Sustainability Pays in the Food Supply Chain

More than half of food and beverage suppliers responding to a recent survey cited "the need for competitive advantage"  as the top reason they are focusing on sustainability initiatives.

"Sustaining the Global Food Supply Chain: Three Keys to Gaining Competitive Advantage," a new study from the Aberdeen Group, pores over sustainability initiatives at food and beverage companies.

By increasing food quality, food safety and overall corporate responsibility, leading food and beverage companies have made the following improvements, MSNBC reports:

• 19 percent decrease in energy costs
• 17 percent decrease in waste / disposal costs
• 13 percent decrease in defects / non-conforming goods over last 12 months
• 5 percent decrease in year-over-year overall operational costs relative to changes in volume of business
• 15 percent increase in customer acquisition rate.

The study was performed in line with the Marrakech Process of the United Nations and its program on Sustainable Consumption and Production.

Increasingly, food and beverage companies are incorporating "natural" claims.

Campbell Soup, Kraft Foods and General Mills scored in the top-six in a corporate social resonsibility index.