Despite the growing demand for sustainable food, many companies hesitate to set ambitious environmental goals, as transparently measuring and reporting environmental performance is time consuming and costly. Environmental traceability, namely the ability to track the environmental impact of a product along the supply chain, can help streamline and improve the process, and we have identified several strategies that can enhance its effectiveness.
How Food Companies Can Better Measure Their Sustainability
Food companies are struggling to effectively measure and report their environmental performance due to complexity and labor-intensity of data handling. Environmental traceability, through the use of digital technologies, can significantly streamline this process. Standardization of environmental metrics and automation of data exchange can facilitate comparable performance measures across companies and reduce data-entry workload. Furthermore, systemic changes and collaboration within food networks can lead to efficient and transparent environmental reporting. Integrating AI into decision-making processes can also help optimize environmental sustainability. Implementing these strategies can bolster environmental traceability, thus making food companies more sustainable and cost-effective.