Viewing Sustainability through a Food Safety Lens

Viewing Sustainability through a Food Safety Lens

A holistic approach to food safety and social and environmental sustainability will enable businesses to achieve global sustainability goals.

Many people in food organizations need help in understanding their role in this transformation. In the IFC food safety team’s master class, Viewing Sustainability through a Food Safety Lens, 61 percent of participants knew the biggest environmental and social impacts of their companies, and 54 percent were already working on sustainability initiatives. This is good news. Yet, only 8 percent knew how much food waste their companies created.

Bringing awareness and collaboration across functional boundaries is key to making progress on sustainability. Food safety professionals can play an important role in this effort.

1.    Setting the scene: global challenges

To achieve peace and prosperity for all and restore our planet, the United Nations has established Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that represent a blueprint to achieve action worldwide by 2030. This requires all members of society, from governments to businesses and individuals, to become involved. People active in food safety and sustainability management have a crucial role to play.

Two key challenges—climate change and inequality—are closely linked with food production and climate change impacts on food safety.

To avoid the worst effects of climate change and prevent irreversible damage to the natural world and civilization, action must be taken now. If nothing is done, severe global temperature increases and greater political instability will result.

Despite global economic advances, there are still enormous challenges in meeting the SDGs:

• The COVID pandemic made inequalities in income much worse and exacerbated food insecurity, leaving hundreds of millions of people without access to safe and nutritious food.
• Despite promises by governments and companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), the climate remains fragile, and it is clear more needs to be done to prevent the effects from worsening.

The way food is produced and consumed in many areas impacts negatively on the environment and people. 

Global food systems contribute to poverty, hunger, and global warming. This compromises the ability to produce safe food and achieve food security. For example, food systems globally: 

• Mean 3 billion people cannot afford to eat healthily
• Cause farm communities to suffer disproportionately from poverty
• Lead to 112 million children working, 45 million in dangerous conditions
• Cause 385 million cases of poisoning and 11,000 deaths related to pesticide use every year
• Emit around 25 percent of the world’s GHGs
• Use 70 percent of the available freshwater
• Cause significant loss of biodiversity
• Contribute to food waste that emits 6 percent of all GHGs
• Make 600 million people sick every year and kill 420,000

Food systems are also highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The effects of climate change, such as warmer weather, lead to the following:

• Plant pests moving into new areas, which can lead to the overuse of pesticides
• Growth of harmful algae that are eaten by fish
• Increase in food-related and waterborne diseases
• Increases in heavy metal take-up by staple crops, such as rice
• Fungal infections that spread among crops

2.    Global commitments to sustainability are being adopted in countries

The following commitments appear in regulations and business commitments. Some of the commitments will influence aspects of food safety management:

The SDGs: the blueprint for action worldwide to achieve peace and prosperity for all; 190 countries have signed up.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: these hold companies accountable for human rights.

Rio Conventions on Desertification (UNCCD), Biological Diversity (CBD), and Climate Change (UNFCCC): more than 130 countries have committed to halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation by 2030. The declaration includes commitments to facilitate trade and development policies that avoid deforestation and land degradation, especially regarding internationally traded agricultural commodities, such as beef, soy, and palm oil.

The Paris Agreement: requires a cut in GHG emissions by 45 percent by 2030 and an end to net GHG emissions by 2050. The result will be to limit global average temperatures to no more than 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. So far, 192 countries have signed up.

The UN Plastics Treaty: a mandate will be released in 2024. Meanwhile, several regions and countries have signed up for the voluntary Plastic Pact Network initiatives, such as including recycled plastic in packaging.

The scientific basis for climate action is given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Their 6th assessment report says that sustainable food systems are one way to achieve reductions in GHGs, for example, by using renewable energy instead of fossil fuel-based energy and stopping forest destruction and waste. The report also says that adaptation to climate change requires healthier soils needed to produce nutritious food. In addition, better information is needed to help buy sustainable food.

Tools, such as the FAO SDG Tracker and the Climate Action Tracker make country ambitions visible.

3.    Global institutions emphasize the connection between food safety and sustainability.

The FAO’s key food safety messages call for collaborations, science-based decisions, and risk management. They recognize the direct impact of food safety on health and that investment in food safety is needed now to benefit the future. Each of these elements is equally relevant to environmental and social sustainability. 

The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) has called for more rapid action to achieve the SDGs and has aligned with five SDGs to guide their activities: SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).

