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Sustainable Supply: Transforming the Global Supply Chain with Green Practices

Sustainable Supply: Transforming the Global Supply Chain with Green Practices

Sustainable Supply: Transforming the Global Supply Chain with Green Practices

People can already feel the effect of global warming, making them ask what they can do to combat the crisis. Riding a bike to work and recycling are excellent starting points.

Still, the world needs more significant changes to ensure future generations have opportunities to succeed. How can humanity achieve a better planet? It starts with a sustainable supply chain.

Here’s a guide on why it’s the next step in solving the climate crisis.

 

How to Achieve a Sustainable Supply Chain

Actions speak louder than words, and they’re how the Earth will achieve long-lasting change. These six strategies demonstrate creating a sustainable supply chain this decade and beyond.

1. Switch to Renewable Energy Sources

Sustainability starts with switching to renewable energy sources. Solar, wind, nuclear and geothermal power are only some of the options available. Renewable energy sources are better for the environment because they don’t release greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2). They’re also better for the supply chain because you can produce renewable energy locally instead of depending on a far-away supplier.

Renewable energy has increased in the past few decades, with experts seeing consumption triple since 2013. These sources have become more commonplace as governments and companies see the benefits of installing solar panels, wind turbines and other technologies.

2. Reduce Fossil Fuel Consumption

Increasing renewable energy consumption needs to happen simultaneously with reducing fossil fuel utilization. According to the United Nations, fossil fuels are the largest contributor to climate change. Coal, oil and gas constitute about 90% of CO2 and 75% of GHG emissions. Ocean temperatures are rising, glaciers are melting, and natural disasters are worsening daily. It’s hard not to look at fossil fuel as the primary suspect.

The supply chain would benefit from reducing its fossil fuel consumption because of how volatile prices can be. Gas prices fluctuate with supply and demand, so even minor disruptions in production can significantly increase costs. For example, severe weather increases natural gas demand and leads to suppliers raising rates. Relying on renewable resources removes the uncertainty for many companies.

3. Electrify the Fleets

Removing fossil fuels from the supply chain means scrutinizing which industries use them the most. A good place to start is the automotive industry, considering the millions of cars and trucks driving on the streets daily. Most automobiles you pass have tailpipes emitting GHGs. The European Union (EU) says road transportation contributed nearly 72% of total emissions from member nations.

Electrifying fleets is the fastest way to reduce emissions from the transportation industry. Electric vehicles (EVs), trains and other forms of transport are slowly electrifying as manufacturers see the benefits of using this technology. The global supply chain would become more sustainable and secure because you can produce electricity at home. In contrast, oil and gas often come from international suppliers. Plus, EV research, manufacturing and production create thousands of job opportunities worldwide.

Integrating EVs into the supply chain requires more widespread adoption. Unfortunately, EVs cost more than petrol cars due to higher production costs. Manufacturing should become less expensive in the next decade to make these vehicles more accessible and affordable.

4. Change the Packaging

E-commerce is another sector worth scrutinizing due to its environmental impact. The world has relied more on e-commerce since the pandemic, with online retailers making shopping more accessible for consumers. Experts foresee a 14.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) until 2027 in the e-commerce market, demonstrating how the world has shifted in its buying preferences.

Reducing the environmental impact of e-commerce entails switching to EVs and changing the packaging. Many sites use non-recyclable materials for their packages, and the environmental cost adds up quickly. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says packaging and containers significantly contribute to municipal solid waste, adding to landfills worldwide.

The supply chain would become more sustainable if e-commerce companies switched to more sustainable packaging. Some businesses have changed to mushroom, seaweed, cornstarch and other more environmentally friendly materials for their packages. These options are more sustainable because they’re biodegradable and compostable. The end user can dispose of the container and feel better about their carbon footprint.

5. Emphasize ESG Scores

How will the planet get large companies on board with a sustainable supply chain? The leading motivator for multinational corporations is environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores. This metric tracks how a company promotes environmental policies, social justice and governing equity.

How many women and people of color are on the board? What were a corporation’s emissions last year? ESG scores determine these statistics on a 0 to 100 scale, with a score below 50 indicating poor performance.

Why do ESG scores matter? Investors are talking with their wallets. Shareholders are more likely to invest in companies demonstrating care for the environment and people within the organization. Businesses with minimal or no concern for the planet are more likely to fall behind because they’re less sustainable and profitable.

6. Push for Government Action

Ultimately, it’s up to governmental bodies worldwide to enforce environmental policies and hold companies accountable. Corporations can release statements supporting eco-friendly ideas, but some find themselves greenwashing and doing more harm than good. Environmental lobbyists and activist groups push the government to push businesses to do the right thing and enact favorable policies.

 

Why a Sustainable Supply Chain Is Necessary

Companies have touted making a sustainable supply chain this decade, so it’s worth asking why it’s necessary. Here are a few reasons why improving the supply chain is vital.

Stabilizing Economies

The supply chain disruptions from 2020 to 2022 demonstrate global economies’ vulnerability. A sustainable supply chain means increasing regional domestic solutions instead of relying on international suppliers. Ports can close due to infectious diseases and other issues, so making an efficient supply chain is essential moving forward.

Curbing Global Warming

The top reason for making a sustainable supply chain is to curb global warming. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) says summer 2023 was the hottest on record, with information dating back to 1880. Scientists attribute the rise in global temperatures to human activity worldwide. Reducing this rise requires making the supply chain more sustainable. s

GHGs are a significant factor in climate change, with countries like the U.S., China and India contributing the most each year. Reducing emissions is essential to prevent climate change’s worst environmental and human health impacts. Research shows a positive correlation between CO2 emissions and disability-adjusted life years, meaning reducing emissions leads to longer and healthier lives.

Lowering Costs

A sustainable supply chain makes sense for the environment and a company’s bottom line. Sustainable supply chains lead to reduced costs associated with energy production and consumption. Relying on solar and wind power at home is less expensive and more reliable in the long run than depending on foreign oil.

 

Ensuring a Sustainable Supply Chain for the Future

Time is running out to stop the worst effects of climate change. Fortunately, the planet still has a few years left to control rising temperatures and set humanity on a better path. Creating a better Earth starts with building a more sustainable supply chain. These six ways demonstrate what needs to happen.

