Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Sustainability
Baseline
Compliance
Food safety
Company foundation
Figure 7.2
Sustainability above the baseline created by the company foundation.
Compliance and food safety are two building blocks that are part of a company foundation
(Fig. 7.2). The top of that foundation is the baseline from which the sustainability measurements
need to be taken. A company can be totally nonsustainable and still be in compliance with the
current regulations in terms of what is needed to be in business and to ensure safe food products
will reach the customers. Sustainability, on the other hand, is still a voluntary effort that is
“beyond compliance.” This means the actions taken surpass what is required by laws and regula-
tions in an effort to provide society and the environment with additional benefits.
So far, governments have not dictated sustainability efforts, which may change in the
future. The forces that drive companies to start working on sustainability are predominantly
social that are voiced by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and consumer groups or self
initiatives. Yet, one of the primordial responsibilities of food processors is to produce safe
food products; and it could be risky for a food company to overemphasize these aspects when
reporting their sustainability efforts because it could be seen as greenwash.
CARBON OFFSETS AND EMISSIONS TRADING
Carbon offsets
Countries, companies, organizations, and individuals can lessen their carbon footprint by
investing in in-house projects that reduce carbon emissions. However, instead of having to
deal with the projects themselves, they can pay someone else—in the form of carbon offsets—
to develop reduction projects somewhere else that cut carbon emissions (DiPeso, 2007).
Carbon offsets, or in more general terms, greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets, are financial
instruments designed to reduce or neutralize greenhouse gas emissions. These instruments are
tradable commodities representing a unit of GHG (generally one metric ton of carbon dioxide
equivalent) that can be purchased by individuals, governments, or businesses to counterbal-
ance their GHG emissions (Department of Energy [DOE], 2008). Money generated by selling
offsets is used to finance projects that reduce GHG emissions by sequestering or avoiding the
emission of GHG. The most important projects financed by offsets include:
Agricultural methane and landfill gas capture and utilization or destruction.
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Generation of power by wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and biomass.
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Soil carbon sequestration in agricultural lands by preservation of organic matter created by
specific agricultural practices, such as no-till and rotational grazing of cattle.
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