileged children in Bangladesh in the first year of the Cartons for Good programme run by the SIG Way Beyond Good Foundation
Achieving a Platinum rating from EcoVadis that puts SIG in the top 1 % of businesses for sustainability.
Going further
The CR Performance Update includes a series of stories from the year, which bring to life some of the ways that SIG is realising its ambition to go Way Beyond Good for society and the environment.
The company is focusing on driving progress in the areas where it can make the biggest difference: helping forests thrive, tackling climate change, driving sustainable product innovation, contributing to a circular economy and delivering safe nutrition.
To pursue these opportunities, SIG is building on strong foundations. It is committed to doing business ethically, buying responsibly, supporting its people and keeping them safe, and partnering with communities to help them thrive.
Transparent reporting
SIG’s CR Performance Update is transparent about progress against targets and includes an update on key performance indicators related to the company’s most material social and environmental issues. It also includes direct feedback from SIG’s external Responsibility Advisory Group, together with the company’s response.
The interim CR Performance Update complements SIG’s full CR reports, which are published every other year. It covers the same focus areas and most material social and environmental issues as SIG’s award-winning full CR Report for 2018, which includes more detail on the way we manage these issues. The 2018 CR Report was produced in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards.
Please download SIG’s CR performance update under www.sig.biz/en/
Ball Corporation announced that it has earned the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) certification for all 23 of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) beverage can plants. This accomplishment is a major sustainability milestone for the company and Ball is the first beverage can manufacturer to meet ASI’s environmental, social and governance principles.
The certification accompanies a commitment to significant carbon reductions by Ball, which is now covering all of its operations in the European Union, Serbia and the UK with renewable energy. Ball previously announced agreements for 100 % renewable energy covering all of its North America operations by 2021.
“We’re extremely proud to be the first aluminium beverage can manufacturer to achieve ASI certification,” said Ron Lewis, President, Ball Beverage Packaging, EMEA. “With their infinite recyclability, aluminium cans are the fastest growing beverage packaging type in Europe. As consumers seek more environmentally friendly products, they can have confidence in aluminium’s strong sustainability credentials such as responsible sourcing. The certification, combined with our renewable energy investments, demonstrates Ball’s commitment to a low-carbon, sustainable economy.”
ASI is a multi-stakeholder initiative that provides assurance of responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of aluminium throughout its value chain. As consumers demand greater sustainability across packaged goods, the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s scheme aims to do for aluminium what the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) did for paper and wood, making sustainability performance a mainstream, visible issue.
Ball has achieved both ASI’s Performance, and Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard certifications.
The ASI Performance Standard is a measure of how much effort Ball is making across its plants to assess, manage and disclose its environmental, social and governance impacts. These include issues such as life-cycle thinking, recycling, greenhouse gas emissions, water and waste management, biodiversity, business integrity and the human rights of both workers and local communities.
The ASI CoC Standard sets out requirements for the creation of a Chain of Custody for material that is produced and processed through the value chain. In Ball’s case, it links verified practices – certified under the ASI Performance Standard – from mining and remelting to casting, rolling, can manufacturing and filling.
“We’re responding to a greater desire from consumers, across Europe and around the world, for genuinely sustainable and infinitely recyclable packaging solutions,” said Kathleen Pitre, Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer, Ball Corporation. “We’re working closely with our beverage customers to help them deliver on their sustainability commitments including on responsible sourcing practices. Ball is proud of our achievements in getting certified.”
“We are very pleased to award ASI Certification to, Ball Corporation, the world’s largest aluminium can maker and the first in its sector to have achieved this,” said Dr. Fiona Solomon, Chief Executive Officer, Aluminium Stewardship Initiative. “The ASI’s Performance Standard covers critical issues for the entire aluminium value chain. The programme is focused on responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of this important industrial metal. ASI Certification enables the aluminium industry to demonstrate responsibility and provide independent and credible assurance of performance. Supply-chain certification programs like ASI are becoming increasingly important for customers and stakeholders, who seek assurance that companies’ sustainability practices are genuine.”
With 75 % of aluminium ever produced still in use today around the world, the metal has a vital role to play in creating a truly circular economy. Ball is taking a lead on industry efforts to significantly increase the European recycling rate of aluminium beverage cans, currently at 75 %. Recycling aluminium saves 95 % of the energy required for the production of virgin aluminium, and so helps the global community to meet urgent carbon reduction targets.
The global packaging producer, Ecolean has been awarded the prestigious Gold Medal Recognition 2020 for its sustainability work. The certificate is awarded by the independent and trusted provider of sustainability ratings, EcoVadis. In the overall rankings, Ecolean is placed in the top 5 percent of a total of 60,000 companies assessed from 155 countries.
Ecolean’s high score is based on the company’s strategic work with clear objectives within significant areas of sustainability such as environment, including renewable energy and climate impact and social aspects – as well as via monitoring and transparent reporting of sustainability data of its lightweight packages and filling machines. For Ecolean, this is the first year the company participates in the ratings by EcoVadis.
EcoVadis is an independent provider of business sustainability ratings, which evaluates companies’ sustainability work in global supply chains annually. The assessment focuses on four key areas: environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. EcoVadis uses international standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative and the UN Global Compact.
About Ecolean
Ecolean develops and manufactures innovative packaging systems for the dairy and liquid food industry. Ecolean’s modern lightweight packaging is consumer convenience and environmental concern in one. Ecolean is a global company with its headquarters in Sweden. Established in 1996, the company has commercial activities in over 30 countries, with China, Pakistan and Russia being its largest markets. Ecolean has 450 employees.
Sponsored Post – VOG Products, the South Tyrol fruit-processing company, has integrated sustainability into its corporate strategy. Priorities, measures and objectives are set out in the sustainability report , which has now been presented for the first time.
Sponsored Post – VOG Products attaches the utmost importance to sustainability, quality and product safety along the entire supply and production chain. This is also evidenced by the EcoVadis silver medal and SGF membership.
Sponsored Post – Sustainability is firmly embedded in the strategy of VOG Products. The prestigious EcoVadis award, the world’s most reliable provider of sustainability ratings for global supply chains, has confirmed the company’s active effort in the entire production process, rewarding it with a silver medal a few weeks ago.
The ideal climatic and agronomic conditions in the Trentino-South Tyrol region provide VOG Products with a clear mission in addition to high-quality raw goods in secure quantities: what began on the region’s fields continues in the fruit processing facilities.
VOG Products, the modern, innovative fruit processing company in Trentino-South Tyrol, has set new standards for sustainability. The company fully satisfies the GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Sustainability Assessment and has earned the Gold Standard.