 

 


 

 

Source  –  Happy Eco News

The Power of Responsible Sourcing

The Power of Responsible Sourcing

Climate change, circular economies, ESG and sustainability have all become business priorities over the past few years, with global supply chains sitting right in the middle of these issues – both as a major contributor to the problem and as an area of focus for improvements. Businesses must, therefore, purchase materials and products from companies that can show that they have good sustainability practices, from both a labour and manufacturing point of view.

The benefits of responsible sourcing and sustainable packaging

Responsible sourcing has been shown to influence consumers buying decisions, with studies suggesting that up to 70% of consumers would pay more for sustainably-produced goods. Businesses must therefore meet the increasing demand from consumers for products that are both environmentally and socially responsible.

Yet businesses are still learning when it comes to improving their responsible sourcing process, with Richard Howells, Vice President of Solution Management for Digital Supply Chain at SAP, describing it as an “evolving landscape,” allowing businesses the opportunity to combine sustainability initiatives with efficiency efforts and customer demand.

“While the ‘Amazon Effect’ has led to heightened consumer expectations for quick delivery, there is a similar demand for eco-friendly products,” Howell says. “In fact, 90% of Gen X consumers say they’d be willing to pay more for sustainable items – compared to 34% just a couple of years ago.

“In today’s market, for businesses to prosper and expand they must discover novel approaches to meet rising demands for ESG standards, placing greater emphasis on responsible sourcing.”

Responsible sourcing within procurement

For businesses to build a responsible and resilient supply chain, leaders need to acknowledge that procurement is the first step. “The procurement team begins the sourcing process by evaluating potential goods and materials that would make up the products made and distributed in the supply chain,” says Etosha Thurman, Chief Marketing & Solutions Officer, of Intelligent Spend and Business Network at SAP.

“In their evaluation, they are considering the environmental, societal, and economic impact of sourcing the materials. For example, potential risks with energy efficiency, water and land usage, and hazardous materials.”

To ensure businesses adopt responsible sourcing, leadership needs to set out clear definitions which align with the ESG goals of the organisation. Procurement professionals must also be educated about the necessary steps to ensure the goods and services under consideration meet the criteria.

Technologies role in responsible sourcing

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, technology stands as a pivotal ally in driving sustainability across the source-to-pay (S2P) and procure-to-pay (P2P) processes. By seamlessly integrating innovative solutions, organisations can navigate strategic sourcing, procurement, and supplier relationships while adhering to responsible and ethical practices.

“Technology can help organisations follow sustainable practices at every stage of the S2P and P2P process,” Thurman says. “In strategic sourcing, the right solutions can help analyse current and future spending, find and source from suppliers, ensure compliance and reduce risk with sustainability in mind. SAP Ariba Sourcing is a good example of a solution that enables users to prioritise suppliers that align with ESG goals.”

During the P2P process, Thurman reminds organisations that it is important to use solutions that help guide business users to make risk-aware and sustainable purchases, ensuring contract compliance with sustainable procurement policies. “The guided buying capability in SAP Ariba Procurement solutions can help guide employees to purchase from sustainable suppliers,” she adds. “Technology can also be a valuable tool in nurturing relationships with sustainable suppliers. Taulia’s Sustainable Supplier Finance solution allows users to reward suppliers that share their ESG qualifications with early payment incentives.

What’s more, to build a sustainable and risk-resilient supply chain, businesses need to establish strong relationships with key suppliers, which must be diverse. The supply chain data then needs to be monitored and analysed in real time, and investment needs to be made in technologies that can enhance supply chain visibility and agility.

“Efficient, effective technology can help businesses acquire and manage the data and information they need to measure compliance, minimise risk and boost sustainability,” Howells says. “Businesses must examine their value chains comprehensively, from sourcing raw materials to understanding the end product’s lifecycle. By adopting technology-driven solutions like blockchain and IoT, companies can ensure that their sustainability efforts extend beyond the surface level to every aspect of their operations.”

What’s more, SAP works with its partners to provide efficient solutions to business operations, while recognising the importance of monitoring and measuring not only cost, speed, profitability and customer service, but increasingly, emissions, waste, inequality and other sustainability and risk KPIs across the supply chain. This can be accomplished by connecting every process, contextualising every decision and collaborating with partners without obstacles. However, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for supply chain complexities.

Howell explains: “Buyers on SAP Business Network can choose vendors based not only on price and availability but also on human rights records and third-party sustainability ratings. Suppliers share human rights questionnaires to their profiles on SAP Business Network, where buyers can access them. Buyers are automatically notified any time a supplier they are doing business with updates their questionnaire. This saves suppliers time and helps buyers easily prepare for due diligence processes.”

Final thoughts

Embracing responsible sourcing is paramount for businesses aiming to navigate the evolving landscape of sustainability, satisfy consumer demands and enhance their growth prospects. Through integrating technology, fostering diverse supplier relationships and monitoring supply chain data, organisations can achieve a holistic approach to ESG standards, ensuring lasting positive impacts on both their operations and the wider world.

In a rapidly changing business environment, responsible sourcing stands as a gateway to sustainable success. By aligning with ESG goals, leveraging technology-driven solutions, and nurturing supplier relationships, businesses can forge resilient supply chains that not only meet current demands but also pave the way for a more environmentally and socially conscious future.

 

 


 

 

Source  Sustainability

Nestlé & Cargill use cocoa shell in new lowcarbon fertiliser

Nestlé & Cargill use cocoa shell in new lowcarbon fertiliser

Approximately 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are currently produced from the production and use of conventional fertiliser, and more than half of the carbon footprint of wheat grown in the UK is related to fertiliser use.

Nestlé UK & Ireland and Cargill have partnered to develop innovative solutions in regenerative agriculture. The initiative — a UK supply chain trial — aims to assess whether cocoa shells from a confectionery site in York could be used to create a low carbon fertiliser.

The trial to evaluate the fertiliser’s performance on crop production, soil health and GHG emissions reduction will last two years, and, if successful, could produce and offer up to 7,000 tonnes of low carbon fertiliser to farmers in Nestlé’s UK wheat supply chain. This amount of fertiliser equates to around 25% of Nestlé UK’s total fertiliser use for wheat.

“Farmers often find themselves to be among the first groups to be exposed to global issues, and these risks are then borne by the food system we all depend upon,” shares Matt Ryan, Regeneration Lead at Nestlé UK & Ireland.

