A sustainable food supply chain and textile production aims to meet the growing demand for food while reducing the impact on the environment, conserving natural resources and supporting local communities. It considers the social and economic impacts of food production and distribution and cotton production, including occupational safety and fair sourcing practices, as well as environmental impacts such as increasing soil fertility and climate protection.
In view of the great importance of the agricultural and forestry sector for sustainable development, the requirements for the disclosure of environmental and social impacts with regard to greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, water and increasingly also soil fertility are increasing. The disclosure and reporting obligations also increasingly affect intermediaries, processors or suppliers of primary and intermediate products, even if they are not directly subject to the Supply Chain Duty of Care Act (LkSG) or CSRD.
Both the agricultural sector and the forestry sector are considered high-risk sectors in terms of environmental impact, human rights and occupational health and safety. However, securing the income of over one billion employees worldwide also poses a particular challenge.
Despite the increased emergence of labels and identification for individual products and entire farms, many agricultural and forestry products are traded as commodities on the stock exchange. In many cases, there is no transparency in the supply chain and long-term supply relationships are the exception due to the interchangeability of products.
Thanks to our deep knowledge of the agricultural and forestry sector, we are able to identify the specific risks within this sector. We support you in the development of sustainable procurement strategies and the implementation of improvement measures in the supply chain. In dialog with you, we help you to jointly develop pragmatic improvement measures that have a measurable positive impact on productivity and the environment.
Together with you, we analyze and evaluate the environmental and social impacts, but also the significance for the security of supply of high-quality agricultural and forestry raw materials. We develop strategies to reduce negative environmental impacts, increase positive impacts on people and the environment and improve the long-term competitiveness of your company. Our True Cost Accounting approach helps to identify the true costs and incorporate them into investment and procurement decisions.
Agriculture and forestry are more affected than other sectors by the effects of climate change, the scarcity of water resources, the loss of biodiversity and the weakened functioning of ecosystems. It is therefore in the interest of companies with agricultural and forestry supply chains to identify such risks at an early stage, to protect production bases and to support farmers in the transition to sustainable management practices.
Thanks to our in-depth theoretical and practical knowledge of the agricultural and forestry sector, we are your reliable partner for the design of sustainable supply chains. We know the special challenges of the sector. To meet the increasing reporting obligations (CSRD, LkSG, EU Taxonomy, CDP, etc.), we develop science-based and credible MRV concepts (Measuring, Reporting and Verification).
Sustainable products are often more expensive on the market than non-sustainably produced products. This reduces their success on the market and makes it more difficult to switch to sustainable production methods. Based on primary data, we can map the special features of sustainable production methods, allowing the ecological and social impacts to be recorded and evaluated in monetary terms. When compared to standard values, the social advantages or disadvantages of different production methods are revealed. Our valuations are based on the approaches of the Capital Coalition and many years of experience with TCA (True Cost Accounting) in the agricultural sector.
Market prices do not reflect the true (economic) costs, which means that ecologically and socially problematic production methods tend to be favored over cheaper alternatives. Products with low economic costs or even positive effects on the environment and society are often significantly more expensive, especially if they have to be tested and certified for their quality and sustainability. This market distortion makes it difficult to switch to more sustainable production systems. This problem is particularly pronounced in the agricultural and forestry sectors.
