Profit and sustainability: Are they mutually exclusive?

By Terry Smagh, senior vice-president and general manager for Asia Pacific and Japan at Infor

Terry Smagh, senior vice-president and general manager for Asia Pacific and Japan at Infor

The world’s population is predicted to increase by two billion and surpass a staggering nine billion by 2050. To ensure sufficient food for future generations to come, the world will need to produce 60% more food to feed everyone — a huge increase that will undoubtedly take a further toll on the planet.

This demand for food production comes alongside ongoing concerns with food security as well. Add to that the evolving consumer and investor demand for sustainable goods and products, an urgent need to reduce food wastage, and regulatory requirements that have an increasing impact on the international food supply chain, and you have an F&B sector pressed on all sides to embrace sustainability. These pressures will only continue to mount in the years ahead.

Put simply, sustainability is no longer just a “nice-to-have” but a “must-have”. This conflation of pressures means that F&B organisations are faced with a tall order to balance both, even when they are experiencing the most disruptive of market challenges. Which brings us to the important question: can today’s F&B businesses pursue both profit and sustainability?

The full article can be found here.