Are brands as sustainable as they claim?
The topic of food waste has become trendy lately, thanks in part to ReFed’s tremendous research and revelations on the depth and scale of the problem, and a growing public urgency to mitigate the climate crisis. In the past year or so, there have been catchy hashtags, product packaging with tips and resources, even Super Bowl ads. Sustainability sells, eco-minded is the new business-savvy. Between setting ESG goals and amping up CSR initiatives, more and more companies have put the environment on their agenda, attaching themselves to the mission of reducing waste and decreasing their carbon footprint.
It’s great to see urgency around the issue, as long as it’s sincere. According to Salon, 70% of consumers want to know how brands are addressing environmental and social issues, this information affects everything from TikTok posts to purchasing decisions. On top of that, most millennials consciously switch brands to support companies engaged in a cause that’s important to them. They pay more for sustainable products — as much as 35%. Stamping a cause to your name raises awareness and profitability, but it takes action to lead a revolution.
So, is food waste the next cause celebre, or are the times really a’changin’?
Most of us can recall our parents telling us to clean our plates. Unfortunately, reducing food waste is not that simple. Real change takes effort. Lots of it. For a brand to properly address the problem of waste, specifically within the food and beverage industry, there are tiers to be tackled. One downstream fix would be to identify surplus stock and donate it through a food recovery service. This prevents edible food from ending up in a landfill, and if properly distributed, can allow for those who don’t have access to food to receive a meal. But without conscious management of the process, food recovery can lead to donation dumping. Food donations must be allocated to those who have a real need and can accommodate the contributions. There are also cultural elements to consider, dietary restrictions, and logistical constraints. A complex approach must be taken, and that calls for bandwidth.
A business can reduce waste sooner by auditing and improving its supply chain — sourcing locally, reducing transportation, embracing technology that more accurately forecasts supply and demand. This could increase operational costs in the short term but have positive impacts down the road. As trendy as sustainability has become, the majority of large companies have yet to move in this direction. Most corporations keep purchase orders in the lowest-cost country to increase margins and guarantee financial stability. Going for a product that is sustainable requires changing policy and mindset. It’s a commitment, but if a brand is serious about cutting back on waste and helping the environment, it’s essential. And there are brands successfully doing it.
Look at Budweiser’s operations in the UK: all breweries are now completely run on solar and wind power. Every can, bottle, and keg have been brewed with 100% renewable electricity since January after the company funded two solar farms and a wind turbine with enough juice to power the production of its entire portfolio. Budweiser also removed all plastic rings from cans and signed off to brew exclusively with barley grown on British farms. The brand announced its accomplishments with a television ad campaign, complete with a Bob Dylan tune.
Food waste and sustainability also involve packaging. Plastic typically costs less and dominates the market. According to the BBC, more than 78 million tons of plastic packaging are produced worldwide every year by an industry worth nearly $198 billion. Most of that is thrown away. Switching to something like a glass bottle, for example, would cost more to produce, primarily due to transportation restrictions (glass is heavier and more fragile than plastic). If the increase in costs is transferred to consumers, brands could lose customers. There’s also the infrastructure that would need to be augmented. Think about compostable packaging. As one brand learned, organic materials have a shelf life, many grocery stores aren’t ready to manage it.
Like a diet, sustainability is a lifestyle change, not a weeklong cleanse, and it requires dedication, trial, and error and new habits.
A good example of how a brand can overhaul operations is Chipotle. After conducting a waste audit throughout its stores, the fast-casual chain set a number of sustainability goals to be reached by 2020 and 2025, including a 25% reduction in average restaurant waste, 50% waste diversion from landfills, 100% of napkins, cups, and bags made with recycled fiber, and a 20% reduction in plastic cutlery. The plan includes altering dumpster sizes, coordinating route efficiencies with haulers, and composting at restaurants. Chipotle restaurants also donate leftover food to community organizations.
This year, Chipotle reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability in a Super Bowl ad. And then, of course, there’s the issue of expiration dates, something that could have both upstream and downstream consequences. As more and more people are learning, these dates are not standardized and have almost nothing to do with food safety. Each year, consumers waste $29 billion throwing out what they believe is unfit to eat. So, as a brand, how do you change a policy beyond your control?
Earlier this year, Hellmann’s launched its ‘Make Taste, Not Waste’ campaign with, yes, a Super Bowl commercial, featuring comedian Amy Schumer. The company identified and promised to reduce the 11 million tons of food waste it generated during manufacturing and reinvented product labels to include ways for households to follow suit. However, what impressed me most was Hellmann’s partnership with Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic to work on legislative guidelines that would push for standardization and clarity of food date labels. It’s a bold move and an important one.
Hellmann’s is owned by Unilever, a consumer goods group whose sustainability initiatives seem particularly comprehensive. Unilever has worked to improve manufacturing and logistics across all its brands, utilized product labels for education and awareness, partnered with a digital platform to develop a camera and scale that tackles kitchen waste, and devised creative means to reuse products. One such venture is Cremissimo, an ice cream made from an unused product that accrues during production. Unilever is also advocating for regulations that would set ‘use-by’ dates for foods with shorter durability on the basis of safety, and ‘best-before’ dates for foods with longer durability on the grounds of quality.
No doubt, it’s good marketing for the corporation. Unilever even pointed out that its purpose-led portfolio is growing 69% faster than other brands, and delivering 75% of overall growth. But I think it’s safe to say there’s more to the act than impressive Super Bowl ads.
We’re living in a time when it’s cool to compost, popular to take public transportation, and admirable to upcycle old furniture. Scooters are raging, people are purchasing leftover food from restaurants and sharing pictures of it. I like that. And I don’t mind if a brand’s good deeds help business — they should. We should support companies that care. Hopefully, they really do.