“We have to find ways to build more resilience into the system and optimising our use of natural resources is a critical part of this.

“This project is a small, but very meaningful step towards a net zero future, where farmers, local enterprises, and nature all stand to benefit”

 

Reducing emissions across the supply chain

Cargill supplies the cocoa shells from its York facility where the shells are processed to become key ingredients in iconic products like KitKat and Aero.

Recycling valuable nutrients from waste streams within the food system provides a promising opportunity to create a lower emissions supply chain. Scaling up low carbon fertiliser production in the UK can provide farmers with a more sustainable product at a reliable price.

The trials, which were designed and are being overseen by York-based Fera Science Ltd, are currently taking place on arable farms in Suffolk and Northamptonshire. They are designed to investigate the performance of the fertiliser in terms of wheat yield and quality, as well as assess the impacts on soil biodiversity and GHG emissions in comparison to conventional products applied on the same farms.

“We have now finished harvesting and we’ve successfully grown a Winter wheat crop using this new fertiliser. We’ve compared two parts of the field, one which used the cocoa shell fertiliser, and one which used with the conventional fertiliser, and there is no significant difference in the yield so we can see that it works,” says Richard Ling, farm manager at Rookery Farm, Wortham in Norfolk, who supplies wheat to Nestlé Purina.

“We are really reassured with the results and are looking at running further trials. It’s a step change to be able to use a fertiliser made from a waste stream and see the same results as using a conventional product. It’s an exciting and promising time and we are pleased to be taking part in these trials to help reduce the carbon emissions from our farming.”

For all companies involved, the trial embodies their commitment to innovation, collaboration and sustainability throughout the supply chain. Alongside its pledge to net zero emissions by 2050, Nestlé has committed to sourcing 50% of its key ingredients from regenerative agricultural methods by 2030 and this project is an example of the innovative solutions supporting the company on that journey.

“Cargill and Nestlé have been working together for more than 60 years building resilient supply chains across communities where we both operate. We are excited to continue to build on this strong partnership through our innovative cocoa shell fertiliser trial,” says Sam Thompson, Global Engineering Lead at Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate.

“Together, we hope to contribute to a more sustainable future for the British farming industry.”

 

 


 

 

Source  Sustainability 

 

 

The road to sustainable procurement

The road to sustainable procurement

For many, procurement – determining a supplier for goods or services – is an invisible process. Despite this, it’s a completely vital one that keeps the global economy humming along.

How do goods get from one place to another? How are they procured, from where are they supplied, and how do they move down the chain? These are all questions procurement teams have to consider daily. Managing procurement is synonymous with running a sound business: according to one statistic, 70% of what an organisation earns is spent on suppliers.

The experience of COVID-19 and the pandemic’s disruptions to supply chains have reminded all of us – through higher prices and the inability to acquire basic goods – of the significance of this silent mover of the economy. Being reminded of procurement’s vitality and omnipresence begs questions about the process’s sustainability.

For many, a sustainable procurement process comes down to smart economics. Proxima is a consultancy that helps companies – FTSE 100 ones among them – sustainably transition their procurement and logistics operations. The company’s Executive Vice President for Procurement, Simon Geale, views approaches to procurement as well as sustainability through the lens of spending wisely, and in this regard, the interests of both most certainly overlap.

He goes on: “In very simplistic terms, procurement needs to embed sustainability as a form of value, in the same way as it might think about speed, quality, cost, etc. when creating strategies, buying or measuring outcomes. At certain times, this will mean finding new solutions; at others, it can mean influencing and convincing stakeholders where change can be beneficial in business terms.”

But it’s not always easy accounting for sustainability in procurement, which is often an indirect emission, one which the primary company has to in some way outsource to a contractor. “For most sectors, scope three greenhouse gas emissions – the indirect impacts that occur in a company’s value chain – are the largest source of emissions, but getting a handle on them is notoriously difficult.” These are the words of Selina Donald, the Founder and Chief Sustainability Advisor of The Bulb, a sustainability consultancy that specialises in events. As the leader of the sustainability and social values strategy for the recent Birmingham Commonwealth Games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Donald was tasked with overseeing over 100 suppliers.

Recognising that “no one can become net zero until we all become net zero”, Donald stresses the need within procurement to align with like-minded suppliers, as well as to rate the sustainability and social values of potential suppliers.

“In their contract, there’s a clause that requires them to provide sustainability data and ensure that their values align with expected on-site behaviours across power and waste management, transportation and design.” In the event she is not sure, she deploys tools like TRACE, a carbon calculator that tracks the environmental impact of suppliers. By implementing workshops and maintaining regular communication, sustainability was kept at the forefront of her company’s relationship with suppliers. By setting up a direct line via an email address, suppliers were engaged “to provide sustainability support as appropriate and for them to put forward more sustainable options when delivering the product or service”.

Donald neatly summarises the approach: “We recognised that a key driver to meeting our Sustainability and Social Values commitments was working with a like-minded supply chain that can not only meet requirements and provide value for money, but, at the same time, hold sustainability, diversity, and ethical sourcing practices at the core of their operations.”

Still, it doesn’t come down solely to checking your partners. A deep understanding of markets is also informative and essential. Only then will sustainable procurement become shockproof. Going back to Simon Gaele at Proxima, he says: “Understanding the supply market means you will get the best outcomes available to you. If you don’t understand the market, you will always buy what you know, or, at best, be constrained by your own ideas and open to supply market risk. That’s a dangerous place to be in.”

Gaele does concede that the market – the lifeblood of enterprise and capitalism – does have a seminal part in the quest for sustainable procurement: “As unfashionable as it is to say sometimes, markets inform what we should be paying for sustainable solutions; even in a deep collaboration where we are ‘designing to X’, market intelligence informs commercial value calculations, top and bottom line.”

 

 


 

 

Source – Sustainability

How to move towards a more sustainable supply chain

How to move towards a more sustainable supply chain

Supply chain leaders are under pressure from all sides to become more sustainable, not just from board-level executives but also from customers and investors. In fact, research by Celonis and IBM found that more than half of Chief Supply Chain Officers (CSCOs) would be willing to sacrifice up to 5% of profit to become more sustainable.

One key way of improving sustainability is getting rid of process inefficiencies which create significant waste and increase unnecessary emissions. Excess stock or production waste is often the result of unclear processes, miscalculations, quality deficiencies, or capacity bottlenecks. The materials and products wasted in the process drive up costs and have a negative impact on a company’s carbon footprint. But it’s often the case that companies can’t even see hidden process problems.

