Food producers need to be preparing now to meet the sustainability targets required by their markets, says a Rabobank business strategist.
Marjan van Riel, a Rabobank senior business strategist in food and agribusiness for Rabobank in the Netherlands, said sustainability issues are a priority for companies and remain so for governments, evidenced by their importance transcending changes in administration.
These challenges are not going away, but food producers have time to meet emission targets, she told Farmers Weekly.
“You better start preparing today instead of rushing to do more in the future,” she said.
Sustainability concerns include climate, water quality and quantity, land use, biodiversity loss and social issues.
The Paris Accord recognised the importance of not putting food production at risk while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but, Van Riel said, it did not provide a free pass.
The growing global population requires more food and, as wealth increases, so does demand for carbon intensive food.
But that does not mean the environmental impact of that production can be ignored.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognises that the agriculture sector cannot completely decarbonise because biological processes will always occur.
The IPCC aims for carbon dioxide to reach net zero sooner than all other greenhouse gases combined, including methane and nitrous oxide.
But Van Riel said consumers, banks and governments are asking producers what progress they are making.
“The direction and momentum is clear. Steps are being taken but we need some time to come together in practice.
“But this will not go away.”
It is also not just a European Union issue but is spreading globally and surviving changes in government.
“It can swing depending on how fast a government wants to go, but the direction is one way and is probably not going to disappear with another government.”
At corporate level, Van Riel said, companies that have 20% or more of their emissions from the forest, land and agriculture (FLAG) sectors are required to set FLAG-specific emission reduction targets to retain certification by the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) climate organisation.
Danone and Rémy Cointreau were among the first with approved FLAG targets but are being followed by a who’s who of the food industry: Charoen Pokphand Foods, Domino’s, Heineken, Hilton Foods, Sainsbury’s, Mars, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Sime Darby Plantation, Sodexo, and Tesco.
The aim of signatory companies is for a 30% decline in FLAG emissions by 2030 and a 72% reduction by 2050. They also require a 90-100% reduction in energy and industrial emissions by that date.
FLAG-accepted reductions can be steps such as stopping land-use change emissions, including from deforestation, reducing on-farm emissions by improving agricultural practices, changing diets, reducing food loss and waste as well as increasing carbon removals or carbon sequestration below and above ground.
The removal or sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere can include the restoration of forests, sustainable forestry management and agroforestry, and an increase in agricultural soil and biomass carbon sequestration.
A recent analysis of 843 European companies by the Carbon Disclosure Project reported significantly more companies had absolute emissions reduction targets approved by the SBTi, with 47% in 2022 versus 14% in 2019 but that these targets covered only 13% of the total GHG emissions disclosed.
This suggested that Scope 3 emissions –activities from assets not owned or controlled by the reporting organisation but which indirectly affect its value chain – remain a challenge despite in some cases contributing 90% of a company’s emissions.
More: Wallace is visiting seven countries in six weeks to report on market sentiment, a trip made possible with grants from Fonterra, Silver Fern Farms, Alliance, Beef + Lamb NZ, NZ Meat Industry Association and Rabobank. Read more about his findings here.
