Climate change, the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing war in Ukraine are just a few of the many crises that have hit the world over the past three years and pose a new challenge for businesses, especially those around the world. the food and agriculture sectors.
Some of the demanding situations facing the food industry lead to less certainty about when (or even if) crops will grow, as well as supply chain disruptions and energy issues. In the age of polycrisis, every time a dilemma takes a back seat, a new one emerges that updates it.
To fight all those barriers, some Canadian food brands are actively implementing environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures to build resilience. But some experts warn that those policies may not be enough to weather the relentless storms looming on the horizon. while satisfying customers.
Dionne Laslo-Baker, founder and CEO of fruit ice cream company DeeBee’s Organics, said her barometer of corporate good fortune has focused on her children and their future. “Would I be proud to tell my kids, ‘This is what we do and this is how we do it’?Using that barometer, I was responsible for doing the best I could,” he said.
The British Columbia-based company has put ESG policies at the center from the beginning. From an environmental standpoint, DeeBee products have been made with qualified organic ingredients, and over time, the company has added projects such as participation in solar energy factories and composting food waste. and reuse rainwater.
DeeBee’s has also been rated climate-independent since 2022, meaning it measures and offsets its carbon emissions. In addition, the company is trying, as much as possible, to inspire its transport providers to use biofuels. DeeBee’s ultimate goal is to move from net-zero time, where the majority of the company’s operations have no negative impact on the planet and take into account all emissions, not just carbon.
In the future, the company wants to source ingredients from regenerative farms (those that repair soil and ecosystem health) and is looking for strategies to make its plastic packaging 100 percent recyclable.
Social projects on DreamLauncher, a worker-led program where workers can invest in charitable projects with the help of matching corporate donations, get paid annual leave to volunteer, and make charitable contributions similar to DeeBee’s worker inventory options program.
Laslo-Baker said these projects are crucial, not only for his own business barometer, but also for the company’s long-term viability. They also help 70 percent of their women feel empowered to take on leadership roles, bringing their institutional knowledge with them. .
To stay ahead of the inevitable next crisis, Laslo-Baker said he is racing to make sure the company can pivot quickly. “We’re not looking to go back to Array,” he said. Specifically, DeeBee plans 14 to 16 months in advance. to safe ingredients. “It’s about preparing and empowering each and every one of our industry leaders to plan at least a year in advance, so that when there are shortages or challenges, we can do it as a company,” he said.
As a result of such practices, the company has grown on average 100 percent year over year since entering the market in 2013, Laslo-Baker said.
“Large corporations see (ESG practices) as future-proofing their businesses,” said Jenni Black of the World Benchmarking Alliance, a global nonprofit that works to achieve personal sector contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“Companies want to respond to global challenges, but they also want to contribute to their own contribution,” he said. “Food and agriculture are two of the sectors, along with construction, that depend as much directly on nature as possible. “
Leading corporations see (ESG practices) as a way to future-proof their businesses.
“If you’re a company that ultimately relies on nature to deliver your goods and facilities at some kind of prestige quo, you’re running into a huge blind spot,” Black added.
The alliance ranks about 350 of what it calls the world’s most influential corporations according to various criteria, including social, meteorological and energy, as well as food and agriculture. It also brought a natural benchmark for assessing a company’s impact on ecosystems, waste streams, and biodiversity.
But Black said the most recent effects of the comparative nature analysis, which she leads, are “pretty shocking. ” Only two percent of corporations believe they have an impact on nature and none are investigating their dependence on nature in a comprehensive way. she, she said. Still, Black covered the effects, saying that some companies are starting to do so in certain regions, while others are not making their tests public.
Something as undeniable as conducting a diagnosis to identify the maximum ESG projects for a company can make a big difference when it comes to understanding which sustainability goals to prioritize. “Without making that assessment, you’re betting the donkey’s tails on what you’re concentrating on,” Black said.