Through data-powered process mining, it is possible to find and fix the hidden process problems that you don’t know you have and improve your sustainability performance.

 

The missing data

The sustainable procurement of materials is fundamental to achieving overall sustainability in the supply chain. Transparency with regard to the exact ecological and social impacts of suppliers is important. However, this is precisely where sufficient insight is often lacking or information is not always available in a timely manner.

Shipping delays at ports worldwide have wreaked havoc on global supply chains, with research suggesting that as little as 34% of container vessels arrived without any delay to their destination in February 2022. This statistic is only a glimpse of the huge inefficiencies in supply chain that lead to unnecessary carbon emissions and a negative environmental impact. As an example, 1.6 billion tonnes of food are wasted each year, contributing to roughly 8% of the world’s carbon emissions. 78% of this waste occurs before the food reaches the consumer due to inefficient supply chains, meaning food is actually perishing before it hits supermarket shelves. Businesses are therefore forced to order more food than is needed in order to account for the shortfall.

A common problem here is that decision-makers simply do not have the necessary information for climate-friendly route planning, and the amount of data is one of the biggest obstacles. What seems paradoxical at first glance has its roots in the increasing number of IT systems and applications as well as the virtually exploding mass of stored information. Whereas 25 years ago even larger companies worked with only a handful of different IT systems, today there are usually hundreds, often with numerous applications being used to support a single process. This complexity leads to breaks and inefficiencies in processes that cannot be detected, let alone fixed, with traditional methods.

At the same time, these weak points mean unnecessary consumption of resources and thus increased costs and avoidable CO2 emissions.

 

Why process mining works

This is exactly where process mining and execution management come in. Process mining works like an X-ray machine for internal procedures and can illuminate and subsequently optimise critical business processes. It does this by visualising the current state of internal operations, including all process variants on the basis of data. With valid, data-based insights across all procedures it is possible to break down silos and incorporate sustainability into every decision or measure. All processes and different data sources are taken into account. By bringing together data from all common IT systems, such as SAP, Oracle or Salesforce, and mapping it in its actual form, business processes become holistically understandable.

By applying process mining and the right execution management in this way, companies can shrink the time it takes to find a process problem from years to hours, and make great leaps and bounds in sustainability goals in a short span of time.

 

The path to sustainability

Making a business more sustainable actually has a positive effect on the bottom line. Some of the world’s leading companies measure the impact of inefficiencies within their supply chain processes in order to minimise resource waste. Process mining and execution management helps these companies find and realise opportunities to significantly optimise fuel consumption, yielding material, financial and environmental benefits.

Carbon commitments and sustainability goals are no longer seen as afterthoughts. Rather, they are fundamental aspects of a company’s overarching business strategy. As processes determine how businesses run, they enable operational and even systemic change. Once processes are analysed and improved with intelligence and data execution, it becomes possible to prioritise sustainability in every operational decision.

This continuous measurability is a crucial aspect for many companies in view of the increasingly strict regulatory requirements. To put it in a nutshell: AI-supported technologies and continuous follow-up are the prerequisites for a sustainability process that is ‘sustainable’ in the literal sense of the word.

 


 

Source Edie

Coca-Cola bottlers aim to develop technology to capture CO2 and convert it into sugar

Coca-Cola bottlers aim to develop technology to capture CO2 and convert it into sugar

In 2020, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) committed to reducing net emissions across its value chain by 30% by 2030, before bringing them to net-zero by 2040. At the time, CCEP said in a statement that it is ready to go further and faster after reducing value chain emissions by 30.5% since 2010.

Going further and faster has seen its Ventures arm (CCEP Ventures) collaborate with the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) to explore novel methods of capturing carbon and then using it as a feedstock.

Speaking exclusively with edie, Craig Twyford, Head of CCEP Ventures, stated that this project (which will originally last three years) would enable the firm to support scientists and experts to hopefully deliver a viable, onsite method to capture carbon emissions from facilities and then use them in products in a bid to drive down emissions.

“I think this is incredibly exciting,” Twyford told edie. “It’s a big picture idea, but if we start thinking of carbon as not just a problem but also as a feedstock, then there’s a lot of things we can start to change.

“The way I envisage it, but obviously there’s many twists and turns along the way, is that we’d ideally be able to fit direct air capture units to each of our sites that draws down the carbon in a cost-effective and efficient way. The biggest impact will probably be if we can use this to carbonate our drinks and produce sugar, but it could have impact elsewhere.”

 

Sugar focus

CCEP is financing the three-year research programme that will be led by the Peidong Yang Research Group at the University of California, Berkeley, which will first and foremost focus on the production of sugar from onsite carbon at an industrial scale. CCEP and Twyford believe that lab-scale prototypes could be the first step in making raw materials and packaging more sustainable and with a lower carbon footprint in the long run.

Sugarcane is not only the source of most of the world’s sugar, but is also the most produced food crop in the world. Sugarcane production has increased by more than 10% in the last 10 years with the crop now being utilised outside of the food space, namely in the creation of biofuels and controversial bioplastics.

Research from food analytics company Spoonshots found that the average water footprint used to produce 1kg of refined sugar is the equivalent of two years of drinking water for one person. Additionally, firms like British Sugar have calculated that 0.6g of CO2 equivalent is produced for every gram of sugar made.

As the population continues to grow, land becomes more contested and forests burned down for agricultural processes, it is clear that innovating the agri-sector is key to combatting key megatrends like land loss and degradation, deforestation and the climate crisis.

For companies like CCEP, agricultural ingredients, including sugar, can account for around 25% of the firm’s overall carbon footprint. Tackling emissions associated with agri-ingredients will be key to reaching net-zero.

Twyford points out that this innovation could also assist in reducing “some of the largest carbon contributors” across the value chain, namely by saving on raw and finite materials for things like packaging – by turning carbon into PET plastic and reducing the need for crude oil – and fuel and reducing transportation and logistics costs due to the onsite aspect of the project.

 

 

Supply chain innovation

Given that the majority of CCEP’s Scope 3 emissions are in the supply chain, the company is aiming to help all of its strategic suppliers set science-based targets and transition to 100% renewable electricity. For ingredient and packaging-related emissions, the company will accelerate plans relating to sustainable agriculture and 100% recycled plastics. Some life-cycle analyses have found that soft drinks bottles made using 100% post-consumer-recycled plastic generate 40% less CO2e than virgin plastic bottles.

