A survey conducted by GreenBusiness and CSQA Certificazioni shows that in the food sector sustainability becomes a competitive lever to be communicated to stakeholders.
The results were commented on the occasion of the conference "Food made in Italy, the green challenge" , during TuttoFood, which was followed by a round table where some of the leading companies took part.
Sustainability is increasingly recognized as a success factor by companies in the food sector, which demonstrate that they have gained a certain awareness of green practices, attributing a different value to them than in the recent past.
Although we have not achieved the full integration of sustainability in the strategies, there has in fact been an evolution of the application areas, with a more decisive orientation towards the market.
If until yesterday the focus was mainly on the implementation of solutions capable of creating efficiency, therefore aimed at generating economic savings on processes, the new trend observed is to transfer the commitment to the product to increase its value and make it a factor of competitiveness and differentiation on the market .
This is demonstrated by the data that emerged from a survey conducted by GreenBusiness in collaboration with Csqa Certificazioni precisely to highlight the relationship between the food industry and sustainability .
The survey, carried out between December 2012 and April 2013 on 36 companies, a heterogeneous sample by sector and size, highlights a widespread interest in sustainability issues precisely in the direction of making them a competitive lever.
58% of the interviewees stated that being sustainable stimulates innovation , a key step which implies the involvement of various company functions in a shared path under a common denominator, which from production reaches the market, through external communication of the results obtained.
In fact, 56% of the sample declared that they use green claims on products or intend to do so soon. This is why transferring the plus generated by the sustainable commitment to the consumer or to the customers of the large-scale distribution can translate into a better commercial result . Without neglecting that increasing the degree of transparency towards the outside world improves reputation, a benefit seen and/or expected by 47% of the sample.
In the food & beverage sector it is clear how much sustainability is also expressed as the ability to guarantee quantitative-qualitative characteristics in products linked to multi-stakeholder needs (health and nutrition).
Life cycle assessment, carbon footprint and water footprint are among the tools deemed most valuable for guaranteeing and demonstrating the commitment to environmental sustainability .
In the social sphere , health and safety in the workplace stands out.
The process is facilitated by the wide availability of certification tools that attest to one's commitment .
But where are the major calls for a commitment to sustainability coming from? The growth of consumer awareness is recognized by almost all of the sample ( 94% ). These are followed by the specific requests expressed in the referencing phase by the Italian large-scale distribution (53% ) and by the foreign trade (44% ), especially European.
The companies that joined the survey
Below is the list of companies that participated in the survey on the relationship between the food industry and sustainability:
Acetificio Carandini, Italian vinegar factories Modena, Acetum, Alcass, Alce Nero & Mielizia, Amadori, Barilla, Birra Peroni, Bolton Alimentari, Centrale del latte di Vicenza, Consorzio Latterie Virgilio, Crastan, Curtiriso, Ekaf, Ferrero, Generale Conserve, Igor, Illycaffè, Industrie Alimentari Rolli, Jolly Sgambaro, Lattebusche, Dairy Montello, Dairy Sociale Merano, Mareblu, Mec, Meggle Italia, Menz & Gasser, Monari Federzoni, Mutti, Nestlè Waters Italia, Pizzoli, Principi di Porcia and Brugnera, Salcheto Agricultural Society, Trentofrutta, Unipeg, Valledoro.