UN Food Systems Action Tracks aim for safe and nutritious food for everyone, sustainable consumption and no waste, nature-positive production, and the protection of natural resources, such as ancient forests, equitable livelihoods, and resilience to stress.

4.    The business case for sustainability is solid.

Sustainability awareness in business has increased dramatically, driven by stakeholder demands and urged on by geopolitical circumstances, such as war and drought. Persuading leadership to do something is less of a challenge now than two years ago. It does, however, help to understand the drivers and to have local experience and data to strengthen the arguments and find ways forward.

 Stakeholders (employees, customers, local communities, peers, governments, NGOs, and shareholders) expect businesses to do something.

Employees are choosing employers by their approach to sustainability. 

Shoppers are demanding more sustainable products and services around the world.

Citizen organizations and NGOs are publicly scrutinizing corporate sustainability actions.

Regulators are demanding that businesses take responsibility for their impacts.

Retailers and brands are demanding sustainable supply chains and are reporting publicly on their progress.

Small and medium enterprises might not feel pressure from regulation now but will soon be asked to report their actions to their business customers, who are cascading requirements, such as human rights standards.

Investors, bankers, and insurers are demanding that companies mitigate their sustainability risks.                                                                  

Businesses must act as good corporate citizens to deliver the SDGs.

While governments implement the global SDG agenda, private sector leaders are expected to use their influence and push for action across all the global development goals.

Businesses must use all the tools and expertise available to meet the 2030 deadline to deliver the SDGs and drastically cut carbon emissions.

The role of business is changing. More and more, businesses no longer exist solely to satisfy shareholders, but now have a clear purpose to solve the global challenges and realize a positive impact. In this role, businesses are expected to look after their staff and collaborators and contribute to communities, while protecting and actively restoring the natural world. All this is expected to be done systematically and with ethical oversight.

 While businesses have contributed to many environmental and societal problems, the leaders in food and agriculture realize that they can help solve these problems. It’s not altruistic; it simply makes business sense.

There are opportunities in sustainable business.

Not only is inaction risky, but the opportunities from engaging in sustainability are also plentiful and they make sense for example:

• Cost savings through efficiencies such as saving water ad preventing waste.
• Workers who feel safe at work and are paid a living wage will perform more effectively.
• New customers are attracted, and the loyalty of existing customers is kept.
• Finance is easier to access.
• Reputation is built, and trust in the company grows.
• Being well prepared for regulation helps prevent cost penalties for non-compliance.

The impacts of climate change on supply chains are estimated to cost businesses $1.26 trillion in the next five years. But food businesses can help mitigate the effects of climate change.

There are opportunities to save up to $2.3 trillion in food and agriculture by reducing food waste, protecting forests and preventing deforestation, and delivering innovative food solutions.

When asked for one word to describe what sustainability meant to them, participants in IFC’s master class pointed to doing business responsibly. The words “efficiency,” “continuity,” and “future” stood out. Certainly, protecting resources, looking after people, and building a strong base for the future are goals that can be supported by all.

Figure 1: IFC Master Class Question: Describe in one word what sustainability means to you

5.    There is an opportunity for food safety practitioners to engage in sustainability.

Sustainability is everyone's business and food safety practitioners are in a great position to support the full SDG agenda, including specific food safety goals. If practitioners understand the impact of climate change and social aspects, such as worker welfare on food safety, it will be easier to evaluate and communicate opportunities and manage risks, while preventing unintended consequences.

Many aspects of managing environmental and human sustainability are complementary with food safety. A holistic approach allows good decisions that work in favour of people and the planet while enabling economic prosperity and keeping food safe.

Food safety practitioners already contribute to global sustainability goals, but usually don’t name it as such. Often, food safety management is considered apart from environmental and human sustainability.

Company annual sustainability reports tend to skip food safety — it may be considered a prerequisite for good governance and not worthy of mention. This may also reflect a lack of contact or awareness between food safety and communication teams. It’s a missed opportunity.

For example, long-term relationships build trust between suppliers and buyers and are especially important in building supplier food safety capability. This results in safer products delivered consistently that people can trust. It also results in secure business for the suppliers that provide livelihoods and develop the local economy. This well-established capability-building approach can also be used to achieve environmental and social sustainability.

Sharing these stories of positive impacts may help to increase the business' value.

Following is a review of examples.

Photo 1: A farmer and field technician discuss natural crop protection in a field of peppers.