Twyford stated that this innovation would likely have the biggest impact on its Scope 3 aspirations, but that there were still plenty of challenges to overcome.

“There are some hurdles but it think [the research team] can overcome them,” Twyford said. “The challenges are around selectivity and efficiency and creating the right glucose. So the first three years will be seeing how these challenges can be overcome. But [the team] has a roadmap for this and 2025 will come around quickly, at which point we’ll start asking ‘where do we go from here’?”

While the success of the initial research hinges on overcoming barriers, the long-term ambition for this project is scalability. Twyford believes that having an organisation as large as CCEP, which serves 1.75 million customers across 29 countries, will create some confidence in the carbon capture market which, to date, has looked at larger projects between a cluster of organisations and sites.

Crucially, CCEP believes that this vision could be shared across the industry, helping other firms to decarbonise at a pace on the road to net-zero.

“Everyone needs to learn off everyone,” Twyford said. “So if these direct air capture systems can really be used to help us view carbon as a valuable feedstock then this can be a solution that will help a lot of industries. I think these types of solutions will be industry-wide eventually.

“For us, we think that if we can take on a leadership role to back this, then others may look at us and view this as something that is serious and can be scaled.”

CCEP is not the only firm with this view. Carpet manufacturer, Interface, for example i forging ahead with its Climate Take Back strategy, which is also filled to the brim with moonshot goals. It focuses on “bringing carbon home and reversing climate change” and to “stop seeing carbon as the enemy, and start using it as a resource”. Indeed, many industrial firms have switched their mindset to stop “demonising” carbon and instead realise the potential that is could have as a key material building block.

Twyford ends by reiterating that this will not see the company become sugar manufacturers and that any success will require the expertise of its existing supply chain to help share advice and best practice.

To this end, earlier in the week, CCEP confirmed the creation of a sustainability-linked supply chain finance programme that will be operated by specialist food and agri-bank Rabobank.

The new finance programme will reward suppliers that make improvements on sustainability across the business and will feature sustainability-linked KPIs that, if met, will create discounts against the initial funding rate.

 


 

Source Edie

Royal Mail orders another 2,000 electric vans

Royal Mail orders another 2,000 electric vans

Last summer, Royal Mail announced an ambition to add 3,000 more EVs to its fleet as soon as possible, up from around 300 EVs it was operating at the time.

The firm has now posted strong progress, celebrating the deployment of its 3,000th EV at its Peterborough Delivery Office. The hub has a fully electric fleet of 106 vehicles now, and is one of 70 Royal Mail locations to host EVs. Other locations with only electric fleets include Bristol.

Royal Mail also announced a new order for 2,000 electric vans and a new target to have 5,500 EVs in its fleet by spring 2023, given that the first deliveries of the additional vans will begin this month.

The additional order for 2,000 vans is split evenly between the Peugeot Partner and Peugeot Expert models.

Peugeot claims that the pure electric partner can travel up to 171 miles per charge, with a payload of up to 800 kilograms. It markets the model as ideal to replace diesel models of similar sizes. For the Expert, Peugeot boasts a range of up to 205 miles per charge and rapid charging capabilities. The Expert is the smaller of the two models.

“Environment is the next battleground for businesses, and we are determined to lead,” said Royal Mail Group’s chief executive Simon Thompson. “The transition to electric vehicles is a key part of our strategy to reduce our emissions whilst delivering a seven-day parcel service to our customers.”

Royal Mail is working towards an overarching climate goal of net-zero emissions across the value chain by 2040.

The firm previously said in a statement that, aside from the emissions reduction and clean air benefits of EVs, the vehicles “also increasingly make more economic sense than diesel vehicles in the long-term”. This is a reason increasingly given amid the energy price crisis, with wholesale petrol and diesel prices having climbed steeply in the first half of the year and reductions being slow to be passed on at the pump now.

Royal Mail is also exploring alternative fuels as well as EVs. In May 2021, it added 29 40-tonne biogas-powered trucks to its fleet. More innovative solutions, such as micromobility in cities and drones for remote areas, are also in the pipeline. The firm is aiming to convert its road fleets entirely to EVs and alternative fuels, phasing out petrol and diesel entirely, but has not set a target date.

 

Latest EV registration figures

In related news, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has published its latest data on car registrations, covering July.

The data confirms that, overall, new car registrations were down 9% year-on-year, despite a slight uptick in sales month-on-month. The SMMT highlighted how chip shortages are still impacting supply chains, and how the cost-of-living crisis is continuing to bite.

The decline was primarily led by a reduction in petrol and diesel sales, although plug-in hybrid sales also tanked by 34% year-on-year. Battery electric vehicle sales, however, were up by almost 10% year-on-year.

12,243 battery electric vehicles were registered in July 2022. This brings the number of these vehicles registered in 2022 so far to 127,492, compared to around 85,000 during the whole of 2021.

Commenting on the figures, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘The automotive sector has had another tough month and is drawing on its fundamental resilience during a third consecutive challenging year as the squeeze on supply bedevils deliveries.

“While order books are strong, we need a healthy market to ensure the sector delivers the carbon savings government ambitions demand.

“The next Prime Minister must create the conditions for economic growth, restore consumer confidence and support the transition to zero-emission mobility.”

Indeed, the next PM’s Ministers will have the job of updating the Government’s Net-Zero Strategy after the High Court deemed it unlawful.

 


 

Source Edie

Sustainable supply chains and the road to net zero

Sustainable supply chains and the road to net zero

There were 131 billion parcels shipped worldwide in 2020 — a figure that is predicted to double in the next five years. Asia represents a huge market for global trade and logistics with the continent expected to account for 57 per cent of the growth of the global e-commerce logistics markets between 2020 and 2025.

But getting things from A to B creates an enormous carbon footprint.

Transportation was responsible for 8.26 gigatons, or about 26 per cent, of CO2 emissions globally in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Freight, the transport of goods, accounts for more than 7 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Transport Forum.

Slashing planet-warming gases produced by transport and logistics will be instrumental in helping nations and corporates hit their climate goals.

