Source: Beijing Youth Daily
Zero-carbon vegetables, carbon-neutral milk, etc. are on the market, and surveys show that 70% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products.
Using 100% renewable clean energy, using plant-based materials for the packaging cover and scoop, the carbon footprint of the entire chain is calculated to achieve net zero emissions, and a third party is invited to audit and certify… After customs clearance, a “carbon-neutral milk powder” “That’s how it was born.
Since the beginning of this year, carbon-neutral milk, carbon-neutral ice cream, carbon-neutral milk powder, and zero-carbon vegetables have been launched one after another, presenting the carbon footprint of food that consumers could not see before on supermarket shelves. From the perspective of the industry, 2022 is the first year of zero-carbon food, and the competition among leading food companies has extended to areas of social value such as environmental protection.
From the point of view of food itself, zero-carbon food is not an idea of ”slap on the forehead”. It has years of experience in carbon emission reduction behind it. Enterprises need to invest a lot of manpower and financial resources for this. Whether consumers are willing to pay or even pay a higher premium for carbon-neutral certified products determines how far zero-carbon food can go in the future.
Zero carbon food is here
From July 7th to July 10th, a reporter from the Beijing News visited the “zero carbon” food sold in the Beijing market. In Hema, AEON, Wumart and other supermarkets, Yili’s “zero-carbon milk” has been put on the shelves, including Yili Jindian A2β-casein organic pure milk, Jindian Jersey organic pure milk, and the prices in Hema stores are 88 Yuan/withdrawal, 99 Yuan/withdrawal. In a Hema in Fengtai District, zero-carbon organic vegetables are being placed on the shelves in the organic area for consumers to choose.Different from ordinary organic vegetables, zero-carbon organic vegetables have a circular certification label that says “Zero Carbon”.agricultural products”。
Since the beginning of this year, Yili has successively launched 5 products including “zero-carbon milk”, “zero-carbon yogurt”, “zero-carbon organic milk powder” and “zero-carbon ice cream”, and released the “Yili Group Zero-Carbon Future Plan” on April 8. Yili Group’s Zero-Carbon Future Plan Roadmap. For example, Yili’s first “zero-carbon ice cream” launched on June 13 this year has been certified to achieve full-cycle “net-zero” emissions from raw material acquisition to production and processing, from packaging to transportation, and has been certified by international certification bodies. Carbon Neutral Verification Statement (PAS2060) issued by Bureau Veritas. Consumers can see a “carbon neutral” label on the ice cream packaging. According to comprehensive calculations, every 20 such ice creams is equivalent to neutralizing 9.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions.
It is understood that before 2050, Yili will achieve the carbon neutrality goal of the entire industry chain in three stages. These five zero-carbon products are the phased achievements of Yili towards the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality.
There are also carbon-neutral products that have landed, as well as multinational food and beverage giant Nestle. In order to fulfill its commitment to “achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050”, Nestlé released the first carbon-neutral organic milk powder in the Chinese market on June 17. Consumers can help offset 14.2 kilograms of carbon emissions for every tin of the milk powder they buy. As early as March this year, this product obtained the carbon neutral product certificate issued by an authoritative third-party organization.
In the field of agricultural products, Hema Organic Vegetables was the first to obtain the “Zero-Carbon Agricultural Products” certification from the Nanjing Guohuan Organic Product Certification Center. Hema’s first batch of zero-carbon organic vegetables was launched in stores nationwide on June 9. These zero-carbon vegetable packaging bags are affixed with a green “zero-carbon agricultural product” certification mark, and at the same time inform consumers in text form that no chemical synthetic pesticides are used in the product cultivation process. According to the definition given by the certification body, zero-carbon and carbon-negative agricultural products refer to agricultural products whose net greenhouse gas emissions are less than or equal to zero in the agricultural production process.
“Organic vegetables with zero-carbon certification do not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the net greenhouse gas emissions during the production process are zero. Every time consumers eat a pack of such organic vegetables, they are helping to achieve the double-carbon goal.” Hema Commodities Liu Liangchao, who purchased the procurement center, told the Beijing News that most of the zero-carbon certified organic vegetables currently on the line are from Hema’s organic Hema Village in Kunming, and some are from the first batch of zero-carbon agricultural product certification pilot enterprises in Jiangsu. The first batch of certified products include More than 30 popular categories such as leafy vegetables, melons and fruits have been sold in 300 stores in 18 cities across the country. It is expected that by the end of this year, the zero-carbon agricultural product certification will cover more than 100 organic agricultural products sold by Hema.
