17.07.2024
News
More than 40% of consumers consider environmental friendliness when buying food – survey
A Kearney survey shows that although consumers are facing food inflation, they are still forced to consider sustainability when buying food.
Last spring, food prices rose to their highest level in four decades, mainly due to higher prices for bakery products and eggs. According to the latest Consumer Price Index, the overall food price index rose by 8.4% last year. But food inflation has been declining in recent months, falling by 0.3% in March.
Consumers surveyed by Kearney overwhelmingly hold food and beverage companies responsible for the shift to more environmentally friendly foods. Only 26% of respondents said that lawmakers and regulators should bear the greatest responsibility.
Of the 42% of consumers who believe food producers should be responsible, 54% said food manufacturers should play the biggest role, compared to 25% for grocery stores and retailers.
Consumer goods giants such as PepsiCo have switched to regenerative agriculture, and companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Conagra Brands have launched products that they claim offset the carbon emissions generated during the product’s production.
But some critics believe they are not doing enough. In an interview with Food Dive earlier this year, Jim Walsh, policy director of Food & Water Watch, said that current industry efforts will not lead to significant change because many still use harmful pesticides and fertilizers.
The report’s authors note that as food and beverage companies reorient their supply chains toward more climate-friendly operations, they have opportunities to increase their market share and differentiate themselves.
“Food producers that are already implementing strategies to reduce emissions associated with their operations to meet category 3 [emissions] targets can capitalize on this to find opportunities to serve the growing climate-friendly market, as well as reduce the likelihood of having to comply with further, possibly more draconian regulations and legislation,” the Kearney report says.
Category 3 emissions are generally defined as indirect emissions from a company’s entire supply chain and value chain. They account for nearly 87% of a food and beverage producer’s total carbon footprint.
Other studies conducted during this period of food inflation have shown that the outlook for purchasing behavior is declining. A survey conducted by the International Food Information Council in May 2022 found that price is a much more important factor than sustainability when it comes to influencing a shopper’s purchasing decision, with a 68% to 39% difference.