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Consumers are Driving Food Manufacturers to Focus on Environmental Sustainability

More so than ever before, consumers are increasingly conscientious of the environmental and humanitarian consequences of food production in 2018. At a time when we’re wasting 40% of all food produced, sea levels are rising indefinitely, carbon emissions are worsening, and access to clean water is scarcer than ever before, consumers’ purchasing decisions are greatly reflecting their heightened awareness of sustainability issues such as these. (1) According to a recent Innova Market Insights trends forecast, the number one consumer food trend in 2018 is making “mindful choices.” This means consumers are expecting food manufacturers to offer sustainable, transparent, ethically-sourced, and non-wasteful product offerings. (1, 2)

Many food manufacturers are aware of these fast evolving consumer trends and are responding accordingly. Recently, Danone North America, Mars, Nestlé USA, and Unilever USA joined forces to tackle environmental issues through a partnership called the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance.(3) This partnership, according to the four companies, is “focused on driving progress in public policies that shape what people eat and how it impacts their health, communities, and the planet.” In a press release on this new alliance, the companies also highlighted their commitment to sodium reduction, product transparency, and reducing their impact on the planet, which includes cutting greenhouse gas emissions. (3)

Cargill’s Chairman and CEO, David MacLennan, emphasized the importance of building sustainable supply chains, saying, “Caring about the sustainability of the planet is not only the right thing to do for people and the environment, it is also good for business.” As a multinational company, Cargill has made it an objective to be a leader in sustainability. In alignment with the 2015 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, Cargill has rolled out measurable initiatives and long-term strategies to integrate environmentally sustainable operations into its business. (4) Cargill’s 5 key sustainability priorities are as follows:

Sustainability Priorities

Climate change: Reduce absolute emissions in operations by 10% by 2025
Land use: Eliminate deforestation across entire Cargill agricultural supply chain, cutting it by half by 2020 and eliminating it by 2030
Water resources: Improve freshwater efficiency in our facilities around the world by 5% by 2020
Farmer livelihoods: Provide training on sustainable agricultural practices and improve access to market for 10 million farmers by 2030
Food waste: Drive food system innovation to prevent loss and waste of food and other materials

As a business, the Cargill Salt Group has made substantial strides in achieving sustainability priorities in order to provide trustworthy, sustainable products to customers and communities. In the 2017 fiscal year alone we achieved a 5% improvement in freshwater use efficiency by converting to modern, sustainable processes at our production plants. In that same year, the Cargill Salt Group also achieved an 11.5% improvement in greenhouse gas efficiency by transitioning all of our coal facilities into operating solely on natural gas. We also recently eliminated salt canisters from our portfolio and instead, switched to a smaller, thinner package design for foodservice operators that’s 100% recyclable. This simple packaging decision alone equates to 7,100 gallons of gasoline saved, 74.3 acres of U.S. forests preserved, and 69,037 pounds of coal emissions saved annually. (5)

In addition to making environmental sustainability a top priority within the Cargill Salt Group, we also continue to research and innovate in order to come up with sodium reduction solutions for our customers. At a time when “mindful choices” is the number one consumer foods trend, we’ve made it a goal to be a leader in improving public health and nourishing the world. Currently, we have a full reduced sodium portfolio that can enable food manufacturers to reduce sodium levels in their products, and because Cargill is primarily a food company, we have a wide breadth of knowledge across the food industry. This provides food customers with the opportunity to collaborate with our full technical support team of food scientists and food safety specialists who have deep formulation and application expertise. Considering consumers’ desire for cleaner, healthier foods, these state-of-the-art resources, combined with our expansive portfolio of lower sodium products, can seamlessly help food processors achieve their sodium reduction goals.

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