“This is the first time I feel that I am so close to carbon reduction.” Faced with the zero-carbon milk in front of him, Mr. Cui, a consumer in Beijing, said. Another consumer believes that he is more willing to pay for carbon-neutral food if the premium is not high compared to similar products.
“Black Technology” in the Packaging
Food carbon neutral certification covers all aspects of the product life cycle, in which packaging solutions are indispensable.
Long Hanlin, senior manager of Danone China’s beverage environment, health and safety affairs, told the Beijing News that the raw materials of PET plastic bottles mainly come from oil extraction, and heat energy and high-pressure gas are also consumed in the process of bottle blowing.
In April, Danone’s two Pulse factories in Wuhan and Qionglai were the first to achieve carbon neutrality. Less than two months later, Danone announced a partnership with LanzaTech, a carbon capture technology innovator, to invest in a new packaging material production technology to gradually reduce its reliance on fossil-based packaging materials.
Pang Yak, senior vice president of Danone Drinking Water and Beverage China, said that “carbon capture” technology can directly convert carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in carbon-rich gas sources into key raw materials for the production of PET bottles through microorganisms, thereby reducing the use of petroleum and The impact of carbon emissions on the environment. Packaging produced with this PET is called “smart carbon” packaging, and may become a breakthrough environmentally friendly packaging solution for the beverage industry. “Although the ‘smart carbon’ technology is still in the stage of scientific and experimental validation, we are very optimistic about its prospects, and we need to expand it to the industrial field next.”
In 2021, the plant-based “Dream Cover” developed by Tetra Pak will be adopted by Yili, becoming a packaging application example of replacing fossil-based plastics with plant-based plastics. It is understood that this plant-based plastic is derived from sugar cane, extracts sugar cane juice by extrusion, and produces ethanol after fermentation and distillation. The ethanol is dehydrated into ethylene, which is then polymerized into polyethylene, which is used to make parts such as decaps and composite films, which can be recycled and reused through existing recycling systems. Compared to fossil-based plastics, plant-based plastics are a more sustainable source of raw materials and reduce the carbon footprint of products.
PepsiCo is also exploring carbon reduction in packaging. In April of this year, Pepsi China launched the first “no bottle label” Coke, which removed the plastic label on the bottle body and the printing ink on the bottle cap. The logo on the bottle body was presented in an embossed process, and the product name and shelf life were printed using laser technology. Compared with ordinary packaging, non-bottle label packaging not only reduces the use of materials and energy, but also simplifies the bottle label separation steps in the recycling process, improves the recycling rate, and can effectively reduce carbon emissions.
Nestle, which has been in the Chinese market for more than 30 years, is also seeking low-carbon and environmental protection in its coffee products. According to Lin Shangming, general manager of Nespresso Espresso Coffee Greater China, Nestlé will enhance the recyclability of products and packaging, increase the use of recycled materials in coffee machines, and increase the use of recycled aluminum and low-carbon primary aluminum in coffee capsules. Enhance the circularity of the product. At present, Nespresso has more than 100,000 coffee capsule recycling collection points around the world, and has carried out door-to-door recycling in 18 countries.
In the reuse of recycled materials, Nestle, Danone, and PepsiCo all mentioned rPET recycled plastic bottles. According to Nestle, the recycling rate of PET beverage bottles can reach more than 90%, but it is mainly downgraded and recycled in China to make clothes and other textiles. From the perspective of circular economy, the most efficient regeneration is bottle-to-bottle same-level regeneration, which has been widely used in many countries in Europe and America. Currently, 74.9% of Nestlé’s plastic packaging is recyclable.
Li Youlin, vice president of PepsiCo’s Greater China supply chain, said that by 2022, the main products of the Pepsi-Cola brand will use 100% rPET recycled plastic bottles in 11 European markets, which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per bottle by about 30%. This year, Pepsi-Cola sugar-free products sold in the U.S. market will also use 100% rPET bottles, and by 2030 all Pepsi-Cola brand products will be replaced with rPET plastic bottles.
Significant cost reduction and efficiency increase
A mature “zero-carbon food” is hard to come by. According to international common practice, if you want to achieve carbon neutrality or zero carbon, it can be achieved through carbon emission reduction or carbon offset. First of all, on the production side, the production facilities of the factory need to be transformed, and certain requirements must be met on the raw material, transportation side, and sales side, and funds are spent to invite certification agencies for certification.
According to Zhang Yipeng, vice president of Yili Group, in the process of achieving carbon neutrality, each step requires a lot of investment in setting standards, building platforms, and cultivating talents. Since 2010, Yili has carried out a comprehensive carbon inventory in the enterprise for 12 consecutive years. In addition, it has established three platforms for carbon reduction in the whole chain, and each link requires cost input.
