The road toward sustainable food manufacturing

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The road toward sustainable food manufacturing

6 Nov 2024

Lily Cota

Lily Cota is a writer, editor and photographer from Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science in English and a minor in Photography. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading fantasy novels, thrifting, trying out local coffee shops and spending time with her nieces.

CHICAGO — Sustainability discussions were at the forefront of Pack Expo International, held Nov. 3-6 in Chicago and hosted by PMMI, the association for packaging and processing technologies.

During a session held at the show’s Sustainability Central titled, “Sustainable Food Manufacturing: Balancing Profit, Planet, and Policy,” Christine Daugherty, VP/chief sustainability officer at Conagra Brands, outlined the four key areas that food manufacturers can hone in on to become more sustainable.

“It’s absolutely critical in our manufacturing that we are addressing our energy, water consumption and packaging,” Daugherty said. “Sustainability efforts can really help advance our industry’s economic, social and environmental performance.”

Collaboration between organizations is a vital factor when it comes to furthering the industry’s sustainability impact as a whole.

“Conagra partners with a number of other entities in many areas and there are other manufacturing facilities that are in the geographic region, and maybe we’re all pulling from the same water reservoir,” Daugherty said. “We have to work in concert with each other, otherwise both of us will fail.”

One of the main challenges that many organizations face is the regulatory requirements and standards placed on sustainability efforts. While necessary to ensure progress and accountability, regulations can be daunting to those who are just starting their sustainability journey.

“Sustainability efforts can really help advance our industry's economic, social and environmental performance.” — Christine Daugherty | VP/chief sustainability officer | Conagra Brands

“The industry is facing a number of different challenges, from backlash to regulatory pressures to lawsuits,” Daugherty said. “For food manufacturers, this is a really critical thing that we have to pay attention to and make sure that we’re addressing.”

Food manufacturers also must take individual consumers into account when outlining their sustainability goals, particularly what happens to packaging when it’s in the hands of consumers.

While creating sustainable packaging is clearly an important step in the right direction, for many individuals, recycling isn’t as accessible as it may seem. Companies must address these challenges of consumers not fully understanding recycling differentiations and lack of access to proper recycling locations to ensure a brand connection.

As sustainability continues to be a top priority for many industries, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the sustainability practices of food manufacturers and are more likely to purchase products from companies that are environmentally responsible.

The first step food manufacturers can take towards being more sustainable is setting their own sustainability goals within the organization.

“For Conagra, we have science-based target goals for our carbon emissions,” Daughtery said. “We have a number of criteria around responsible sourcing and our water and waste. For our packaging goal, we have the commitment that, by 2025, we want our packaging to be renewable, recyclable or compostable.”

By adopting sustainable practices, food manufacturers can support their consumers, workers and the planet while continuing to drive profit.

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