CASE STUDY

The food and beverage industry faces enormous pressure to run more sustainable and transparent business operations . After all , the food and beverage industry contribute up to 37 % of global annual greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions . Both internal and external stakeholders are on board . In response to a September 2020 survey of business leaders , employees and consumers conducted by Edelman Data x Intelligence on behalf of The Nature Conservancy ( TNC ), 55 % of food and beverage industry leader respondents reported increased investments in sustainability processes , and consumer respondents even expressed their willingness to pay higher food and beverage prices to support the industry ’ s sustainability efforts .

Until recently , companies have focused on reporting scope 1 emissions — direct emissions from sources that a company owns or controls — and scope 2 emissions — indirect emissions from the off-site generation of electricity , steam , heating and cooling bought and consumed by the company . However , now a greater emphasis is placed on scope 3 emissions reporting — which includes all other indirect emissions occurring in a company ’ s upstream and downstream value chain . This often accounts for more than 70 % of the food and beverage industry ’ s emissions .

Challenges

Value chain complexity Food and beverage companies ’ value chains are broad and complex , often relying on different suppliers for ingredients , packaging , distribution and more . This complexity means that food and beverage companies need to be able to influence and support the suppliers ’ efforts to transform their practices in a pragmatic and agile way .