Bord Bia has today published the results of one of the most extensive global surveys of thought leaders’, consumers’ and trade buyers’ attitudes to sustainability ever undertaken.
The study is intended to help promote sustainability among Origin Green’s Irish food and drink businesses members and to assist them in promoting their products based on meaningful, sustainable actions.
The Origin Green Global Sustainability Survey was undertaken domestically and in 12 of Ireland’s most important export markets, to understand attitudes to sustainability and emerging trends in three groups; agenda setters (advocacy groups, policy makers, industry leaders), customers (trade buyers, sustainability leads, operations leads) and consumers.
The survey finds clear differences in what each group prioritises and how they see the topic of sustainability.
The new research insights can be viewed on the Bord Bia website by market and by sustainability theme e.g. GHG emissions, biodiversity, water, circular economy, packaging, animal welfare, food waste or regenerative agriculture. This allows Bord Bia clients to understand how customers in their key markets think about the top sustainability issues.
Research across the markets indicated that emissions were a key topic for agenda setters and customers. These groups, particularly larger retailers, are setting science based or net-zero targets, putting pressure on suppliers to reduce emissions and presenting sustainable suppliers with an opportunity to stand out. Two thirds of trade buyers globally say “having the lowest possible greenhouse gas emissions/carbon footprint” is important when choosing a supplier and sustainability is becoming a key purchasing criteria for trade buyers, along with quality, price and supply. However, consumers are less focused on emissions, as it is currently more difficult to link the carbon footprint to the product on-shelf.
Similarly, while agenda setters are very heavily focussed on biodiversity, this issue is not yet on the radar for consumers in terms of making purchasing decisions. However, as the sustainability agenda develops and becomes more important, the carbon and biodiversity impact of products will become more important to consumers. The research indicates we can expect more tipping points in the short to medium-term that will bring increased consumer and trade buyer focus on big sustainability topics.
At present, consumers view food waste and packaging as the most important sustainability issues. Some 77% indicate that they have made an effort to buy products with less packaging, and 87% indicate that they have made an attempt to reduce food waste in the last 12 months. For beef and dairy consumers, we see that high animal welfare standards and grass-fed are some of the most important sustainability attributes globally that can command a premium. Almost 1 in 4 (23%) beef consumers globally say they are willing to pay a premium for grass-fed beef.
