Good for the Bakery, Good for the Planet
Bakers have an increasingly diverse offer of ingredients that were sustainably produced, processed and delivered. Choosing vanilla, cocoa or oil that has been produced with minimal environmental impact allows them to answer to their customers’ needs and ensure their own business has sustainable practices.
A sustainable business is an enterprise that tries to minimize its negative impact on the environment, society, and the economy. In the baking industry, a sustainable business has three main areas of focus: energy – both sourced and spent -, waste reduction, and ingredient sourcing. In the case of the latter, that translates into sourcing ingredients with a low carbon footprint and a supply chain that respects human rights.
While this last task was a challenge for many years, now more and more ingredient producers have in place systems that ensure their products are produced in a sustainable way – even the most ubiquitous of them, flour. In November, King Arthur Baking Company launched a Regeneratively-Grown Climate Blend, an innovative blend of unique wheat varieties grown using regenerative practices, helping farmers improve soil health and farm resilience. The certified regeneratively-grown flour was created in collaboration with the Washington State University Breadlab, an organization that breeds wheat varieties that are better for the soil and encourage sustainable farming practices.
Next to flour, cocoa, vanilla and palm oil are some of the most used ingredients in the baking industry. Choosing environmentally friendly produced ones has a significant impact on the sustainability efforts of a manufacturer or bakery. And so are the benefits.
“Bakers who tap ingredients from sustainable sources enjoy a multitude of benefits, both for their business and the environment,” says Ana Yaluff, Sustainability Director EMEA, ADM. “By utilizing these ingredients, bakers can cater to the growing demand for environmentally friendly and socially responsible products. This not only appeals to a wide range of consumers but also enables bakers to differentiate themselves in a competitive market. Additionally, sustainable sourcing may involve supporting local farmers and producers, fostering stronger community connections, promoting fair trade practices, ethical labor conditions and responsible resource management.”
Technology in the Service of Traceability
ADM is one of the largest producers of bakery ingredients and has many systems in place to support transparency and traceability throughout the global food supply chain.
“There is also growing demand from shoppers in this space, with 73% of global consumers stating that they feel more positively about companies that are transparent about where and how products were made, raised or grown,” says Yaluff. “By being transparent about ingredient origins and processing, brands can build vital trust with consumers to support repeat purchases. Sustainability credentials can also influence shoppers’ purchasing decisions, with 41% of global consumers making greater efforts to find more environmentally friendly food brands in the last two years.”
There are several ways for the industry to embrace and support a stronger connection between consumers and the food they eat. Yaluff recommends bakery brands to partner with ingredient suppliers in order to establish a more traceable and transparent supply chain.
“For instance, programs like our joint venture (JV) in Madagascar traces vanilla beans back to the farm of origin – encouraging more transparency throughout our supply chain. The program introduces an additional dimension of authenticity, meeting the need for vanilla ingredients that are sourced from a single origin and can be traced back to their fields. It also underscores the potential for future growth that has a direct positive effect on Malagasy farmers and their communities.” More specifically, the program empowers farmers to achieve sustainable incomes, which they can then reinvest in various ventures, including the production of nuts and spices, enhancing animal feed quality, boosting tourism and promoting fisheries. Furthermore, it facilitates improved access to essential necessities such as food, education and healthcare, contributing to overall community development.
A similar approach can be found at Cargill, one of the largest food companies in the world. “We rely on a range of technology solutions, tools and initiatives to increase the traceability and transparency of our supply chains,” says Kate Clancy, Global Sustainability Director for Cargill, Food & Bio. “Though the specific approaches will vary on a crop-by-crop basis. Our CocoaWise™, SoyaWise™ and PalmWise™ digital portals enable our customers around the world to easily access details about where and how crops are being grown and processed. They provide the traceability and transparency our customers need to meet their own sustainability goals and consumer demands.”
Many of the challenges in the palm oil, soy or cocoa supply chains, such as deforestation and human rights concerns, are not specific to a single supplier or sector alone. “After all, commodities such as cocoa, soy and palm oil are sourced from millions of smallholders that are transported in bulk from across the globe,” says Clancy. “Increasing supply chain visibility and traceability is critical in helping us better protect forests and monitor for potential deforestation. Through Cargill’s new partnership with Satelligence, we are enhancing our already robust monitoring capabilities to minimize deforestation risks in our soy, palm oil, and cocoa supply chains. Satelligence provides Cargill with near-real-time, satellite-powered deforestation risk monitoring by using open-source, science-based methodologies, certified by Ernst & Young.”
When coupled with other farm-level insights, GPS mapping can help us attain a comprehensive picture of farm-level needs and challenges. To date, Cargill has mapped 72% of all farmers participating in the Cocoa Promise program.
ofi (Olam Food Ingredients), a global producer of ingredients and spices, created the Olam Farmer Information System (OFIS) to help with transparency and traceability of its ingredients.
“We buy produce from roughly 2.56 million smallholder farmers (both directly and via third-parties),” says the company. “Many of these farmers live and work in isolation with no access to the internet. This lack of connectivity means farmers don’t benefit from digital innovation, and we can’t support them effectively or report properly on their progress.”
OFIS is a survey tool they built to bridge that gap. Their field teams use OFIS to collect data (such as farm and community infrastructure locations), manage training activities, and track financing, input distribution and purchases precisely. With a clearer view of what’s happening on the ground, both ofi and the farmers can maximize the effectiveness of their efforts. At the same time, the detailed data allows us to plan development programs that are better suited to farmers’ needs. Finally, it means ofi can report more precisely on sustainability, social justice, and other business indicators.
You can read the rest of this article in the November-December issue of European Baker & Biscuit, which you can access by clicking here.