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Are you a “value creator?” If you haven’t heard this term – keep reading! McKinsey & Company recently conducted a global survey on how companies capture the value of sustainability. Below are four things I learned about the benefits of a company having a sustainability program within their organization from the “Creating Value with Sustainability: Survey.”

During the recent International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta, Ga., it seemed to me that sustainability was on the minds of many attendees and exhibitors. It could be that I was especially tuned into the topic with the launch of the Institute for Feed Education and Research’s Animal Food Industry Sustainability Toolkit during the show, but let me give you some context.

The Protein PACT for the People, Animals & Climate of Tomorrow unites partners including the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER) across the animal agriculture supply chain in the largest-ever effort to strengthen animal protein’s contributions to the people, animals and climate of tomorrow. Following the Protein PACT’s launch in July 2021, the North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) and our partners have been hard at work to set measurable baselines, verify progress toward ambitious achievements and communicate transparently about how nutrient-dense animal-sourced foods contribute to sustainable food security solutions.

The Institute for Feed Education and Research is making progress on several of its sustainability initiatives. We are wrapping up phase one of the Sustainability Road Map project and will be releasing a sustainability toolkit for feed industry members in January during the International Production and Processing Expo. Another project, the Feed Systems Sustainability Summit, held in September, was a great success and the takeaways are informing actions for the industry and its stakeholders. During the November Sustainable Agriculture Summit (SAS), over 800 representatives from the food value chain gathered, networked and made plans to advance sustainability efforts up and down the supply chain. All of these initiatives are informing IFEEDER’s actions to support feed systems sustainability, and our next steps are taking shape as we prepare to shift to phase two of our efforts.

This week, the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER) made headlines for the research work we support at the Clarity and Leadership for Environmental Awareness and Research (CLEAR) Center at the University of California-Davis.  Despite detractors’ efforts to discredit research underway, we are proud of the work we do with public institutions, such as the CLEAR Center. We can’t address food security while reducing our environmental impact independently. We must engage.

Our peers in animal agriculture, that is the farmers and ranchers who produce meat, milk and eggs every day for Americans to eat, must think holistically about the sustainability of their production systems. Beyond their downstream customers’ sustainability reporting desires, they are responsible to the communities surrounding their farms, regulatory agencies monitoring environmental impact and consuming public’s perceptions.  

Most of the environmental impact for animal protein is embedded in the feed that animals eat. By reducing feed impacts, food companies have an opportunity to make significant progress toward climate and sustainability goals.

Ever wondered what science-based targets really are or why they may be relevant to animal food? We’ve got a webinar opportunity for you to listen and learn.