CASE STUDIES

Case 4: Sustainable Strategy for Retail and Foodservice Operations

Problem: Although some companies are out theremaking a lot of noise about their sustainability projects, others are still trying to figure out the business and stakeholder benefits. They are still trying to define what sustainability will mean to their customer, brand, product, people, operations and supply chain. Many mainstream brands are struggling with these questions for core business areas. They are asking questions like:

• How do we understand our carbon footprint to insure we are addressing largest impact areas?
• How can we re-engineer our delivery process, reduce cost and waste?
• How can we recycle/re-use more materials?
• How can we become more efficient in our energy use?
• How can we produce more healthy, ethically, socially responsible, and environmentally friendly products ?
• What food safety standards, energy subsidies, and potential supplier efficiencies should you address to make your business more sustainable?

Goals:

• Give a broad, insightful overview of standards and certifications, combined with a methodology to select programs for your brand.
• Help Companies understand how sustainability relates to their brand and business models.
• Develop tools and experiences to help senior executives understand key sustainability issues faced by their business and frame problems/solutions.
• Support retail and food company teams in the product and supply chain design.
• Develop sustainable best practices that fit retail and food operations and leverages distinctive competencies and organizations.
• Develop targeted strategies to communicate sustainability programs and building loyalty with customers and clients.

The introduction of Good Origin® coffees in the U.S. builds on our winning European formula and helps us incorporate sustainability as a viable part of our business strategy. Taking a comprehensive approach to sustainability through our partnership with UTZ CERTIFIED Good Inside™ provides consumers with great-tasting coffee that they know has been produced responsibly – by balancing people, planet and profit."

Director Large Foodservice Company

Background: Heightened consumer awareness, globalization pressures, government regulations on food and product safety, and institutional demands for sustainablesourcing are stimulating boardrooms to develop sustainability strategies and programs. In very public cases companies are threatened publicly; threatening brand reputation and global expansion ambitions. Similarly the local food, ethical and organic lobbies are questioning how we raise, care for, handle and process our foods. Orchestrating a meeting together with your harshest critic can be a business risk for both parties, but one worth taking if open discussion can be encouraged and innovative new solutions can be found.

Consumer product firms often view packaging as a marketing responsibility, while we see packaging as part of the supply chain because the shape, design, life cycle of the corrugated shipping case impacts handling, storage and transportation costs. Sustainable Innovations has helped us identify these costs for the retailer and brand manufacturer, and demonstrate how we can improve costs and efficiency through the supply chain."

Pete Stirling, EVP, Supply Chain Optimizers

Results: Proposals have been made to large foodservice and quick service operators on their sustainability strategy. Other energy and supply chain cost saving projects are in test at large food manufacturers and supermarket chains. Sustainable Innovations™ - Partnerships for a better tomorrow.

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