At present, the cost of carbon emission reduction and carbon footprint certification behind Hema’s zero-carbon organic vegetables, Yili’s carbon-neutral milk, and Danone’s carbon-neutral factories are all borne by the companies themselves, and not passed on to suppliers and consumers. In the context of rising costs, does zero-carbon food have a sustainable future?
In fact, reducing carbon footprints also brings benefits to businesses. Lin Mengya, a project manager related to carbon neutrality at Boston Consulting Group, previously told the Beijing News reporter that the direct benefits brought by carbon neutrality to enterprises are cost reduction and efficiency enhancement, which will enhance the brand image. For listed companies, carbon neutrality can also help improve company ratings and reduce financing costs.
Taking Danone’s Pulse as an example, the weight of the Pulse bottle has dropped by about 30% compared with 2004, reducing carbon and helping to reduce raw material and transportation costs. In the past ten years, by improving production efficiency and investing in new technologies, the energy consumption per pulsating bottle has dropped by 70.5% compared with 2004, thereby saving energy use costs.
In addition, according to the cases included in the “Corporate Carbon Neutrality Roadmap” released by the United Nations Global Compact in 2021, from 2014 to 2020, Yili invested a total of 90 million yuan to transform coal-fired boilers into natural gas boilers. All units that replace natural gas boilers have a total emission reduction of 580,000 tons/year compared to before the replacement. Thanks to the special promotion of energy-saving projects in 2020, Yili reduced operating costs by 100 million yuan in the same year, saved more than 48 million kWh of electricity, saved 4 million tons of water, saved 4.3 million cubic meters of natural gas, and saved 28,000 tons of coal.
Connecting consumers with “low carbon”
According to public information, environmental issues will be the second largest issue of global concern in 2021. According to Tetra Pak’s survey, half of the global respondents now believe that “every choice I make in my daily life affects the environment”; three-quarters of the global respondents said that their food and packaging concerns of waste.
On the other hand, consumers are also paying more attention to environmentally friendly foods. According to a survey by Tetra Pak, 53% of consumers prefer brands with environmentally friendly packaging. In regions where plant-based beverages are popular, such as Europe, America and Japan, the share of paper packaging on plant-based beverage shelves exceeds 90%, which is in the mainstream. According to the “Global Consumer Survey” conducted by Boston Consulting Group in 2020, more than 70% of consumers are willing to pay higher prices for sustainable products, 70% of consumers are willing to pay a 5% premium, and 10% Consumers are willing to pay a 25% premium.
Pangjak believes that the carbon emission reduction measures taken by Danone are the embodiment of fulfilling social responsibility, and at the same time, it is also implementing Danone’s corporate vision. “We are constantly discussing the technological development trends in the next few years, and discussing the development strategy of the brand in the next 20 years, because we are committed to deepening the Chinese market for a longer time. Therefore, we must constantly predict future trends, provide climate change, carbon Solutions to reduce emissions. There is no doubt that consumers will also choose products from environmentally responsible companies.”
Regarding the emergence of zero-carbon food, Li Youlin, vice president of supply chain in PepsiCo’s Greater China region, believes that this is both an opportunity and a challenge. “The opportunity is that our past and present continuous efforts can be seen and have the opportunity to be shown to consumers and the market. Challenges. Yes, how can supply chain upgrades and product changes brought about by zero carbon be understood and accepted by the market.”
Being accepted by the market means that companies will face the issue of how to convert carbon reduction achievements into product competitiveness, and it is also related to whether consumers are willing to pay for the word “carbon neutrality” or even pay a higher premium.
The difficulty of carbon emission reduction lies in how to reduce the cost of suppliers, especially some small and medium-sized enterprises need a driving process. As for how to solve the problem of carbon emissions in agriculture and food industry, Lin Di, senior manager of sustainable development of Mengniu Group, suggested that on the one hand, enterprises should actively carry out technological innovation to achieve carbon reduction, and on the other hand, they should establish a carbon inclusive platform for consumers to provide consumers Create personal carbon accounts. Consumers can interact with carbon credits and exchange products on the carbon inclusive platform, use incentives to promote low-carbon consumption, and encourage consumers to buy low-carbon, carbon-neutral food.
Liu Liangchao revealed to the Beijing News reporter that Hema is trying to open up the incentive mechanism. In the future, consumers can get a certain amount of “Box Flower Points” after purchasing “zero-carbon” products. After reaching the standard, they can exchange organic vegetables in the Hema App. , in order to encourage more consumers to participate in carbon reduction actions.
reporter Wang Ziyang
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Responsible editor: Zhou Wei