Unilever, Starbucks, and Dairy Farmers of America have joined, committing to food waste reduction and repurposing, and decarbonisation goals.
Major US food industry leaders have joined forces alongside renewable energy provider Vanguard Renewables to launch the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance (FPSA).
FPSA aims to accelerate long-term commitments to avoid or eliminate food waste first and repurpose what can’t be eliminated into renewable energy.
FPSA first movers include Unilever, Starbucks, and Dairy Farmers of America. FPSA commits to reducing food waste from manufacturing and the supply chain and repurposing any unavoidable waste that cannot be eliminated into renewable energy via Vanguard Renewables farm-based anaerobic digesters.
In the United States, more than 40% of all food produced ends up being discarded. While eliminating that waste is a priority, some food waste is still sent to landfills or for incineration, according to Vanguard Renewables, which uses anaerobic digesters (AD) situated on farms to capture this energy and generate renewable natural gas or renewable electricity.
The FPSA members also commit to begin exploring the process of decarbonising their thermal energy usage by converting to farm-derived renewable natural gas.
“This unprecedented commitment by food industry leaders to the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance is a call to action for others to follow to impact climate change and shape a sustainable future for America and the planet,” said John Hanselman, Chairman and CEO, Vanguard Renewables.
The Farm Powered Strategic Alliance is an impactful solution to tackling both food waste and carbon emissions
“This transformative movement will repurpose food waste that cannot be eliminated into renewable energy and low carbon fertiliser for farm use. Working with our Farm Powered Strategic Alliance partners, we plan to expand our organics recycling facility footprint to all major metro areas nationwide.”
Hanselman expects the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance to grow to include other leading US food manufacturers and retailers and adds that the FPSA has the potential to reduce the members’ direct climate challenges, but to also reduce the hard to move Scope 3 emissions from their supply chain partners.
These are indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the reporting company. Hanselman also emphasised the significant impact the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance will have on helping sustain farms across America for future generations.
“The Farm Powered Strategic Alliance is an impactful solution to tackling both food waste and carbon emissions,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer.
“We’ve made great strides in eliminating food waste at the store level with our Starbucks Foodshare program, which has helped divert 25 million meals from landfills. The Farm Powered Strategic Alliance offers an innovative solution for our supply chain, and brings us one step closer to our goal of a resource positive future.”
“Unilever is accelerating action to fight climate change, regenerate nature, and preserve resources,” said Ale Eboli, Head of Supply Chain Operations for Unilever North America.
“We are excited to join the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance and are inspired by their vision to repurpose our unavoidable food waste to support renewable energy production and regenerative agriculture practice on farms across America. We cannot transition to a low carbon economy alone and encourage other businesses to join us in this crucial alliance.”
