Sustainable Sourcing for Category Managers: Using the FMI Guide Five Winds International & Ecos US October 29, 2010
May 12, 2015
Sustainable Sourcing for Category Managers: Using the FMI Guide
Five Winds International &
Ecos US
October 29, 2010
Webinar Logistics
• Welcome!• All attendees are muted• Interactive polls• Q&A – write your questions in chat box and we will
answer them at the end
• United Soybean Board
• FMI Sustainability Executive Committee and Council– Specifically those that helped to launch the development of the
guide: Suzanne Forbes (Wakefern), Harriet Hentges (Ahold USA), Tom McIntyre (Supervalu), Karen Meleta (Wakefern), Tracy Taylor (Ahold USA) and Jeanne von Zastrow (FMI)
• All those who participated in our Guide survey and submitted additional comments
Produced “by the industry for the industry”
Thank you to:
Acknowledgements
Background on Guide & Presentation
• This presentation accompanies the document:
Sustainability on the Shelves
A Sourcing Guide for Category Managers and Buyers
• Please customize the Guide and these slides for your own use
Agenda
• Learning Objectives• What is Sustainability?• Sustainable Sourcing• Decision Framework for Grocery• Take-Home Messages• Questions
Learning Objectives
1. Provide good working understanding of sustainability in the food retail sector
2. Identify key sustainability issues specific to each product category
3. Possess questions and tools to help understand and verify sustainability claims, recognize “greenwashing”, and select more sustainable products
What is Sustainability?
Sustainability
“Business practices and strategies that promote the long term well-being of the environment, society, and the bottom line” - FMI
Sustainability in Your Company
Poll: Who is in charge of sustainability in your company?
8
What is Sustainable Sourcing?
9
SUSTAINABLE ATTRIBUTES
Quality
Availability Price Service
Sustainable Sourcing
I take my decision-making elements of price, service, quality and availability and
simply add our sustainable seafood priorities as a fifth. Not all elements carry equal weight at all times but they are my top priorities when choosing what to buy.
- Tracy Taylor, Ahold USA
Is Sustainability a Strategic Business Issue?
300% Growth of U.S. sales of “ethical” cleaning products in 2009. Packaged
Research
35% Percent of U.S. consumers that said they would pay more for
environmentally-friendly products. Mintel Oxygen Reports, Mar 2010
$73M Additional profit generated by Marks and Spencer’s Plan A
sustainability strategy in 2009. M&S 2010 Progress Report
10
What is a Sustainable Product?
11
eco-labelled
less packaging
fair trade
less toxics
use less resources durable
organic
recycled content
packaging
BPA-free
How do these terms relate to sustainability?
recyclablelocal
Stepwise approach to buying more sustainable products
Step 1: Know Your Priorities
What are your company’s priorities?
Sustainable sourcing strategyCompany sustainability priorities
Product priorities
• Poll: What sustainability issues are your customers asking about? (select all that apply)
Step 1: What are your customers’ priorities?
What are the Sustainability Issues for Grocery?
Carbon Footprint
Sources: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator and http://www.walkerscarbonfootprint.co.uk/walkers_carbon_footprint.html and http://openthefuture.com/cheeseburger_CF.html
See Guide, page 22
A carbon footprint includes all greenhouse gases emitted by a product’s production, transportation, consumption, and end of life.
Final carbon footprint calculation for a standard bag of Walkers Crisps is 80g CO2 which compares to 243g CO2 for an average cheeseburger
Water Footprint
53 gallons!
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/13/1-latte-53-gallons-of-wat_n_166759.html
See Guide, page 22
Waste Footprint
Every year, the US generates around 14 million tons of food waste, equivalent to 106 pounds of food waste per person
Source: http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/solidwasterecyclingfacts.htm
See Guide, page 23
Packaging
Source: http://www.cleanair.org/Waste/wasteFacts.html
Almost 1/3 of the waste generated in the U.S. is packaging
See Guide, page 24
Organic, Local, and Bioengineering
Consumer demand? Sustainability science?
Source: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es702969f
See Guide, page 25
Sourcing is the Hot Spot for Grocery
Sourcing is the Hot Spot for Grocery
Agriculture uses 50% of the Earth's habitable land
70% increase in food production needed
Agriculture69%
Industry23%
Municipal8%
Water Use by Sector, Globally
Step 2: Communicate Needs to Suppliers
I am interested in sourcing products that address:
• The sustainability attributes of my product category
• My company’s sustainability priorities
Step 3: Acquire Information
Poll: How do you typically get information about sustainability from your suppliers?
Step 3: Acquire Information
• You’ve started the conversation, now begin to acquire information on company and product sustainability
• See page 21 of Guide for General Questions to ask your suppliers
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/03/11/how-to-embed-sustainability-into-company-dna#ixzz10qIvI7SA
It is no longer enough for companies to have special projects or initiatives.
Comprehensive sustainability strategies are expected.
Mindy S. Lubber, Ceres President
Step 4: Evaluate Information
• If you have information gaps, circle back to “Acquire information”
• Do you have a process to manage information?
• Possible starting points:– Review and compare to information in
Guide & “For More Information” links– Compare information with your
company priorities identified in Step 1– Talk to your sustainability team– Talk to other category managers
Types of information you may receive:
Evaluate Information
SOURCES: World Resources Institute, Big Room Inc. | Bonnie Berkiwitz and Laura Stanton/The Washington Post - May 3, 2010
Learn more about the eco-labels for your category
Eco-Labels: One tool in your toolkit
Greenwashing
• Poll: If you think you’ve seen greenwashing, what about it made you question the claim?
a) No data/proof provided
b) Vague or undefined terms used
c) Claim seemed too good to be true
d) Hidden trade-offs may exist
e) Other
(Used with Permission)
1. Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off
2. Sin of No Proof
3. Sin of Vagueness
4. Sin of Irrelevance
5. Sin of Fibbing
6. Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils
7. Sin of Worshiping False Labels
For more information, see Guide pages 27-28
Ask for substantiation on vague terms like:
• Eco-friendly• Sustainable• Green• Environmentally-friendly
Step 5: Make Purchasing Decision
• Evaluate sustainability as only one aspect in your purchasing decision
Quality Availability Price Service Sustainability attributes
Take-Home Messages
1. Know the key sustainability issues for your category and how they fit with your company’s approach
2. Be on the lookout for greenwashing - when you see vague claims (e.g., “green”), dig deeper! (see Guide pages 27-28)
3. Just get started! Start small and build up, using the Guide as a reference tool along the way
Q&A
Thank you
for your attention and participation today!
Libby BernickFive Winds [email protected](610) 640-2302 x102
Kats MaroneyEcos [email protected](610) 299-1949
Coming soon via Survey Monkey
Did this webinar:
1. Provide you with a good working understanding of sustainability in the food retail sector?
2. Identify key sustainability issues specific to your product category?
3. Possess questions and tools to help understand and verify sustainability claims, recognize “greenwashing”, and select more sustainable products?
Living Our Values
Five Winds is a Carbon Neutral Company
and follows a Sustainable Purchasing Policy