ESG Global News for FMCG – Nov 28-Dec 04, 2022

• EU proposes packaging regulation plans to cut packaging waste Story Here.
• New report by the Wrap finds Brexit and COVID-19 sparked a 100K tonne increase in food waste Story Here.
• PepsiCo opens the UK's first oat testing lab to help growers yield high-quality oats and reduce emissions Story Here.
• McDonald's experiments with reusable containers ahead of EU anti-plastic laws Story Here.?

EU sets recycling, reuse targets to cut packaging waste Reuters, 30 Nov 2022, by Philip Blenkinsop

The European Commission has proposed new rules to reduce packaging waste through increased recycled content in plastic drinks bottles and targets for reuse of take-away cups and materials used for online deliveries. Under the proposal, all 27 EU members will be required to reduce packaging waste per capita by 5% by 2030 and 15% by 2040 compared with 2018 levels. The Commission said packaging waste, notably plastic, would continue to rise if no action were taken, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and so jeopardising the EU's target of net zero emissions by 2050.

EU drinks packaging targets “unrealistic” without more support, sector claims Just-Drinks, 01 Dec 2022, by Jessica Broadbent

EU targets for packaging recycling have been met with scepticism as drinks industry bodies claim the necessary infrastructure is not yet there. Environmental groups slammed the “watered down” targets in face of what they said was pressure from big business. The draft measures aim to reduce packaging waste by 5% by 2030 and 15% by 2040 – announcing the plans, the European Commission said the targets could be met through the re-use of packaging and recycling.

Decarbonizing the food industry: European Commission’s carbon removals program “falls short” Food Ingredients First, 01 Dec 2022

Long-awaited European Commission proposals to decarbonize the food sector don’t go far enough to meet net-zero targets, and make agri-food production systems more sustainable and friendlier to the planet. This is the assertion from several F&B industry bodies criticizing the plans released yesterday, insisting that the European Parliament review the current framework; otherwise, carbon farming will not be successful. Food production from farm-to-fork represents 30% of total carbon emissions within the EU, with the food manufacturing process accounting for 3% of total EU emissions.

Brexit and Covid spark 100,000-tonne increase in food waste The Grocer, 01 Dec 2022, by Ian Quinn

According to a new report by Wrap, Brexit and COVID-19 have combined to contribute towards a 100,000-tonne increase in food waste from producers and manufacturers in the UK. An update to the industry’s Food Waste Roadmap, which was launched in 2018, shows of the 140 producers and manufacturers who have agreed to share multi-year data, overall edible food waste decreased by 13,900 tonnes, or 1.4%, in 2021, compared with their baselines (ranging from 2015-2020).

Product labelling: going 2D for greater transparency Food Processing, 28 Nov 2022

Product labelling has long been used as an avenue for brands to highlight commitment to corporate social responsibility and demonstrate to retailers and consumers that they meet required ethical standards. However, concerns have been raised that static labelling schemes may offer consumers only part of the picture. Increasingly, brands are looking to their labelling to demonstrate their eco-credentials, and for some this means adopting new eco-conscious labelling initiatives such as the EU Ecolabel or Foundation Earth‘s traffic light labels, which rank the environmental impact of items.

Australian food organic waste target abandoned by the federal government ABC Online, 30 Nov 2022, by Evelyn Manfield

Australia has abandoned its goal of collecting food organic waste in kerbside bins by 2023, aiming now for all metropolitan households and businesses to be able to put food in their green bins by the end of the decade. Latest figures reveal only one-in-four Australian councils allow residents to mix food and garden waste for kerbside collection, despite the significant environmental benefits it can have and the demand for the compost. With food waste a major problem, it accounts for around 3% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions and costs the economy about $40bn a year.?

Fast-fashion brands claim they’re cleaning up their act for the planet, but their premise might be inherently flawed Fortune, 28 Nov 2022, by Marianna Cerini

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, fashion is responsible for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output, more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. The sector consumes around 100 billion cubic meters of water and produces some 92 million tons of textile waste annually, 87% of which ends up in landfills or polluting incinerators. It also accounts for one-fifth of the 300 million tons of plastic produced globally each year and contributes to an estimated 17% to 20% of water pollution through processes such as dyeing.

