Reducing food waste is an indispensable part of climate mitigation. Whether you are a food company or not, you can be a food waste champion.

Almost every company produces food waste on-site in their cafeterias and micro-kitchens or when hosting events. This means that every business should have a food waste strategy to cut embodied carbon emissions and improve food security. Reducing waste has always been challenging and more variable office-use patterns resulting from the pandemic are complicating efforts further. It’s time to get creative. In-house operations managers and foodservice partners explain their best practices and lay out effective ways to collaborate to see results faster.

CEO and chef Miyoko Schinner cooks up plant-based meals and discusses how to mainstream vegan foods.

Scaling the adoption of plant-based foods is a critical component of better food systems. The ecosystem of startups and increasingly more mature companies in this space has never been more dynamic and versatile. As companies launch more and more plant-based ingredients, products and manufacturing technologies, two challenges arise. How will a broad consumer base make plant-based foods a standard component of their diets? And how will food companies partner with the innovation ecosystem to reformulate their products and mainstream the use of alternative ingredients? A chef, writer, activist and CEO of one of the leading companies in the industry welcomes us to her kitchen with practical tips for everyday consumers — and how to appeal to them.  

American and European supermarket experts compare sustainability tactics and examine approaches for raising the industry’s climate ambition.

From airing controversial ads on palm oil and meat consumption, cutting food waste and plastics, to greening refrigerants and cleaning products, supermarkets have a big climate toolbox to work with. And for good reason. Grocers exert significant control over food supply chains while interfacing directly with consumers. What are their most successful approaches? And what enables them to act? We compare the strategies, assess their impact to date and discuss how businesses from across the big pond can learn from each other.

Online food ordering is booming. How can companies use digital platforms to nudge consumers toward more sustainable food purchases? 

The Covid-19 pandemic catalyzed an unparalleled growth in online shopping—food is no exception. The digital ordering platforms offer an exciting communications opportunity for brands to tell their sustainability story and nudge consumers toward better choices. But there are many potential strategies; labels, health or environmental messaging, promotions and product placements. What works best? This conversation will work to elucidate the most successful approaches for bringing sustainability to the online food marketplace.  

Discover and experiment with the sustainability tool that enables leading companies to enhance their impact — one ingredient at a time. 

Food innovators have added a new approach to their sustainability toolkit: Product databases that feature ingredient-level sustainability analysis. These powerful platforms provide superior supply chain transparency and clear metrics, allowing teams to fine-tune the social and environmental impact of their products. HowGood and leading industry innovators will describe their most inspiring and disruptive projects and let you test your sustainable product design skills in a gamified version of their tool. 

Healthy soils are the foundation for the future of food. Take your chance to ask questions about the latest insights and practices.

Farmers, scientists and food and agriculture companies agree that investing in soil is key to sustainable agriculture. A lot has been happening in the past years to advance best management practices and put soil to work as a carbon sequestration opportunity. What is the state of play when it comes to the potential and limit of storing carbon in soil, measuring and verifying such practices and integrating them into soil carbon and offset markets? An agronomist breaks down the most important developments and answers your questions.

Decarbonizing farms is essential for a 1.5° future. Consider these cutting-edge technologies to make headway on your Scope 3 targets. 

A big portion of a low-carbon future lies in the hands of farmers — and in companies’ Scope 3 emissions. A dynamic ecosystem is evolving to support farmers in revamping their operations. They promise to unlock emissions reductions by electrifying farm equipment, breeding better seeds, decarbonizing inputs and generating renewable energy. Which solutions can best help food companies decarbonize their supply chains? How can they be employed equitably and improve the wellbeing of the farmers championing them?

A VIP taste test of the world’s first cultivated salmon, accompanied by an expert discussion about sustainable seafood.

The development and deployment of technologies that enable more sustainable and ethical diets has been moving faster than expected. After consumers in Singapore added cultivated (a.k.a. lab-grown) chicken to their plates in 2020, fish is next. The founders of Wildtype indulge a lucky group of experts in a blind tasting of their first product: Lab-cultivated salmon. Learn about the technologies enabling the future of fish, how this approach will complement long-standing work on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and how your business could engage with this quickly accelerating industry.

One-third of food produced globally each year is lost or wasted. Food processing and packaging solutions can help eliminate this problem.

From product loss during production to food wasted due to spoilage, technology plays a critical role in transforming our food systems to meet the needs of a growing population. Increasing the efficiency of handling raw materials, and improving the processing and packaging of food can make the food system more environmentally friendly. It may also boost food security for underserved communities. At the same time, it’s important to weigh the benefits of preventing food loss with the cost of producing waste from food packaging.

By launching a new scalable framework, 150+ organizations are collaborating to help 99 percent of U.S. agriculture get on a better path.

More and more companies across the food and agriculture industry are promising to collaborate with farmers and ranchers to scale farming practices that improve soil health, carbon capture, water use, biodiversity and equity. Many are committed to achieving results by 2030. Yet key questions remain unanswered. How should farmers be incentivized? What are the best ways to measure, verify and report soil health outcomes? What will a regenerative marketplace look like? This is why Green Brown Blue, a food accelerator directed by the Lexicon and backed by Google, brought together experts from the entire food and agriculture ecosystem over 18 months to co-create and launch REGEN1. This new model is marketplace-driven and inclusive of the entire value chain — bringing together food companies, NGOs, farmers, ranchers, government agencies, soil scientists, academics, storytellers, and supply chain experts. The creators will explain the ins and outs of their new platform and how everyone can get involved to bring its benefits to life.

Innovators lay out the logistics and economics behind reusable packaging programs emerging across the food industry. 

The Covid-19 pandemic had a detrimental impact on hard-won improvements in the reduction of food packaging and disposable tableware. Nonetheless, circular economy warriors have continued to refine reusable packaging programs over the past year, overcoming complex economical and logistical challenges. Experts will share the important lessons to help other companies curb their waste footprint and become part of a circular future. Discover models that work, the essential steps for starting your own reusable program and what mistakes to avoid.  

Biodiversity loss is a systemic risk threatening future food supplies and ecosystem services essential to thriving agricultural communities. Yet the focus on decarbonizing global economies often overshadows building biodiversity into sustainability strategies. Tackling this challenge, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has developed a framework that food companies can apply to design nature-positive portfolios. Gain key insights for making the case for biodiversity in your company and discover starting points in your product design processes and supply chain partnerships.

Food and beverage companies are working on the challenge of manufacturing products more efficiently and sustainably. Identifying and incorporating best practices for energy, water and waste systems will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All of this needs to work without compromising the taste, quality and affordability of products while maintaining regulatory compliance. Black and Veatch draws from more than 100 years of global engineering know-how. Their experts will answer your questions on how to best design new and update existing facilities to keep up with the sustainability requirements and expected ROI of your business partners.