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THE STATE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN 4 QUESTIONS

About The State of Sustainability at Food and Beverage Companies SurveyThe survey is based on answers from 189 respondents collected in April and May 2014 from C-suite and senior leaders in food and beverage retail, manufacturing/supply, and wholesaler/distribution/brokerage sectors. Participant titles included: CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, owner, partner, chairman, vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president, category manager, merchandising manager, marketing manager, buyer, and director/general manager.

HOW IMPORTANT IS SUSTAINABILITY TO YOUR FIRM’S BUSINESS STRATEGY?

WHAT FACTORS ARE IMPORTANT WHEN CONSIDERING SUSTAINABILITY?

WHO’S IN CHARGE?

HOW IS IT MEASURED?

Benefits of a conscious business approach are ripe for the taking

Being a sustainable business is about more than just reducing waste, especially

for food and beverage companies. It is about attracting and keeping customers by

protecting the environment, improving lives through social programs and maintaining

corporate accountability. We surveyed the industry to uncover the state of sustainability

along the food and beverage supply chain. Our results show that many companies have

built tremendous momentum; yet many are still on the sidelines.

2 in 5 companies aren’t sure if they’re sourcing from sustainable suppliers.

1 in 3 companies aren’t aware of green state and federal incentives.

7 in 10 companies think a sustainable business model is profitable in the long run.

“Whenever you adopt changes for sustainability purposes, make sure stakeholders are on board and that the company considers changes to its risk profile.”

“People want to know where and how their food is grown, and what the company is doing in the process of getting the food to the shelf. This is more important than it ever has been.”

— Dexter Manning, Food and Beverage Practice Leader—Tony Perazzo, Audit Partner

think it’s extremely important to their business strategy.

Critical to growth 68%Profit-generating in the long-term 68%

Demanded by consumers 67%A competitive differentiator 64%

Difficult to implement 52%Profit-generating in the short-term 25%

A fad that will disappear in a few years 10%

Sustainability is:

Long-termprofitability

30% 27% 21% 21% 20% 19%

Leadership buy-in Budget Public perception Proven ROI Staff

45%

Dedicated sustainability

function

16%

Committee CFO Corporateresponsibility

officer

Chiefmarketing

officer

Board ofdirectors

Chief operating officer

Other

14%

10%8%

5% 5% 4%

16%

1 in 5 companies have no designated leadership for their sustainability initiatives.

3 in 4 companies measure their sustainability efforts.

Energy consumption 58%Total waste 50%

Amount of recycled materials 40%Impact of social responsibility initiatives 25%

Carbon footprint 24%LEED certification 16%

Suppliers are more likely to:• Say that sustainability is critical to growth

and that their customers expect it• Implement a sustainable business model• Measure their sustainability efforts

Retailers are more likely to: • Reduce their energy consumption• Report savings through energy-

reduction and federal programs

Wholesalers are more likely to: • Dismiss sustainability as a fad

Suppliers and manufacturers are the furthest along the adoption curve

CHAMPIONS AND LAGGARDS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN

Supplier Retailer Wholesaler

Followers (compliance) 22% 27% 41%*

Mature (risk and cost management) 27% 31% 13%

Leaders (sustainable business model) 24% 18% 19%

Champions (large-scale, sophisticated sustainable strategy) 13% 9% 3%

Not sure 13% 16% 25%* Significant at the 90% level of confidenceResponses do not total 100% due to rounding.

Top sustainable activities show different prioritiesalong the supply chain

Supplier Retailer Wholesaler

Reducing production waste 78% 44%* 38%Paper and packaging recycling 69% 69% 53%

Reducing energy consumption 62% 78%** 47%*

Reducing consumer waste 53% 45% 38%

Funding social programs 40% 32% 16%*

* Significant at the 95% level of confidence** Significant at the 99% level of confidence

The State of Sustainability at Food and Beverage Companies