A raft of corporate net-zero commitments has largely led to rapid efforts to drive down direct Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. More organisations are pledging to reduce Scope 3 emissions generated upstream and downstream of the value chain and those embodied in transport and distribution.

Supply chains have become longer, more complex as logistics networks link more economic centres together and consumer preferences change leading to more regular, smaller freight shipments and rapid delivery by energy-intensive transport such as air freight.

While Europe and North America dominate historic transport emissions, much of the projected growth in emissions is in Asia, according to the World Economic Forum which reckons that highly ambitious policies could cut emissions by 70 per cent – but not to zero.

Operating in 220 countries and territories, Germany-headquartered Deutsche Post DHL Group is one of the largest logistics firms in the world. It also produced 33.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2020.

The organisation has pegged its pathway to decarbonisation on reducing annual group carbon dioxide emissions to below 29 million tonnes by 2030 as it attempts to hit zero emissions by 2050. An investment of US$7.6 billion until 2030 will be funnelled into alternative aviation fuels, the expansion of electric vehicles and climate-neutral buildings, the group announced on 22 March.

“Logistics is a key contributor to the global carbon footprint. DHL occupies a big share of global logistics,” said Amrita Khadilkar, regional director, Operations Development, Digitalisation and GoGreen, APAC.

“In order to accelerate the move towards net zero carbon logistics, more work needs to be done to develop solutions within transport,” Khadilkar said. Private sector efforts alone are not enough, governments and policymakers must also buoy decarbonisation efforts.

 

From burning less, to burning clean

The S-curve charts the firm’s path to net zero logistics emissions.

The early climb on the solid S-curve represents carbon reduction strategies through supply chain efficiencies using existing technology that will enable the firm to burn fewer fossil fuels.

Carbon offsets are used to compensate for the hard-to-abate emissions and bridge the leap to the second dotted line S-curve—which represents the impending usage of new and currently less familiar types of technologies and approaches for carbon reduction—the final leg to net zero.

On this ‘burn clean’ pathway, the company sees the removal of carbon through sustainable fuels and alternative technologies, such as electric vehicles.

 

The S-curve framework – used to illustrate the typical pattern of start, rapid growth and maturity of technology diffusion as well as the corresponding efficiency improvements across an industry or economy – is one way to guide carbon reduction in logistics. This is achieved by reducing, compensating and removing. [Click to enlarge]. Image: DHL

 

However, there are several roadblocks to getting transport and logistics firms to burn clean fuels and move closer to net zero. Initial efforts show that firms find it challenging to navigate this road alone without meaningful collaboration.

“Most logistics firms have the know-how for reducing their carbon footprint using their existing technologies and familiar ways of working. But that will only take them so far as per the solid S-curve,” said Professor Emeritus Steven Miller, former vice provost (Research), Singapore Management University.

“To make the required progress in carbon reduction, companies need to jump to the next-generation (dotted line) S-curve enabled by new technology and new ways of working which will enable far greater opportunities for carbon footprint reduction,” he added.

Transport is still largely dependent on fossil fuels and is likely to remain so in the coming decades. Long-distance road freight (large trucks), aviation and shipping are areas from which carbon is particularly difficult to eliminate.

The potential for hydrogen as a fuel, or battery electricity to run planes, ships and large trucks is limited by the range and power required; the size and weight of batteries or hydrogen fuel tanks would be much larger and heavier than current combustion engines.

Currently, the logistics sector has low clean-technology maturity and high costs for such, such as new energy vehicles (NEVs), sustainable fuels, according to DHL. Supporting infrastructure like charging ports for EVs and access to renewable energy is currently lacking in some markets, driving up the cost of sustainable alternatives further. Meanwhile, aviation is still grappling with hitting on a viable low-carbon strategy.

“Some of the sustainable technologies and solutions in the early stages may not be commercially viable or operationally scalable,” acknowledged Khadilkar.

The IEA says that there needs to be deep cuts in fossil fuels to reach the mid-century target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Climate Action 100+, the world’s largest grouping of investors representing US$65 trillion in assets, warned in March that the aviation industry needed to take “urgent action” to align with the world’s climate goal. Its report highlighted the need for a “substantial” increase in sustainable aviation fuel between now and 2030.

 

Collaboration is key

In a bid to cut the reliance on fossil fuels in its air freight, DHL has set an ambitious goal of using 30 per cent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for all air transport by 2030.

Last month, DHL announced one of the largest SAF deals with bp and Neste which have committed to provide 800 million litres until 2026. DHL expects its strategic collaborations to save about two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the aviation fuel lifecycle – equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of about 400,000 passenger cars.

Tackling emissions created on land, DHL teamed up with Swedish firm, Volvo Trucks to introduce heavy duty electric delivery trucks for regional transport in Europe. The initiative is buoyed with funding from the country’s innovation agency, Vinnova and energy agency.

The adoption of new fuel technologies, essential to helping firms complete the journey to zero carbon emissions, requires partnering with governments to fund research and development efforts. Public investment in higher-risk programmes can also lead to the development of potentially disruptive technologies for energy applications.

“Government support can improve the rate of adoption of such technologies or solutions,” said Khadilkar. “Government incentives can also enable more research in green technologies and speed up any efforts to bring them to market.”

This would also reduce the cost. While companies like DHL and its industry peers can pilot new green technologies into freight, the cost will have to be shouldered by the consumer to some extent. Customers and companies say they want to live more sustainably but not all are willing to pay a premium to enable it.

Firms can only edge closer to net zero through trial and error. “Governments need to help through more research and development support, staging and coordinating larger scale domestic and international field trials, and by providing incentives for relevant business investments in new technology and capital, as well as in the related needs for human learning and training to work with these new technologies,” Miller said.

The adoption of sustainable alternatives has accelerated in countries where governments are offering financial support. This includes subsides and incentives through tax relief. Government subsidies have helped China become the world’s largest market for EVs. It is expected to exceed the government 2025 target and hit 20 per cent nationwide penetration this year.

“Investing or promoting green infrastructure can enable local businesses’ operations to be greener—through available and affordable renewable energy or developed local EV charging infrastructure, for example. A regulatory push such as inner city emissions regulation, or incentives like tax breaks, subsidies, are other ways we have seen help accelerate sustainability efforts,” said Kevin Jungnitsch, project manager & APAC sustainability lead, DHL Consulting APAC office.

Governments have also proven that they can help reduce emissions created by last-mile delivery.

