The food business must do more to safeguard forests.

 The food business must do more to safeguard forests. One of the biggest ice cream companies in the world, Ben and Jerry's, said in July that it will stop using wood fibres from the world's most important forest ecosystems in any of its packaging, including the 1 million pints of ice cream it produces every day. The strategy, which was appropriately unveiled on World Rainforest Day, builds on the company's past promise to manufacturing packaging entirely free of plastic derived from petroleum.

The food business must do more to safeguard forests.

Ben & Jerry's leadership aside, the greater food industry still trails behind on climate action, accounting for more than a third of global GHG emissions, even 17 years after Walmart first stated its environmental ambitions.

In fact, just 26 of the 350 top food and agriculture corporations are trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in accordance with the Paris Agreement, and 123 companies haven't even established targets for decreasing GHG, according to the World Benchmarking Alliance.

The issue isn't a lack of knowledge; the industry is aware that more has to be done. With a number of significant announcements, ambitious standards, and resolute commitments from household names like Nestle, Danone, Kellogg, and Coca-Cola, the food industry has officially embraced climate action and sustainability.

While moving away from plastics may temporarily placate consumers, the truth is that using packaging made of wood would lead to further logging of important forests.

There is also a business rationale for fixing the issue. A Cargill global poll found that between 2019 and 2022, there will be a four-point increase in the percentage of respondents who stated they are more likely to purchase packaged food with a sustainability claim, reaching 55 percent. Despite this, food businesses aren't turning the discussion into meaningful actions and outcomes. Only four companies from the food industry made it into the top 100 list of a recent study that evaluated the ESG performance of 1,000 of the largest publicly traded corporations.

What then is the problem?

The gap in the figures is challenging to explain, especially in light of the daily news stories about the biggest businesses in the world launching new eco-lines, green products, and increasing the proportion of plant-based ingredients in their menus. Why aren't we seeing more advancements in the supply chain, particularly when it comes to the use of paper and packaging derived from trees?

Despite the fact that many people in the industry are working to cut the emissions connected to basic food components and products, they are missing out on the considerable and timely improvements that may be gained by cutting the sizeable footprint connected to packaging. The issue is that most businesses do not implement sustainable business practises across the entirety of their operations or collaborate with supply chain partners to put available solutions into action that can relieve pressure on the planet's most efficient system for storing and sequestering carbon, which is its forest cover.

For instance, the switch by many businesses to paper packaging in response to consumer demands for more plastic-free solutions resulted in the annual felling of more than 3 billion trees. The fact is that packaging made from trees will increase the logging of important forests and increase pressure on rainforest nations to grant logging concessions, even though they should be working to slow deforestation in accordance with the Paris Agreement. While this move away from plastics may placate consumers in the short term.

The livelihoods of Indigenous people and local communities, the ecosystems they depend on, and the biodiversity reduction and rising emissions are all ultimately destroyed by increased deforestation. However, going back to plastic is not the solution.

The food industry needs to speed up efforts to decarbonize its supply chains, identify and switch to sustainable sources, and, most importantly, continue to innovate to bring us closer to a low-impact and circular economy if we are to make any headway in stopping deforestation and slowing the climate emergency.

The way forward for sustainability in all industries, particularly food, is to invest in scalable, next-generation solutions. The only way to finally wean the industry off paper, wood, and other natural resources is to use hemp or agricultural waste from crop stalks and fruit peels to build durable and adaptable packaging that doesn't harm ecosystems, recycles a waste product, and is sturdy and versatile.

The food sector is complex, and discussions about its sustainability aren't always at the forefront, particularly with halting deforestation. If corporate responsibility practises have taught us anything, it is that we can no longer rely on quick fixes and new gimmicky products to solve the problem. There is no way to fool the environment, even though these may trick certain consumers. Before it's too late, we must invest in supply chain transformation and scalable solutions that can address the issue head-on.

Let's use Ben and Jerry's most recent pledge as a reminder that all food companies can do more and that cost-effective, sustainable packaging solutions are becoming scalable.

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