Issue #84: Bridging the skills gap
Our Top Stories
Strengthening green skills: Edie reports on the launch of Danone’s new green upskilling global training programme, titled "DanSkills". The scheme aims to address the impending green skills revolution, with the company needing to fill 2,500 positions in Europe by 2027. Despite nearly all businesses recognising the impact of environmental factors on brand reputation, a mere fraction have a fully realised climate strategy in place. Danone’s initiative hopes to encourage others to close the significant climate action-ambition gap in the private sector.? [Edie]
The need for mandatory food waste reporting: Many of the UK’s top retailers have penned an open letter to the government this week, emphasising that mandatory reporting would be a key step in reducing food waste, as it would force businesses to understand their waste hotspots and implement effective reduction plans. Signatories include Aldi, Innocent Drinks, Lidl, Nestlé, Ocado, Oddbox, Tesco, Co-op, and Waitrose. According to Edie, while Defra first suggested a food waste reporting mandate in 2018, the department is delaying the implementation of waste disclosures. The open letter hopes to spur the government to lead the way in the fight against food waste, since 40% of all food produced globally is thrown away. [Edie]
Innovative sustainability partnerships: Craft Guild of Chefs sheds light on the landmark sustainability partnership between Levy UK - the sports and entertainment venue arm of food services giant Compass Group - and sustainable packaging innovators Notpla. The collaboration will see 75 million seaweed-based biodegradable food packaging products used over the next three years. Notpla’s packaging reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70% compared with conventional alternatives like virgin plastic. [Craft Guild of Chefs]
Business Spotlight - Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s, the second biggest supermarket chain in the UK, has set science-based emissions targets, pledging to reduce operational emissions by 68% by 2030. The retail giant has also published plans to reach net-zero carbon operations by 2035. This is on top of a 2050 net-zero target for the remainder of the value chain (including Scope 3 emissions). Sainsbury’s Director of Sustainability, Ruth Cranston, said: “Getting our updated targets validated by the SBTi is an important step forward. The effects of climate change are already very real, so it’s vital that we act now to reduce emissions and protect and restore nature to help us build a resilient future for all”. [Edie]
Research Corner
How hot does it really feel?: David Romps and his team have found that the heat index (how hot it really feels) is increasing several times faster than the air temperature. This is because global warming is affecting the interplay between humidity and temperature. Where humidity used to drop as temperature went up, this is no longer the case, making it feel hotter than it really is. As an example, Texas - which has long endured scorching summer temperatures - has seen the heat index rise about three times faster than temperature. That means that on some extreme days, the temperature feels between 5 and 6°C hotter than without climate change. This trend has been noticeable in other parts of the world, where on Monday just this week, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil saw a heat index record of 62.3°C when the actual temperature was 42°C. [IOPScience]
Stat Attack
“Global meat production rose 9% between 2015 and 2021, while dairy production increased 13% in that time. Over almost the same period, 2015 to 2022, financiers provided the world’s top 55 industrial livestock companies with average annual credit injections of $77bn (￡60bn), and some appeared to compromise their anti-deforestation policies to do so.”
Source: The Guardian / Feedback
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The Big Picture
About Reewild
The food and agriculture industry is at the heart of the climate crisis, generating around a third of man-made greenhouse emissions. And while the challenge of reducing its impact may seem beyond our grasp, it is one that we all have the power to tackle.
We believe that the solution lies in climate transparency. That’s why we’re equipping businesses with the means to evaluate and communicate the emissions of their products. This, in turn, means consumers are armed with credible, independent information, which can be used to make more sustainable choices.
We know that many people want to take climate action but lack the necessary tools and information to do so. We're confident that, armed with the right knowledge, everyone can and will do their bit to build a greener, more sustainable food system.