Coke’s sustainably chief throws down a marker on regulations for reporting supplier emissions—after the company had quibbled with some of the details Fortune, 01 Dec 2022, by Paolo Confino

One of the most contentious issues in corporate environmental impact reporting that is required by federal law is so-called Scope 3 emissions: those by third parties in a company’s supply chain. For Coca-Cola, this would include the carbon emissions produced by the suppliers it uses to make its plastic soda bottles. On Wednesday, at Fortune’s Impact Initiative conference in Atlanta, Fortune executive editor Peter Vanham, spoke to The Coca-Cola Company chief communications, sustainability, and strategic partnership officer Bea Perez.?

PepsiCo opens oat testing lab in Cambridge, UK Food Bev, 01 Dec 2022, by Rafaela Sousa

PepsiCo has opened its first UK oat testing lab, in partnership with the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), to help Quaker Oats growers to produce high-quality oats while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and maximising yield. According to PepsiCo, expert crop researchers will use the grain quality testing facilities at the site “to test and analyse thousands of oat samples from regenerative agricultural trials for milling and nutritional requirements”. The move forms part of the business's global strategy, PepsiCo Positive. It will help the food and beverage giant to spread regenerative farming practices across 7 million acres by 2030.

McDonald's trials reusable containers ahead of EU anti-plastic laws The Independent, 01 Dec 2022, Samuel Webb

McDonald's is trialling reusable containers at its French restaurants as the EU considers slashing single-use plastic waste.?A massive producer of plastic waste, only half of McDonald's packaging is made from sustainable materials and only 10 per cent of its outlets recycle. The containers caught the eye of French President Emmanuel Macron, who retweeted a picture of the containers and said: “The anti-waste law is not only the end of plastic straws. Look around you: in France, we are making changes to our consumption patterns and reducing our waste."

Emissions: Nestlé and Fonterra to trial net-zero dairy farm Food Navigator USA, 01 Dec 2022, by Teodora Lyubomirova

Nestlé and Fonterra have partnered in a bid to develop a commercially viable net-zero dairy farm. The methods and technologies used during the project will be shared with Fonterra farmers, who could then adopt what’s appropriate for their operations. Nestlé encourages climate-smart agriculture initiatives through more than 100 pilot projects globally, including in New Zealand, the US, South Africa and Germany. It is hoped that the project will contribute towards meeting the sustainability ambitions of both Fonterra and Nestlé, who aim to reach net-zero by 2050.

Environmentalists ask SEC to examine P&G's wood pulp supply chain claims. Reuters, 30 Nov 2022, by Jessica DiNapoli

The Natural Resources Defense Council has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to evaluate whether Procter & Gamble’s claims that its wood pulp suppliers’ practices help keep forests intact, are misleading to investors. P&G annually purchases more than one million metric tons of wood pulp which comes from trees to makes Charmin toilet paper, Bounty paper towels and Puffs tissues.

The subsistence farmer's son pushing for a better shake for smallholders at spices brand McCormick Reuters, 02 Dec 2022, by Oliver Balch

Before becoming, chief sustainability officer at spice brand McCormick, Michael Okoroafor worked at Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz. Now the Maryland-based company has taken steps to source directly from farmer cooperatives to reduce payments to 'predatory' middlemen, and has pledged to increase the resilience of 35,000 farmers in its direct supply chain by 2025.?

Suntory launches initiative to reduce barley production emissions Food Bev, 28 Nov 2022, by Phoebe Fraser

Suntory Group has announced a new project that aims to produce barley with 50% lower greenhouse gas emissions within five years. Under the initiative, which is set to start production in 2023, Suntory will procure UK-grown barley that is produced using regenerative agriculture practices. Regenerative agriculture is a sustainable farming method that reduces dependency on chemical fertilisers and pesticides through the use of cover crops and no-till faming.

Lo Bros launches new range to fight ocean waste Inside FMCG, 29 Nov 2022, by Rakshnna Pattabiraman

To tackle ocean waste, beverage brand Lo Bros has rolled out a new “impact-led” soda range, dubbed Not soda. Founder Didi Lo said the company is on a “mission” to disrupt the drinks industry with this initiative, by retrieving two plastic bottles from the ocean for every can of soda purchased.

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