In photo 1, the farmer uses marigold flowers as a natural pesticide to attract insects away from his pepper crop. If pesticides are used incorrectly or overused, they harm the natural environment, for example, by killing more than the target insects and polluting soil and water. If used without protective clothing and equipment or with the wrong dosage, pesticides pose a risk to the farmer’s health. Incorrect use can result in residues in the final product, which is a food safety concern.

The benefit of this farmer’s approach is realized in reduced cost because he uses less or no petrochemical-based pesticides, protecting the natural environment and his health.

Because of his good practices, the farmer is considered by his retail customer as a lower risk supplier and doing business with him is more attractive.

The three elements of food safety, environment, and farmer safety if managed well together, provide an economic benefit to the farmer. The farmer has a livelihood (his family is provided for) and brings economic wealth to the local community. The retail customer has reliable supplies and can use this story to reassure shoppers about the safety and quality of the product, which may also be at a competitive price because there is no middleman.

Photo 2: A warehouse inspector checks a batch of produce for pest infestation.

In photo 2, an inspector works with criteria that require produce to be free from pest infestation. The inspector wears warm protective clothing and needs frequent breaks to prevent catching cold and becoming ill. The inspector is well trained and helps suppliers understand the brand requirements. This helps cement a partnership where the goal is to supply safe and sustainable produce at a fair price and agreed quality standards.

The collaboration is a long-term sourcing partnership rather than a single transaction from a random trader, produced under unknown conditions for an unpredictable price. The farmer knows his customers are acting in their best interests, and he can continue to produce his crop knowing he has guaranteed business.

Good supply chain practices also prevent food loss and waste, for example, reliable orders from the buyer to the supplier whereby the committed quantities are transacted, or the cold chain is secure and prevents early spoilage.

These examples show how collaboration is key to securing safe food and how taking a holistic view means environmental and social sustainability are also achieved.

 6.    Food safety practitioners must support waste prevention strategies.

Businesses must maximize nutritious food production without damaging the environment or harming the people who produce it.

Preventing food loss and waste is critical to achieving these aims. Around one-third of the food produced is lost or wasted, representing 6 percent of GHG emissions. There are also the lost resources—labor, water, fertilizers, and so on that are used to produce the food.

Valuing food waste and loss as resources is crucial to advancing circular economies. The business opportunity is more than $400 billion, and governments aligned with the SDGs are tasked to cut food waste by 50 percent per capita.

While reducing food waste, the risks must be evaluated to avoid unintended consequences and reach the best decisions considering food safety and sustainability objectives.

The waste hierarchy helps determine the best value for food loss and waste. 

The hierarchy or inverted pyramid model prioritizes actions to prevent food loss and proposes waste streams. Avoidance is the best solution, and the least-favored is incineration or landfill. Around the world, solutions are being adopted to prevent and reclaim food loss and waste, changing the useless to the useful. For example, predictive logistics to connect directly with small producers and ensure accurate orders, or food surplus platforms to redirect food to processors and food banks. Transforming waste into food is also happening for example, used coffee grounds are being used as a substrate to grow mushrooms. And inedible produce is used to feed insects that are turned into layer hen feed.

At each stage of the hierarchy, food safety must form part of the decision process using facts and evidence to avoid creating a hazard. Taking the insect example, the recycling of toxins, such as heavy metals, through the food chain must be prevented. This might mean appropriate testing of feed as well as preventative measures at the farm stage.

Figure 2: Adapted from Vågsholm I et al

Accurate data are needed to account for and prevent food loss and waste.

Among participants in IFC’s master class, 8 percent knew how much food loss or waste their companies produced in one year. It is a real challenge to account for food loss and waste, and some tools can help, such as WRAP’s food waste reduction roadmap.

Food safety professionals, with their in-depth knowledge of supply networks, can play an important role in uncovering the root causes of food loss and waste and finding ways to prevent it.

 7.    Transparency and traceability strengthen social and environmental sustainability.

If contaminated produce makes people ill, a ripple effect can result whereby all produce no matter its origin is implicated. Information on what starts out as a single product involved in one farm episode can spread to a greater area and affect all such products or product categories, with devastating effects on the livelihoods of farmers. As well as illness, there is immense waste, for example in the E. coli in sprouts outbreak in Europe. Traceability is crucial to check that preventative controls are functioning and to identify the source of an issue when it happens.

People are demanding more information about the origin of their products, how they were produced, and by whom. Existing traceability systems to prevent and manage food safety incidents can equally be used to track, for example, the environmental certificate or whether a labor rights audit has taken place.

