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November 01, 2023

Impact Measurement Q&A with Steph, Foodbuy Impact Analyst

We hear from Steph, our Impact Analyst, on our partnership with Foodsteps

Foodbuy News
Carbon Impact Measurement
Carbon Emissions
Net Zero

How important is data in Foodbuy’s Net Zero journey?

Our sustainability strategy consists of 6 pillars, including net zero, social value, ethics and supply chain risk management and more. In my opinion, the one dominant ingredient that will determine the successful delivery of them all is Foodbuy’s data and reporting capability. It all comes down to the robustness of our data, the strength of our analytical insight, and the efficacy with which we then use it for maximum material impact – commercial, environmental, and cultural.

As Foodbuy’s Impact Analyst, I look to capture accurate climate data that is informative to stakeholders and supports sustainable business decision making, and ultimately maintain business resilience. It’s not easy work, but its crucial towards our journey to a net zero and socially conscious supply chain.

Tell us about Foodbuy’s partnership with Foodsteps and how it will enable accurate data and impact measurement?

People are often shocked to find out that food creates a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and is the biggest cause of biodiversity loss. As a food procurement organisation, we have a direct responsibility to look at our contribution to this.

Food impact measurement is a complex field, so we’ve enlisted some experts to help us to identify, analyse and quantify our impact through recipe-level foot-printing. I’ve been working closely with Foodsteps, UK based start-up which offers data and communication solutions for food businesses looking to measure, reduce and communicate their food’s environmental impact.

We’ve partnered with Foodsteps and The University of Oxford to launch a carbon foot-printing pilot of 1,000+ client recipes to accelerate recipe reformulation, analyse impact, and map a decarbonisation pathway focused on three levers: ingredients, sales mix, and suppliers.

Why is this partnership with Foodsteps important to Foodbuy?

In 2022, we released our first Climate Impact report in partnership with our parent company, Compass UK&I, in which we reported on the carbon emissions embodied in the ingredients we procure at a sub-category level. This work provided a really strong foundation to assess our complex supply chain carbon footprint.

Our partnership with Foodsteps will enable us to zoom in one step further and uncover product level data on these foods. This more granular insight into our supply chain will enable us to accurately measure and report collective impact with our climate-conscious clients and empower business decision making.

Also, at present, there is no consistency between corporate impact reports. Without any explicitly defined rules, calculations vary hugely from business to business. Foodsteps’ rigorous methodology allows us to standardise, and have increased confidence in, our footprint calculation data. 

How can Foodbuy’s suppliers support our data collection efforts?

As a procurement business, we are only as strong as the suppliers that make up our supply chain – that’s you! We cannot achieve Net Zero by 2030 without having you along on the journey with us, it’s a truly collaborative process. Which is why we have recently started asking that for all new or renewed contracts, suppliers must commit to submitting Science-Based Targets (SBTs) within 12 months. I think this is a big, but critical step in the right direction.

If you too are on a similar path to Net Zero, we’d love to hear about the steps you’re taking to enhance your reporting capabilities, and any opportunities for collaboration to maximise visibility and transparency throughout our value chains. Have you recently invested in your business’s sustainability reporting capabilities? Is there an innovative, low-impact product that you’ve released and do you have the data to support? We’d love to know!