Why we need to pay attention to CP going green

Dear Asian Agribiz Community Member,

正大食品 , a giant in the food industry has started selling ‘low carbon eggs’ - a first for many. The company has been working hard on its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. From?green buildings?to low carbon eggs, CP is in the driving seat of sustainability.

But the question is why does CP care so much about sustainability?

Easy listening on the go here?if?you are too busy to read.

The food industry (in which livestock is very much a part of) accounts for?more than one third of global green house gas emissions, according to a?2021 study.?This makes it a ready target in campaigns looking to cut back on emissions. But getting there is not easy, and it is mainly to do with the complex value chain from farm to fork. It gets especially tricky when ingredients and products are shipped to all corners of the world.

Thus there is a lot to consider for food companies when looking at sustainability. Researchers at?Brink?tell us, that to fashion sustainability agendas, food companies must consider everything from “biodiversity, water consumption, farm labor conditions and animal welfare at one end of the chain, to transportation, packaging and product safety at the other.”

This is no easy feat to pull off. But companies like CP that do manage to pull it together can have an advantage in the market. A report released by?Ernst and Young?in 2022, showed that 82% of Asia Pacific consumers say companies must be transparent about their environmental impact and 28% are willing to pay a premium for more sustainable goods and services.

The report went on to further add, “If consumer companies can proactively demonstrate accountability and transparency over their environmental impact, they will be able to gain consumers’ trust and encourage higher spending. To do so, companies should relook at production, logistics and supply chains as well as recognize third-party risks that can erode credibility.”

And this is exactly what companies like?Sentra in Indonesia?is trying to do. They have bagged the top spot among 18 f&b companies on the Indonesian stock exchange for implementing good waste processing management practices.

Failing to keep up with the times, can have dire consequences. Vietnam for example is?intensifying its fight against piggeries?that flaunt environmental regulations. This is mainly backed by civil law suits by angry citizens.

And then you have companies who can go one step further and re-engineer their production process to find sustainable raw materials. For example,?CJ Bio?has invested in a microalgae startup, Provectus aiming to produce specialty ingredients, such as supplements for the feed industry. Provectus CEO, Nusqe Spanton believes technologies like precision photosynthesis and sustainable biomanufacturing would be the future in food production.

But if you are starting out, the best place would be to look within. Learning from the giants of the industry like CP, companies can take steps to change internal practices to minimize waste, increase efficiencies and simply make good food that consumers will pay more for. This will open new opportunities for those looking to meet the challenges of sustainability.

Kind regards,

Zahrah Imtiaz , Editor, Asian Feed Magazine