Page 72 - Food&Drink Nov-Dec 2020

ENVIRONMENT MATTERS
Goals for a better future
Founding director of Food & Nutrition Australia and specialist in the future of food Sharon Natoli examined the companies in the 2019 Top 100 Food & Drink Companies report and mapped them against the UN Sustainable Development Goals to see how the sector is performing.
INTEGRATING sustainable business strategies into operations, communications and reporting has become a key item on the agenda of businesses in the food and drink sector today.
This evolution is driven by a merging of key macro-trends including the rise of the conscious consumer, the demands of the ethical investor and the talent pool’s search for more meaningful work, all putting pressure on organisations to respond.
While the level of priority and the extent of the sustainability commitments and actions companies report on varies significantly, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide one roadmap toward global targets that paint a clear picture of a more sustainable future.
THE 17 SDGS
Developed and signed by 193 member countries in 2015 with a 2030 deadline for achievement, the 17 goals address many of the global challenges faced by society, government and business today. This includes issues such as hunger, chronic disease, climate change, environmental degradation, land and water use.
The broad-reaching nature of the goals means connecting local business initiatives to their achievement provides an avenue for food and drink companies to demonstrate they care about the same issues consumers and governments do, providing an opportunity for developing shared values, in turn building trust.
Today, 81 per cent of CEOs globally believe the sustainability reputation of their company is influential in consumers’ purchasing decisions, however only 33 per cent think business is making sufficient efforts to address global challenges.
HOW THE TOP 100 FARED
To understand the extent to which Australia’s Top 100 Food & Drink Companies are adopting the UN SDGs, Food & Nutrition Australia undertook a review of their public commitments in the area.
The aim of the project was to provide a broad initial review of the prominence of the UN SDGs as an item on the agenda of corporate strategy, reporting and communication.
From this perspective, the process involved reviewing the publicly available information on company websites and searching for sustainability commitments, reference to sustainability and acknowledgement and reporting against the UN SDGs.
Findings indicate that while sustainability is a significant focus for the Australian food and beverage industry, defined most frequently by packaging and environmental initiatives and the production of healthier foods, alignment with the UN SDGs is less prevalent.
THE MAJORITY ACKNOWLEDGE SUSTAINABILITY
As of August 2020, 83 per cent of the Top 100 make reference to sustainability on their website. These mentions range from the use of ‘sustainability’ as a vague descriptor to detailed reporting efforts against measurable targets. The prevalent use of the term ‘sustainability’ indicates the majority of food and beverage companies acknowledge this as a key issue of importance.
MORE THAN HALF
HAVE A DEDICATED SUSTAINABILITY SECTION Sixty-one companies have a dedicated sustainability section or page on their website that provides meaningful information about initiatives in the area. This includes sections labelled as
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