Trends in Sustainable Supply Chain Practices

🌿 From farm to table, how can we make every step of the food chain sustainable? Let’s break it down. Let me take you behind the scenes of what sustainability looks like in the food industry. I recently listened to the interview on this topic with Christie Zimmerman, a Product Standards Manager at Natural Grocers. Her work is a perfect example of how businesses can align their values with their supply chains to create real impact. Here’s what I learned: 1️⃣ Life Cycle Thinking: From Seed to Shelf Christie shared how Natural Grocers evaluates the entire lifecycle of products, like their coconut oil supply chain in Sri Lanka. They ensure every part of the coconut tree is used, minimizing waste and maximizing sustainability. This isn’t just about the environment it’s about people too. They dig into workforce practices, safety, and even housing for workers. Why does this matter? Because every product we buy has a story, and that story impacts communities, ecosystems, and our planet. 2️⃣ Animal Welfare: Beyond the Label Natural Grocers goes beyond the “organic” label. They focus on: 🐔 Space and Feed: Ensuring animals have room to roam and eat what they naturally would. 🐄 Grass-Fed Practices: Promoting grass-fed beef to reduce carbon footprints and support healthier ecosystems. 🦃 Slow Growth: Partnering with farms like Mary’s Chicken to ensure animals grow at a natural pace, not pushed to unhealthy extremes. 3️⃣ Transparency: The Heart of Trust One of the biggest challenges in sustainability is greenwashing. Christie emphasized the importance of clear, honest labeling. Natural Grocers pushes for text-based labels, not QR codes, so customers can make informed decisions quickly. Did you know? The organic industry is now introducing a certified transition label to help farms bridge the 3-year gap to becoming fully organic. This is a game-changer for farmers who want to make the shift but can’t afford to lose income during the transition. 4️⃣ Seafood: The Next Frontier Overfishing and mislabeling are huge issues in the seafood industry. Christie’s team is working with organizations like the Monterey Bay Council to ensure their seafood is sustainably sourced and accurately labelled. Fun fact: Did you know that some “salmon” served in restaurants isn’t salmon? What Can You Do? 🛒 Shop consciously. 🌱 Support local. 📢 Demand transparency. What’s one step you’ve taken to shop more sustainably? #Sustainability #Transparency

What do Walmart and Unilever have in common?  Both companies have been able to reimagine sustainable supply chains and leverage them to drive business results.      Walmart’s Project Gigaton has cut over 230 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions through collaboration with 2,300 suppliers. Unilever, with its Sustainable Living Plan, invests in regenerative agriculture and partners with small-hold farmers to both mitigate risks and unlock new business opportunities.  But it’s not just the big players who benefit. As someone working closely with organizations to streamline their supply chains, I have witnessed first-hand how every business can gain from rethinking its supply chain sustainability. Here’s how:     1. Risk Mitigation: A sustainable supply chain can help businesses preemptively address vulnerabilities, like resource scarcity, regulatory changes, or global disruptions. By working closely with suppliers and supporting their capacity building, companies can reduce risks that would otherwise threaten the continuity of their operations.     2. Cost Efficiency: Sustainable supply chains reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, and minimize unnecessary costs. This isn't just theory—businesses that adopt these practices report significant savings.     3. Supplier Empowerment: Empowering your suppliers to adopt sustainable practices strengthens their operations and fortifies your entire value chain. Building capacity among suppliers ensures more reliable, ethical, and resilient relationships.      4. Innovation and New Opportunities: Sustainability drives innovation. When companies focus on reducing waste or rethinking processes, they uncover creative solutions that can open new markets and improve product design.     Sustainability isn’t just a trend—if you're serious about staying competitive in a changing world, it's time to reimagine your supply chain.       #Sustainability #SupplyChain #ESG #BusinessResilience 

As the agriculture industry shifts towards sustainability, incentivizing this transition is key to driving meaningful changes in both supply chains and the environment. For the AcresUSA September issue of Acres Magazine, I explore how regenerative practices can not only enhance environmental quality and soil carbon stocks but also transform supply chains as a whole: https://lnkd.in/gKqkH7BS. In addition to increasing per-acre profits by decreasing inputs and diversifying income streams, offering market incentives through certifications, such as Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) or Regenified, can encourage wider adoption of practices such as cover cropping, crop rotation, reduced tillage, and livestock integration. Key Takeaways: 🌱 Economic and Environmental Benefits: Adopting regenerative practices leads to reduced input costs, improved crop yields, and strengthened brand reputation, ensuring both the economic viability and environmental sustainability of supply chains. 🏷️ Incentivizing Regenerative Practices: Certifications such as ROC and EOV play a crucial role in encouraging producers to adopt sustainable farming methods by providing access to premium markets and higher price points. 🌍 Soil Carbon and Supply Chains: Increasing soil carbon through regenerative practices directly impacts supply chains by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving soil health, and ensuring the sustainability of agricultural products from farm to consumer. 💰 Premium Pricing and Profitability: Farmers who embrace regenerative practices can command higher prices for their products—up to 30% more for regeneratively farmed goods—while also seeing a 20-30% increase in profitability over five years. By linking soil health to supply chain sustainability, regenerative agriculture offers a critical pathway to creating resilient, profitable, and environmentally sound food systems for the future. I hope you find the information useful! Check out this and other articles at www.acresusa.com #supplychains #soilcarbon #regenerativeagriculture #soilhealth #environmentalquality #whyward