Meat+Poultry - October 2021 - 80

SUSTAINABILITY
Packaging companies
carefully consider
consumer wants and
needs when designing
new packaging systems.
match shifting purchasing patterns - and to
better collaborate with industry peers, just as
they proved they could during the pandemic. "
A consumer survey undertaken by
Accenture highlights the opportunities and
challenges companies face as they wade
further into meeting the needs of conscious
consumers. For example:
* Half do not have a good understanding of
which brands are sustainable/ethical, and
which are not.
* To help more easily understand how
sustainable a product is, seven in 10
consumers would support a mandatory but
simple labeling standard for products such
as a traffic light indicator.
* Two-thirds of consumers believe the
government should introduce legislation to
promote " conscious consumption, " such as
charging for plastic bags.
* Sixty-nine percent of consumers believe
consumer brands should do more to make
it easier to consume more consciously.
* A third of consumers admit they do not
have a good understanding on what items
they can and can't recycle.
" People's values are increasingly
becoming infused in their shopping habits
as consumers think more about balancing
what they buy, and how they spend their
time, with global issues of sustainability, "
said Jill Standish, senior managing director
and head of Accenture's global retail industry
group. " It is no longer enough for brands to
just talk about responsibility, they need to
adopt environmental, social and governance
practices, harnessing technology to drive
outcomes across their entire operations,
from building more sustainable supply
chains to equipping the workforce for a
new environment. "
80 MEAT+POULTRY | 10.21 | www.meatpoultry.com
Supporting Accenture's results were
survey findings from the London-based market
researcher GlobalData that said sustainability
and reducing environmental impact are
becoming ever more critical to consumers'
perceptions of brands. In research released
in December 2020, GlobalData said 41% of
European consumers consider a reduced
environmental footprint to be more important
now than before the pandemic. In addition,
42% of European consumers said the COVID19
pandemic has made ethical or sustainable
production methods more important to them.
" Brands shouldn't dismiss the issue of CO2
emissions, " said Ryan Whittaker, consumer
analyst at GlobalData. " While Gen Xers and
millennials worldwide reported the most
interest in products that lower environmental
footprints in the wake of the pandemic, it has
grown as a priority for all age groups. "
To illustrate his point, Whittaker used
NoCoe, a snack product manufactured
and marketed in France by Mondelez
International's SnackFutures unit, as an
example. The cracker brand is clean label
and carbon neutral. Manufactured with more
than 80% local ingredients and production, it
has a shorter, more sustainable supply chain,
according to the company.
" SnackFutures has designed this product
to translate climate change into something
with a real physical presence, something that
empowers consumers to be able to proactively
contribute toward environmental protection:
by choosing products with sustainable,
shorter supply chains and carbon neutrality
credentials, " Whittaker said.
Companies are acting. Maple Leaf Foods
Inc., Toronto, said it achieved carbon neutrality
in 2019 and labels its Maple Leaf, Greenfield
Natural Meat Co., Lightlife and Field Roast
Grain Meat Co. brands as " carbon zero. " The
logo may be found on the front of all product
packaging. Other food companies that have
or are exploring the addition of carbon labels
to brands include Unilever, Upfield Group,
Mondelez International, Quorn Foods and Oatly.
THE SEARCH FOR ALTERNATIVES
A survey of more than 15,000 consumers in
Europe, North America and South America by
Trivium Packaging and the Boston Consulting
Group also identified a steady climb in younger
Sealed Air
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