16.07.2024
Study
Despite the dire warnings in the climate report, HowGood sees promise in food production
Ethan Solovyov, Director of Innovation at the Sustainable Development Platform, said in an interview that carbon sequestration and preventing deforestation are the solutions to food security.
The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has painted a grim picture of how climate change could lead to long-term food and water insecurity. The report calls on lawmakers and companies to act now.
Despite the dire report, one sustainability platform sees a silver lining for food and beverage companies, believing that they have the greatest opportunity to improve the situation.
“One of the most important things that was emphasized in this report, and that is clearer than ever, is that food is a nature-based solution,” explained Ethan Solovyov, Chief Innovation Officer at HowGood. “It very boldly says that agriculture is both a huge driver of problems and the only thing that can have a net positive impact.”
HowGood, a research company that works with consumer goods manufacturers such as General Mills, Kraft Heinz and Danone to calculate their emissions and rate companies based on their carbon footprint, believes that food producers can do more with what they have in their supply chain.
According to the United Nations, the food and beverage industry accounts for more than a third of the world’s total emissions. Solovyov noted that this report details how food is not only a cause of rising emissions, but can also serve as a means of solving the climate crisis.
“Agriculture can have a much bigger impact on all of this than efficient buildings, much bigger than switching to other fuels, much bigger than carbon capture and storage,” Solovyov said.
Last fall, HowGood launched a measurement platform to help food companies track their Category 3 emissions – those produced indirectly, through the ingredient supply chain or waste – which account for approximately 87% of food company emissions. According to the company, the HowGood platform analyzes more than 33,000 ingredients.
While the IPCC report is “rough,” Solovyov added that it also gives the food industry insight into how farming practices can be a powerful force for reducing emissions.
Solovyov drew attention to the section of the IPCC report detailing emissions reduction strategies, which shows that carbon sequestration is one of the most promising solutions for returning carbon to the atmosphere – to the tune of more than 3 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
After other climate change mitigation measures such as solar and wind power, the report’s authors ranked deforestation and sustainable healthy eating as factors contributing to climate change.