In Singapore, a nationwide parcel delivery locker network spearheaded by the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore allows e-commerce platforms and their customers collect and return online purchases using parcel lockers scattered across the city. It is expected to reduce the distance travelled for delivery purposes by 44 per cent daily and the city state’s CO2 emissions by up to 50 tonnes a year.

Waste also needs to be addressed. Out of the 1.56 million tonnes of household waste generated in Singapore in 2018, approximately one-third was packaging, according to a study by the World Wide Fund for Nature and DHL Consulting published in November. About 2000,000 e-commerce parcels are delivered daily in the city state, and this is expected to grow by about 50 per cent in the next three years.

In a bid to stem the tide of waste, a six-month pilot scheme was launched last month in Singapore to encourage shoppers to return packaging from their online purchases and encourage retailers to adopt a circular waste model. The pilot is an attempt to tackle the mountains of waste caused by the high volume of online shopping.

 

Navigating the decarbonisation road map

Supply chains are coming under greater scrutiny as firms and countries accelerate efforts to decarbonise. If the transport and logistics industry fails to respond effectively, it is likely to face significant and rapid regulatory tightening, and ever greater scrutiny from capital markets.

Strong public-private partnerships are needed to accelerate the necessary transition to the new generation of technology and new supporting business processes and ways of working in order to get supply chains to net zero carbon emissions, Miller added.

The private sector and government institutions could follow a simple framework to prompt deeper discussion and action surrounding the acceleration of adopting decarbonising logistics. This begins with a discovery phase where current infrastructure, resources and technologies are evaluated, sustainability challenges assessed, and key areas of focus are prioritised.

Embedding sustainability into corporate governance could help influence the decision-making that flows into the supply chain. This includes measures such as introducing mandatory sustainability requirements around reporting and transparency.

The challenge for governments will be to encourage companies to form robust decarbonisation plans with supporting incentives so that no single player is penalised for taking the harder path to sustainability.

Lastly, companies on the path to net zero need to examine each aspect of decarbonisation and identify where they can follow, share or lead on aspects of the net zero journey. While some firms will be able to distinguish themselves as sustainable leaders in some areas, they will also need to make alliances with public and private stakeholders.

But time is of the essence as capping the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — a target key to avoiding the worst climate impacts — is slipping further out of reach.

“Climate promises and plans must be turned into reality and action now,” said Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, following a clarion call by hundreds of scientists last month to take action against climate change. “It is time to stop burning our planet, and start investing in the abundant renewable energy all around us.”

 


 

Source Eco Business

The circular economy: What B2B companies need to know

The circular economy: What B2B companies need to know

The world’s population is growing steadily, and with it the demand for raw materials and resources. But all too often these are not infinite and are slowly becoming scarce. Our consumption ensures that we gradually exceed the capacities and limits of our planet.

The circular economy is intended to help save resources and pave the way out of the vicious circle of the throwaway society. The idea is quite simple: existing materials and products are shared, borrowed, reused, repaired, refurbished, and recycled for as long as possible to extend the life of the raw materials used before they finally reach the end of their useful life.

Thus, waste generated is kept to a minimum as all components are kept in circulation in the economy for as long as possible.

 

Sustainable investments have peaked at $30 trillion globally – a 68 percent increase since 2014. Quite a few financiers have committed to climate neutrality goals and expect the same from their business partners

 

The circular economy not only helps to operate more sustainably, but it also reduces the threat to the environment, increases security of supply and has a positive impact on our climate.

For many companies, the transformation towards more sustainability and climate neutrality also has financial reasons. It has been noted on several occasions that sustainable products grow significantly faster and enjoy greater popularity than non-sustainable products.

Unilever, for example, stated that its sustainable brands grew a full 46 percent faster than others, accounting for 70 percent of the company’s sales growth. In addition, McKinsey has found that a focus on environmental, social, and governmental goals can significantly reduce rising operating costs for raw materials or water, for example.

Investors are also increasingly looking for forward-looking and innovative companies. Sustainable investments have peaked at $30 trillion globally – a 68 percent increase since 2014. Quite a few financiers have committed to climate neutrality goals and expect the same from their business partners.

The pressure on companies to operate in a climate-neutral manner and to advance measures such as the circular economy is therefore coming from all sides.

 

The urgency for a circular economy is growing

 

From returnable bottles to car sharing, consumers have had a growing range of options for living more sustainably for some time now. Half of Germans are willing to buy refurbished devices, according to the latest Bitkom study.

As demand for more sustainable products continues to grow, online retailers are also following suit by increasingly contributing to and sourcing from the circular economy as well. According to a consumer study by Mirakl, more than half of online shoppers surveyed are more likely to choose vendors with sustainable practices.

 

In addition to consumer goods, many B2B industries are also embracing the circular economy

 

In addition to consumer goods, many B2B industries are also embracing the circular economy. In the automotive industry, for example, the use of remanufactured parts creates tremendous environmental and economic benefits for insurance companies, auto body builders and car manufacturers.

According to an analysis by the VDI, remanufacturing a compressor saves 89 percent CO2 equivalents compared to new production. Procurement costs are also 40 to 70 percent lower, which also benefits insurance companies because they have to pay lower sums in the event of damage.

 

The automotive sector can become a pioneer of the circular economy

 

Aniel, a leading French B2B retailer of car body parts, has recognised the signs of the times. The company recently expanded the offering of its online marketplace, which already lists more than 65 million listings for over 15 million products, to include remanufactured body parts.

By centralising its product offering, Aniel is making it easier for its customers to access remanufactured products for which they would otherwise have had to search laboriously and time-consumingly for specialised third-party suppliers.

This significant expansion of the product offering in the marketplace has enabled Aniel to strengthen its positioning as a “one-stop store” for bodybuilders and automotive manufacturers.

The potential benefits of the marketplace model are enormous and can help a company become more agile, larger and more profitable. According to Mirakl’s new Enterprise Marketplace Index 2022, revenue growth in enterprise marketplaces is more than double that of e-commerce overall – for the second year in a row.

 

Online marketplaces like Zureli have the advantage of providing a large and centralised catalogue of offerings right in one place, helping to establish a resource-efficient approach to supporting the circular economy

 

When developing a marketplace strategy, B2B companies should focus on specialisation because they know their own ecosystem best, and customers rely on enterprise expertise.