In addition, he added, it is essential to carry out concrete tests to obtain the authorization of senior managers to reshape business models.
Alain Brandon, vice president of Sustainability, Social Impact and Government Relations at Loblaw Cos. Ltd. , can attest to the power of having senior leaders to drive sustainability efforts by working with Galen Weston, president and former CEO of the company. It’s in the philosophy of how Galen runs the company,” Brandon said.
“The truth is that we are very aware of the role that our company plays in this country. We are the largest personal sector employer in the country. We have a store close to almost everybody,” he said. “It’s up to us to do more in those places. We have a giant footprint in the community, which is great, but with that comes a desire to be proactive in managing that footprint from a sustainability perspective.
The World Benchmarking Alliance ranked Loblaw 84th out of 350 corporations in the food and agriculture benchmark, and 115th out of 380 in the nature benchmark. Despite being in the middle of the pack, Loblaw remains one of the highest-ranked Canadian corporations under the alliance. .
The company has set three key sustainability goals: to achieve net-0 prestige by 2040 for its company’s operational footprint (and by 2050 for emissions from assets not owned by Loblaw); making plastic packaging in stores and those of its space brands, such as No Name and President’s Choice, recyclable or reusable by 2025; and send 0 food to landfills by 2030.
Some of Loblaw’s social projects include goals for the percentage of women or visual minorities on its board of directors or in senior positions, as well as for hiring and accommodating other people with disabilities.
Brandon said Loblaw is on track to meet its goals and exceed its own deadlines. For example, the company reduced its overall carbon footprint by 30% through 2020, a decade ahead of schedule. “We have a history of good luck there, so we’re confident we can incorporate them into our ultimate goals,” he said.
For Loblaw’s environmental goals, its board of directors oversees and monitors the company’s methods, while a steering committee is responsible for how the methods are adopted. Since 2021, ESG has been part of the criteria of the company’s employee incentive program, tying functionality in spaces such as how the fight against climate replaces compensation.
Along with the direction of top executives, Jstomer’s expectations also push Loblaw to set the bar higher, without keeping up with the latest trends. “We’re looking to meet the higher demands of the Jstomers on other fronts,” Brandon said. “Customers set the bar very high when it comes to the overall behavior of a grocer like us. We do not process each and every customer for a particular initiative.
When it comes to business resilience, Brandon says ESG practices are key. “This is a critical component of our resilience going forward,” he said. “The company recognizes, especially on core issues such as climate change, that it is imperative that we not only manage our carbon emissions, but also actively monitor and manage the effects of climate on our business.
But Black said that despite all the corporate statement about the importance of sustainability, there are still enough concrete actions. “As far as food benchmarks are concerned, there hasn’t been massive progress between 2021 and 2023,” he said. “Certainly not at the speed we would like to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals or the global biodiversity framework. “
For example, Black said executives widely recognize that corporations want to minimize pesticide use, but practices on the floor still prioritize short-term desires over long-term sustainability. This puts businesses at risk, he said.
As things stand, many Canadian companies have a false sense of confidence about their long-term crisis preparedness, according to PricewaterhouseCooper International Ltd. ‘s recent Global Crisis and Resilience Survey. Only a third of international respondents, according to the survey, They have the elements for resilience.
But having sustainability or environmental experts on a company’s board is a starting point for corporations involved in weathering the next crisis, Black said. That’s something DeeBee’s Organics’ Laslo-Baker echoes, and she encourages business leaders to surround themselves with knowledgeable and knowledgeable people.
Still, incorporating sustainable practices into a business style can be tricky, Black acknowledged, though he said the bar is now set for it. “The enabling environment is in a much healthier position today than it was in 2020,” he said. A lot of the paintings and scenes were made to prepare for the mass adoption of that sort of thing through companies. “
“We’re going to work with tons of partners to move forward now,” Black added. “We are still hopeful that in the next two iterations of the benchmark we will see much more progress. “
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