Key Takeaways
- Deloitte and dsm-firmenich are collaborating to promote a sustainable food system.
- The Sustell™ platform will be central to this effort, assessing the environmental impact of animal protein production.
- Deloitte will enhance the platform’s reach and help businesses utilize it for sustainability reporting and operational improvements.
- The collaboration aims to improve transparency and connectivity across the food value chain.
- This initiative aligns with growing regulatory demands for sustainability in agriculture.
Deloitte has announced an expanded global collaboration with dsm-firmenich, innovators in nutrition, health, and beauty, to foster a more sustainable food system. This initiative forms part of Deloitte’s broader efforts to explore, develop, and scale climate and nature-positive solutions by working directly with businesses to implement future-proof strategies and enhance transparency across the food ecosystem.
Sustell™ Platform at the Core
Central to this collaboration is dsm-firmenich’s innovative Software as a Service platform, Sustell™. This platform is designed to calculate the environmental impact of producing animal protein at scale by harnessing data directly from the feed and farm sectors within an organization’s value chain. Accurate assessment of environmental impact is crucial for producing sustainable eggs, meat, milk, and seafood, as it provides a baseline from which improvements can be measured. Sustell™ assists organizations in reducing their environmental footprint by identifying impact hotspots and incorporating intervention modeling across various scenarios.
Deloitte’s role will be to expand and enhance the platform’s reach, improving the flow of vital economic information from processors and consumer-packaged goods providers to feed producers, farmers, and integrators. Deloitte will also advise businesses on operating the platform, applying its insights to their operations, and preparing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. This collaboration aims to bridge silos in the value chain by rapidly connecting ecosystem players to create and protect value and collectively achieve meaningful sustainability improvements.
Driving Value Chain Transparency
“The food industry needs holistic value chain transparency to make better choices and transform to future-proof business models,” says Jorg Schalekamp, Partner, Consulting, Deloitte Netherlands. “This collaboration will help leaders in the agricultural sector access precise, real-time data and insights needed to embed sustainability considerations into their operations, contributing to a virtuous cycle that can drive both a profitable agriculture sector and a more sustainable global food system.”
Animal farming alone accounts for 14.5% of all human-derived greenhouse gas emissions, and the agriculture sector is the largest contributor to global methane emissions. With increasing scrutiny from international regulatory entities such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, there is growing pressure on food producers to identify and reduce their environmental impacts.
Sustell™ as a Catalyst for Change
“Sustell™’s approach makes precise, tailored environmental accountability the new normal across the animal farming industry,” says Dr. David Nickell, Vice President of Sustainability & Business Solutions at dsm-firmenich, Animal Nutrition & Health. “It is the standard that can help open the door to commercial opportunities by driving customer demand, enabling grants and preferential development finance, opening new income streams through carbon credits and data royalties, and lowering environmental impact. Our critical, on-the-ground insights on animal feed and farming, coupled with Deloitte’s global leadership and cross-sector knowledge, will help unlock the missing ingredients needed to create a greener food ecosystem for everybody.”
Cross-Sector Collaboration
To further transform the food system and reduce its climate impacts, cooperation between the food industry and the energy industry is essential. This will help redefine production, distribution, and consumption models, promoting sustainability and a healthier planet.
“Collaboration across sectors and geographies is instrumental to achieving net-zero goals, and reimagining our food value chain is no exception,” says Deloitte Global Future of Food leader Randy Jagt. “Our expanded relationship with Sustell™ is one of many cross-industry collaborations that can help transform our food system. From regenerative agriculture and executive education programs with universities around the globe, to working with non-government organizations to find the optimal balance between protein and plant-based consumption, to leveraging technology to create more resilient supply chains and working toward zero waste, Deloitte is committed to supporting and accelerating the food systems transformation.”
Photo by Joao Vitor Marcilio on Unsplash
