Recommendations from The Packer’s sustainability research

The Packer’s research on sustainability reveals that produce operators must not think of the issue as a trend.

The researchers gave several recommendations from their findings:

• Sustainability is no longer a trend. Sustainability is important to everyone along the food value chain. Today sustainability is an expectation.
• The food value chain must not take their foot off the gas when it comes to sustainability. Consumers will continue to demand more sustainable food and growers will continue to face extra costs for sustainability.
• Consumers are unlikely to be convinced by facts that something is sustainable. Instead trust must be built by communicating shared values and being transparent.
• The food value chain must embrace this idea and communicate shared values with consumers. Education and facts will not be enough to build trust with consumers.

Consumer demand is the driving force behind sustainability but not all consumers are leading sustainable lives. In fact, consumers are the least sustainable part of the chain. Consumers do not have to adhere to the same accountability standards they place on the rest of the food value chain.

• Consumers need sustainability to be made easy for them. Focusing on biodegradable packaging is a good starting point.
• Growers are ready to invest more into sustainability if their efforts are recognized by buyers.
• Growers see sustainability not only as an environmental issue, but also as something to be proud of, a marketing mean that can drive more business.

Enough consumers are paying attention to legislation surrounding packaging to force a change at some point. Researchers said the industry must stay ahead of these legislative efforts to make sure that the food value chain is not adversely affected.

Growers are willing to endorse the change if consumers are willing to accept the extra cost, researchers said.

Watch all of the Sustainable Produce Summit sessions right here.

Here are a few ways to ensure you never miss The Packer's sustainability content:

Catch up on what you missed at our first Sustainable Produce Summit, including full videos of the keynotes and presentations. Watch here.

Lettuce Learn More is a podcast focused on produce industry education, brought to you by The Packer. Season one of the podcast features educational sessions from the Sustainable Produce Summit. Listen here.