Supply Chain Sustainability Stories 2024 Summit: Making sustainability work for brands and business – summit

As the concept of sustainability gains traction with consumers, stakeholders in the natural products industry are working toward having a bigger impact by using resources responsibly, supporting soil regeneration and giving back to the communities where they work and source raw materials. This is leading to the development of new collaborative models and strategies that not only address climate issues, but also consider the economics of sustainability.

For brands this is an increasing priority, but many do not know where to begin. In this virtual summit brought you by Supply Chain Sustainability Stories, our panel of experts will offer insights into shifting consumer attitudes about sustainability and how those trends are impacting the market. They’ll discuss methods to track sustainability efforts and ways to effectively communicate results. Capping off the program is the story of one exemplary sustainability brand, Aloha Foods, and how the company established priorities and overcame challenges to achieve its sustainability goals.

Takeaways:

Moderator:

Karen Raterman
Associate director of content marketing, SupplySide

Agenda

Session 1

Sustainability as a strategic business proposition

In this opening session, Kelly D’Amico, founder of the Made to Sustain podcast, will set the stage for the sustainability conversation by sharing her perspective on where the industry is and where it’s going. She brings a long history of looking at sustainability from inside the food industry and will share her insights and perspective gleaned from discussing sustainability issues with brands and suppliers across the spectrum.

Session 2

Understanding the US sustainability consumer

Brands and suppliers increasingly need to understand the psychographic profiles of their target consumers, especially in the fast-moving sustainability segment. How do these attitudes inform actual purchase behavior and how can brands create efficient strategies to reach them and predict ROI? Diane Ray, VP of strategic innovation at Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), will share the insights she has gained from studying consumer sustainability attitudes in NMI’s annual report.

Session 3

How sustainability is disrupting the market

Although sustainability as a concept has taken a while to gain momentum in the market, that time seems to have arrived. Learn what SPINS’ Isabella Davis is seeing as companies boost their efforts to introduce and market sustainable products.

Session 4

Measuring impact: Claims, certifications and making sustainability accessible

Sustainability is becoming a strategic priority for suppliers and brands but establishing priorities that will bring value to their business is not easy. HowGood specializes in helping companies make these decisions wisely. Rachel Calomeni, senior VP of growth and innovation, will explain key tactics for measuring the impact that sustainability efforts are having on the environment, the market and communities, which is an increasingly important benchmark for consumers.

Session 5

Sustainability stories: What brands need to know about sourcing sustainably

Jason Thomson, VP of supply chain and operations at Aloha Foods, will share learnings from the company’s sustainability journey. Aloha is known for its minimal and carefully sourced ingredients, recent climate neutral certification and commitment to donating 10% of proceeds to Hawaii’s leading conservation nonprofit for young people.