8.    Sustainability is most effective when it is part of daily business.

 Hopefully, the examples so far have helped to:

• Clarify the benefits of a holistic approach to food safety and environmental and social sustainability.
• Consider the interactions between environmental and social sustainability and food safety.
• Understand how all three aspects intersect with economic impacts.

Preventing food loss and waste, cutting GHGs, ensuring worker welfare, using water wisely, and protecting forests and biodiversity, while producing nutritious food, are all urgent challenges affecting all food businesses. The key is to focus on the relevant issues on which the business impacts and those that impact the business.

The most successful sustainability plans support a company’s purpose and are integrated into the business value creation strategy. When sustainability is integrated into existing management systems, objectives are aligned and everyone knows their role, it simply becomes the way of doing business.

No matter where one is in the sustainability journey, whether starting out or reviewing the current plan, it is important to look at what practices are already in place and build on them.

Build on food safety management systems to address environment and social sustainability.

The due diligence process, risk management system, and tools such as policies, standards, certificates, and guidelines, are relevant to ensuring food safety and environmental and social sustainability. Specifications and supplier manuals can include sustainability requirements.

Tools to manage controls, monitoring, and corrective actions are relevant. As are incident management and remediation. Reporting on progress and continuous improvement is a crucial aspect of all three streams. All these systems and tools are used to a degree depending on the issue and the risk of harm to the stakeholders involved, from workers and suppliers to the customers buying the food.

Traceability and transparency systems can be enhanced, and companies can decide how much information to share and with whom.

Amplify supplier capability and customer connection programs.

The people responsible for food safety can support the work of engaging with and training suppliers and buyers in environmental and social sustainability. They can also involve marketing, sales, and communication to help their customers understand what they can do to be sustainable.

See personal competencies as complementary.

The personal competencies required for food safety management can also help develop social and environmental sustainability, for example, the ability to train and collaborate, to be innovative, while keeping an eye on costs and making fact-based decisions. In addition, a culture of continuous improvement and capability building may be ingrained.

There are ample touchpoints at which food safety practitioners can help identify opportunities and mitigate risks in environmental and social sustainability through cross-functional collaboration. 

The immense efforts that build a food safety culture and grow trust are absolutely relevant to sustainability.

9.    Plan to manage food safety and environmental and social sustainability.

There is no single framework or standard that consolidates all the food impacts of a business with a way to manage them. Despite this, one can start by prioritizing the known impacts and updating the plan as new information becomes available. The good news is that there are many available tools to help identify food impact, for example:

Identify and prioritize impacts

• IFST Materiality Assessment is a guide to the strategic planning process and helps identify the impacts of an organization.
• The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) sets out indicators for sustainable food business which can be used to establish requirements to manage impacts.

Adopt principles and standards

• UN Global Compact sets out principles for human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.
• CGF Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative sets a benchmark for social standards.
• IFC Environmental and Social Performance Standards support risk for management.

More audit programs and certification schemes are incorporating environmental and labor practice checks, alongside their food safety service.

Establish metrics

• Fixing the Business of Food gives sustainability metrics aligned with the SDGs.
• OmniAction is developing comprehensive metrics for total food impacts.

Use toolkits to manage the priority impacts

• WRAP food waste tool kit
• WRAP Scope 3 measurement and reporting protocols for food and drink
• Science-Based Target Initiative Food Land and Agriculture Science-Based Target Setting Guidance
• Ellen McArthur Foundation Plastics Pact Network tools
• IFC Good Practice Handbook for assessing and managing environmental and social risks in agro commodity supply chains
• The Honest Product Guide to communicating sustainability.

10. Sustainability is complex, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Big actions with long delivery times must be planned now: remember the 2030 SDG and Paris Agreement target dates are fast approaching. But do the quicker wins in parallel to avoid being overwhelmed and have a feeling of accomplishment to keep the momentum going.

It’s ok not to have all the answers, because that presents a great opportunity to ask questions. Take this chance to connect with colleagues and make a plan that is relevant to your business and that belongs to the whole organization.

Participants in IFC’s master class were asked “What is the one action you will take today to advance sustainability in your work?” Answers included “reduce food waste, communicate on social media, make inroads into packaging, save energy, find out progress on SDGs in my country, be more aware of where the food is produced, promote organic agriculture, start harvesting rainwater and promote sustainable diets.”

You too can inspire action. Please contact IFC for a recording of the webinar and a guide to starting your sustainability plan.

Monitor the updates on IFC’s website, at www.ifc.org/foodsafety

Photo credits: Blanchard, www.freewordcloudgenerator.com