There are many ways in which sustainability can be not only the right thing to do, but also a business case. – Stephie Volo, Chief Impact Officer at Earth Animal
Ecology and economy often seem to be at odds. Saving money and protecting wildlife don't always go hand in hand, but sustainability efforts benefit both pet food companies' bottom lines and a better future. At the “Ask the Pet Food Pros: How to Make Sustainable Pet Food” panel discussion at the Pet Food Forum 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri, industry experts discussed how sustainability can pay off. Jim Lamancusa, Executive Director of the Pet Sustainability Coalition, hosted the discussion.
Question: Are there sustainability initiatives that save companies money?
Brian Steinwagner, executive vice president of sustainability, Morris Packaging
There are two big things for us. proper sizing. There are many oversized packages. Additionally, switching from rigid jugs to flexible packaging can significantly reduce your carbon footprint and save you money. Water jugs aren't cheap, right? [Second,] By leveraging new technology in resins available out there, we are able to reduce the overall total thickness while still producing stronger packaging and bags similar to those of three to four years ago.
Adam Craig, Director of Product Development, Hill's Pet Nutrition
The most obvious one that comes to mind is efficiency on the manufacturing side and especially around energy use. Given your question, some of the areas we're looking at may require upfront investment. Let's take agriculture as a concrete example. To get farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture or alternative agriculture that can reduce their carbon footprint, they need to understand that it's a risk for them. They need to understand that their livelihoods are at stake. How can we help them get past that threshold? So upfront, they may need investment both at the supplier level and at the pet owner level. Then they need to manage the investment at the manufacturer level and maybe even at the pet owner level. A lot of these approaches may require upfront investment, but in the long term they may be neutral or cost-benefit positive. We'll see how it goes. There may be a transition period, especially in the short term, where we may have to incur additional costs to help with this transition. As it gains momentum, things should become more manageable from a cost perspective.
Elizabeth Meyer, Director of Growth and Innovation, Wilbur Ellis Nutrition
We're a very large company, so the low-hanging fruit in this area is things like transportation. It's about knowing where everything is and grouping your luggage. This is because the savings are greater if the company is very large. The other thing is packaging and being very intentional about what you order. It can be difficult to bring about change in large organizations, but when you assemble a task force or a group of people who actually care about the subject of sustainability, you can see how quickly some topics can change. You will be very surprised at what will surface. . If you get people on board, you can make changes pretty quickly. This goes beyond product development. These are operational issues that, with a little thought and some people, can have a real impact.
Stephie Volo, Chief Impact Officer at Earth Animal
We have been measuring our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions for the past few years. After last year, we invested in an energy audit of our office space and retail store, which is free. I encourage you to contact your state legislature to find out what state bills and grants are available to you. We invested in a number of changes that were made earlier this year, and we are already seeing savings. Additionally, we just switched to 30-40% renewable energy, and we've seen energy cost savings as well. We worked with a master herbalist to get her facility certified organic, and we've seen a business case study on this, too. Our remedies are seeing their highest sales ever. There are many ways that sustainability can be a business case, not just the right thing to do.