Online marketplaces have the advantage of providing a large and centralised catalogue of offerings right in one place, helping to establish a resource-efficient approach to supporting the circular economy.

On average, an auto body shop serves more than 30 vehicle brands and thus receives supplies from dozens of different suppliers, including specialised dealers, from multiple locations. By centralising purchases and accessing a wide range of products, Aniel’s marketplace model saves shops a lot of time.

Continuous innovative thinking allows Aniel to strengthen the circularity of the automotive sector, secure the supply of spare parts and meet the challenge of internationalisation.

 

What’s next in terms of sustainability

Environmental awareness within companies is growing, and the sustainability of products is playing an increasingly important role. This includes optimised supply chains, sustainable materials, and fair working conditions. 86 percent of consumers even think that increased sustainable action can give B2B companies a decisive competitive advantage.

But there is still a lot of catching up to do when it comes to sustainability, both for consumers and for companies. While interest in sustainable products is growing, understanding of how the circular economy works still needs to improve. Only then can benefits be truly understood and changes implemented.

Through transparency, companies can demonstrate that the sustainability mindset is present and being advanced. The marketplace model provides a good foundation for the circular economy through its interconnectivity and numerous sales and comparison options, but companies must be willing to rethink their current concepts and processes. Only then can the circular economy become a reality.

 


 

Source Circular

Data-driven platform aims to clear up fog of palm oil traceability

Data-driven platform aims to clear up fog of palm oil traceability

A new web monitoring platform aims to achieve full traceability in palm oil supply chains and help companies to meet their zero-deforestation commitments — a goal that continues to elude the industry due to numerous challenges.

Palm oil is a major driver of deforestation in the two countries that produce nearly 90 per cent of the global supply, Indonesia and Malaysia, and whose forests are home to key biodiversity areas.

A 2019 study shows that land clearing for oil palm plantations was the single largest driver of deforestation in Indonesia between 2001 and 2016, accounting for 23 per cent of total deforestation.

One of the keys in stopping oil palm-driven deforestation is the ability to trace the palm oil product back to its origin, making sure that it’s legally sourced and produced from an environmental and social conflict-free area. Known as full traceability, this is a degree of transparency that the industry still hasn’t been able to achieve, despite the efforts of bodies like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

“The goal is to make Palmoil.io a self-sustaining and reliable resource for palm oil professionals to identify and mitigate risks in their supply chain,” Leo Bottrill, CEO and founder of MapHubs, told Mongabay.

Monitoring palm oil supply chains has long been challenging due to their complexity. A ton of palm oil derivative like stearic acid, for instance, used widely in detergents and cosmetics, is likely to consist of palm oil from hundreds of mills that, in turn, process palm fruit grown by thousands of plantations.

These webs of plantations and mills make it difficult for companies to fully know where they source from, right down to the plantation level, and thus to provide evidence of compliance. This also makes companies interdependent on each other for ensuring transparency.

So even if efforts have been made to monitor palm oil supply chains, they remain fragmented, expensive, and uneven, according to Bottrill. And without full traceability, a buying company can’t truly know if its palm oil is deforestation-free or not, even if it has made efforts to establish this, such as by publishing a list of the mills it buys from.

“Just because you publish a mill list, purchase RSPO-certified palm oil, and maintain a grievance tracker, doesn’t automatically mean you get a good rating,” Bottrill said. “There is still work to be done.”

Palmoil.io aims to rectify this by being the first monitoring system that reflect the reality of shared supply chains in the industry. To do that, the platform collects various data, including mapping data such as concession boundaries and mill locations, supply chain information from public mill lists, land classification maps, reliable and free forest alert technology, and widely available satellite imagery.

Palmoil.io analyses more than 2,000 palm mills, 480 refineries and crushers, and 400 high-risk plantations. It also screens all major palm oil traders, buyers and suppliers.

By analysing such a large number of mills and identifying forest loss within a 25-kilometer (16-mile) radius of mills, Palmoil.io is able to identify not only whether deforestation has occurred or not, but also what and who caused it.

 

“We rate each mill on both the amount of recent deforestation as well as historical deforestation and future risk,” Bottrill said.

Besides deforestation, Palmoil.io also tracks mills and suppliers associated with human rights and labor violations, by building a common grievance database featuring more than 1,400 grievances that are updated monthly. Having this database means individual companies don’t have to maintain their own grievance trackers.

With all this data, Palmoil.io can identify high-risk mills and inform subscribers to the platform not only about their exposure to the mills, but also about other companies that buy from the same mills. As a result, companies that share the same exposure to high-risk mills can work together to address the issues — essentially, buyers putting pressure on their common vendors.

“Palmoil.io shows where you need to improve, and perhaps most importantly, allows you to compare your performance with your peers,” Bottrill said. “Peer pressure might be the most powerful tool we have to achieve this zero-deforestation goal.”

Since its launch earlier this year, Palmoil.io has been used by major traders and buyers like Golden Agri Resources (GAR), Pacific Interlink, Olam and BASF.

In April, Palmoil.io notified major traders and buyers that subscribe to the platform that they’re exposed to deforestation as they’re buying from high-risk mills in Peninsular Malaysia, before the deforestation risks had been widely reported.

Bottrill said the Palmoil.io team would continue updating and improving the platform by adding more mills into the database. An upcoming feature will be plantation ratings.

“Similar to mills, this will be a list of concessions that will be rated for recent, historical and future deforestation risk,” Bottrill said. “We will also identify buyers and the grievances associated with that concession and group owner.”

MapHubs is also developing an experimental approach to analysing deforestation risk from smallholders, since very few of them have been mapped despite accounting for 40 per cent of all palm oil production.

“Despite the many challenges, I’m optimistic palm oil could be the first major deforestation-causing commodity to move definitively towards a deforestation-free mode of production,” Bottrill said. “Palmoil.io’s job is to help accelerate the ‘could.’”

But for palm oil to be truly deforestation free, he added, it’s important for all stakeholders to be involved.

“This is not about delivering a sustainable supply chain for one particular company or market. This is about everyone,” Bottrill said. “There can’t be a sustainable market and a leakage market — there can only be one market. So whether you are selling Snickers bars to Slovenians or cooking oil to Indians, sustainability must become an industry standard, not some voluntary luxury. We want Palmoil.io to play an important role towards achieving this.”

This story was published with permission from Mongabay.com.

 


 

Source Eco Business