Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Even when, some business leaders see this as a trend that will end soon; the food industry
is quickly catching up with the topic of sustainability as a response to stakeholders' pres-
sure, new regulations (e.g., cap and trade that is being implemented in some industrialized
countries), and mainly the depletion of natural resources that the whole economic system is
based on.
In the last part of the twentieth century, satisfying customers by incorporating quality in
products was the paradigm. In the twenty-first century the new paradigm is the environment
and social responsibility (Hitchcock and Willard, 2002). The quality movement changed the
world by providing companies with management tools that allowed them to embed quality in
their products, to reduce production costs, and to expand their business.
Quality management has placed customers first in terms of satisfying their needs and
reducing defects in their products to levels that before were unimaginable. In the case of the
food industry, despite some isolated cases, the food supply chain has become safer than ever
in the industrialized world, which is the result of remarkable efforts. However, new stakes that
require immediate attention have been raised for the twenty-first century. The new challenge
still requires satisfying customers by providing them with safe products to eat while comply-
ing with laws and regulations, but this needs to be done in a framework of responsible behav-
ior toward the community and the environment (Hitchcock and Willard, 2002).
Not all industries can become sustainable from the environmental perspective. Petroleum
extraction and mining, for instance, are not sustainable by definition (Siegal and Longsworth,
2009); and unfortunately, most other industries, including food production and distribution,
strictly depend on the use of natural resources, and therefore, the food industry as a whole has
the imperative challenge of lessening its environmental impact. Issues, such as efficiency,
substitution of nonrenewable resources with renewable ones, minimization of waste, use of
renewable energy, efficient logistics, and minimization of water use and wastewater, are some
of the challenges that food company will have to face in the near future.
DEFINING A SUSTAINABLE COMPANY
The definition of sustainability, as well as the whole concept, has become a controversial issue.
Since the term was prevalently defined by the United Nations World Commission on
Environment and Development (WCED)—also known as Brundtland Commission in honor of
his chair, the Norwegian Gro Harlem Brundtland—definitions, promoters, and detractors of
sustainability have sprung up (Table 1.1). The topic has turned into a political issue for many,
an opportunity for others, and a cause of concern for many scientists and scholars around the
world.
The turmoil that the concept of sustainability inflicts in many individuals can be under-
standable because sustainability and sustainable development challenge the status quo and the
way that most industrialized countries conduct business. Typically, the main focus of the food
business has been to concentrate on the economic aspects as well as safety and compliance
with regulations. Recently, the new sustainability dimension has been added to the equation,
which significantly increases the complexity of doing business.
Time and again it is claimed that the definition of sustainability is a subject of personal
interpretation. Paradoxically, the term is often used quite precisely in the context of everyday
life. In any event,
sustainability is about long-term survival
, or in other terms, prolonged
existence, permanence, durability, and resilience. Sustainability is a term currently applied to
business practices, but its reach extends to any activity or organization, including, countries,
animals, plants, and humans.
