Eco credentials: How green are your apples?
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2021 edition of AFG, available online here.
Consumers are increasingly trying to make informed decisions about the food they purchase. But it’s not just nutritional information, chemical residue or safety and quality standards– ‘eco credentials’ are a global trend, and Australian consumers are taking notice.
Key findings
- Eco credentials in food production are a consumer-facing declaration of the environmental impact of growing practice and/or sustainable supply chain
- These metrics can be developed and led by retailers, industry, government or in collaboration
- The trend for retailers in the UK/EU and the US is towards products with eco credentials and sustainable practices within the supply chain –which can determine market access.
- Australia is seen as lagging behind other countries, but domestic retailers are looking overseas to determine future trends
- Eco-premium pricing can allow food products to command higher prices at retail, and make them more desirable for consumers, as in the case of New Zealand’s ‘Sustainable Winegrowing’ certification program.
What are eco credentials?
“Eco credentials” are the use of environmental certification to communicate how eco-friendly a product is. For primary industries, such as fresh produce, particular attention is given to the ‘sustainability’ of various aspects of the supply chain in determining an ‘environmental footprint’.
According to Brent Clothier, Principal Scientist at Plant & Food Research NZ, these are becoming more common across industries and retailers as consumers consider the environmental and social impact of their choices.
“For the producer, it can be a point of differentiation – giving your product a competitive edge,” Brent said.
“For consumers, it can mean they are making purchases that align with their values.”
When it comes to eco credentials the story of how fruit reaches the consumer becomes as important as the quality of the fruit itself.
Prove it or lose it
According to Brent, for eco credentials to be successful, they need to be recognised, understood, audited and believable.
“It’s not enough to say you’re eco-friendly,” Brent said. “It needs to be backed up by verifiable practice, to avoid accusations of ‘greenwashing’.”
As a starting point, Brent believes industry can approach the development of eco credentials using the steps set out in the Harvard Business Review publication, Competitive Advantage on a Warming Planet, (Lash and Wellington, 2007):
- Quantify your footprint
- Assess the risks and opportunities of quantifying/not quantifying
- Adapt your business
- Do better than your rivals.
“That last one lets you use eco credentials for a competitive edge, because you want to get on the shelves of the world’s premium supermarkets,” Brent said.
Measure up
At one stage, ‘food miles’ was the fashionable metric for communicating the ‘eco-friendly’ status of food and beverage products – but in Brent’s view, the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) provides the more complete sustainability story that industry should tell consumers.
In measuring the ecological footprint of New Zealand apples, Brent and his research team took into account everything from the growing practice and soil health to harvesting, transport, packaging, export and end consumer purchase of the apple.
The LCA results demonstrated that food miles did not give a full picture of the ecological footprint.
“The carbon footprint and water footprint are the most significant metrics,” Brent said.
“These are both quantifiable, and metrics of continuous improvement can be developed. They are also of greatest concern to consumers, and more simple to communicate.”
Andrew Mandemaker, APAL Head of Group Quality, Innovation and Commercialisation, said these metrics – and a transparent supply chain – could be key for market access in future.
“As consumers become more conscious of their carbon and water footprint, this is the kind of base-line information the horticulture industry should have,” Andrew said. “When it comes to producing fruit for export, we can see with agrochemical residues that there are already areas where Australian growers are making changes to meet certain standards for market access. Eventually, a transparent supply chain that meets specific standards for sustainability could be the expectation both here and in our export markets.”
Premium space on the shelf
For Brent, these trends suggest that premium shelf space – and premium prices – will be dictated by sustainable production and supply chain.
“This in turn creates a ‘virtuous circle’,” Brent said. “Products with eco credentials attract eco-premium prices, then become retail requirements placed upon the supply chain, which speeds up the development of sustainable or regenerative horticultural practice so that producers can meet these demands and continue to profit.
“Supermarkets are leading the way in educating consumers about their environmental footprint, demanding evidence of sustainability and transparency in the supply chain,” Brent said. “Over a decade ago, Walmart began developing their current Sustainability Index, and Tesco partnered with NGOs to implement trusted eco credentials on their product labels. Being able to quantify impact and demonstrate sustainability to consumers will not just be about ‘market access’, but ‘shelf access’, with high-status, eco-premium products given preferred placement.”
The New Zealand wine industry, through the Sustainable Winegrowing NZ (SWNZ) certification program, is one example of how demonstrating these eco credentials can reward the investment and effort.
According to Andrew, Australian retailers are looking overseas at examples for measuring sustainability and developing eco credentials.
“Retailers have the power to drive purchasing choices and make this easy and accessible for consumers, and each major retailer wants to be the one who ‘got there first’,” Andrew said. “Even if Australian consumers aren’t demanding this now, we should be looking to Europe as a guide for what will happen next in Australia. This includes commitments to zero plastics and sustainable production practices. These things aren’t going to become less important.”
Fresh global branding
While Australian consumers might be familiar with certification for Fair Trade or Organic fresh produce, there is currently no easily recognisable universal certification to demonstrate sustainability or carbon/water footprint.
Even if growers are keen to implement eco credentials and sustainable agricultural practice, how can they tell this story to consumers in the fresh produce aisle?
Pink Lady® Europe have recently made a step in this direction with the creation of a public-facing commitment charter for their industry.
Thierry Mellenotte, Director–General Manager of Pink Lady Europe, said the charter was developed with every part of the supply chain in mind, from nurseries right up to distributors.
“We spent a lot of time educating the different sectors, and convincing them we should have a global approach, and proposing different tools for auditing and evaluation,” Thierry said. “The producers are probably the most important part, but they are not alone – we had to show them that the entire sector was united under those commitments.”
Practical aspects of the commitment include:
- Carbon neutral goals and timelines
- Percentages of producers and packhouses certified under relevant programs
- Ongoing research projects by Pink LAB
- Production growth targets
- 100 per cent cardboard packaging by June 2022.
Other assessed indicators will also be added as the charter develops and expands beyond Europe.
