Nearly three-quarters (76%) of food and beverage leaders expressed confidence in their sustainability plans and ability to meet their environmental targets by 2030, the survey found. New report from QuantisBut their plan of action was missing a key element.
A survey of more than 600 food and beverage industry professionals and executives found that 62% of respondents ranked sustainable packaging as their top priority over the next 12 months. While this is a solid starting point, leaders rank key areas of change drivers like portfolio redesign, regenerative agriculture and plant-based initiatives as their lowest priority. Additionally, 26% of respondents struggled with a clear action plan, another key success factor.
They also encounter obstacles on their journey to sustainability: More than 40% of respondents cited supply chain complexity as their biggest challenge, followed by allocating funds to reduce their environmental impact. Lack of cross-departmental collaboration is a common stumbling block for chief sustainability officers.
Whether food companies can achieve their goals or not, the demand for sustainability is clear: all marketing respondents are observing the impact of sustainability on consumer purchasing, with over half saying that their customers are increasingly interested in sustainable products, even if they are more expensive.
