All Things Food at SXSW 2023: More Than Greenwishing Part 1 (Presented by Food Tank).

Introduction

The panelists introduce themselves and their organizations, and discuss the concept of "green wishing."

Panelist Introductions

• Denise Osterhues leads sustainability and social impact for Kroger grocery retailer.

• Rihanna Lynn is a scientist and founder of Journey Foods, which works with startups and global organizations to improve nutrition and sustainability goals.

• Alejandro Sanchez is the social responsibility and sustainability marketing manager for Driscoll's, the world's leading berry company.

Green Wishing

• Green washing is a marketing campaign that isn't tied to real impact. Green wishing, on the other hand, involves putting a stake in the ground with a huge goal by 2050 and working towards it over time.

• Balancing constructive criticism with feedback from stakeholders is important when creating a future where business can be profitable while making a difference.

Challenges in Sustainability

The panelists discuss challenges they face in implementing sustainable practices within their organizations.

Balancing Priorities

• Companies must balance priorities when deciding what actions to take towards sustainability goals.

• Stakeholder engagement plays an important role in decision-making processes.

Supply Chain Complexity

• The food industry supply chain is complex, making it difficult to implement sustainable practices across all stages.

• Startups can provide diverse strategies and insights into moving towards more sustainable food systems.

Sustainable Packaging

The panelists discuss sustainable packaging solutions for the food industry.

Reducing Waste

• Sustainable packaging solutions can help reduce waste in the food industry.

• Journey Foods focuses on improving sustainability goals through actionable insights around supply chain and cost.

Patented Varieties

• Driscoll's develops its own patented varieties of berries using only natural breeding methods, with a focus on flavor.

Conclusion

The panelists conclude by discussing the importance of collaboration and innovation in achieving sustainable practices within the food industry.

Collaboration

• Collaboration between startups and established companies is important for implementing sustainable practices across all stages of the food industry supply chain.

• Innovation is key to finding new solutions for sustainable packaging and reducing waste.

Introduction

Emily Ma introduces herself and her company, Google. She talks about the three dimensions of their food operations and explains what green wishing means to her.

Introducing Google's Food Operations

• Google provides accurate, neutral information on the internet.

• They work with food organizations and have their own food operations in 170 cities worldwide.

• They serve about 300,000 meals a day across these three dimensions.

What is Green Wishing?

• Green wishing is being ambitious enough with goal setting while also being able to execute the plan effectively.

• Google sets slightly less ambitious goals because they don't want to just wish for something to happen; they want to make it happen.

Setting Achievable Goals

Emily Ma discusses how companies can set big goals that are both aspirational and achievable. Denise Morrison talks about working within lines of business to make things happen that may not be directly related to selling groceries.

Setting Aspirational and Achievable Goals

• Companies should set goals that are both aspirational and achievable.

• It's important not to allow perfectionism to get in the way of progress.

Working Within Lines of Business

• Denise Morrison works with her team as an internal champion for stakeholders, civil society, and advocacy groups.

• The business has a deep and ambitious agenda around selling groceries, which includes working with suppliers.

• The work involves trying to be both aspirational and achievable in goal setting.

Operationalizing ESG

The speaker talks about the goal-setting process and how it has become more rigorous and integrated within their lines of business. They discuss operationalizing ESG, which involves going to senior officers and leadership teams to determine what is achievable and reasonable.

Setting Net Zero Targets

• Kroger has not set a net zero target because they do not know how to do it.

• Their current 2030 goal for scope one and two emissions is a 30% reduction from their 2018 baseline, which is already complex and challenging.

• The speaker does not want to make commitments without having a concrete roadmap in place.

Importance of Thoughtful Goal Setting

• Thoughtful goal setting is important because it helps build trust internally and externally.

• Without a clear roadmap, making commitments can be damaging in the long run.

• It's essential to have defined goals and milestones to make everyone feel better about the commitment.

Building Systems for Today's Food Industry

The speakers discuss the complexities of the food system and the importance of building systems that track progress. They also talk about entrepreneurship in large organizations.

Challenges in Today's Food System

• Humans are great at food but not great at food for eight billion people.

• There is a need to figure out today and tomorrow before committing to long-term goals.

• The complexity of the food system makes it difficult to set targets without knowing what you're doing.

Entrepreneurship in Large Organizations

• More entrepreneurship is needed in large organizations like Kroger and Google.

• Supporting companies like Journey Foods can help build out tech stacks and data needed to solve issues.

• Many positions require an entrepreneurial mindset even within large organizations.

Building Tracking Systems at Google and the Challenges of Measuring Food Waste

In this section, Emily and Brian discuss the challenges of measuring food waste and how it is difficult to track. Emily talks about her experience working at Google and how even though they have their data and tech sorted out, it is still hard to measure food waste.

Challenges of Measuring Food Waste

• Food waste is inherently difficult for data and tech to implant itself.

• There's a lot of lossiness in the system that makes it very hard to track.

• Huge kudos to big food companies and small ones in the work that they do because the food supply chain is just inherently difficult for data and Tech to implant itself.

Building Tracking Systems at Google

• Emily built tracking systems within Google.

• It benefits you to understand how much it takes to get an approval to even share data with an organization on the outside or work with an organization on the outside once you're on the inside.

• Even though Google has its data and tech sorted out, Emily still manually sorts through their trash on a regular basis to audit it.

Impact Work at Large Corporations

In this section, Emily talks about her experience working at large corporations like Google. She also discusses how decisions are made within these corporations, which can take time but ultimately make change.

Working at Large Corporations

• There's a misconception that being at Google with over 100,000 employees means conducting an orchestra of support.

• When a decision is made out of Google, we have gone through a hundred different approvals and everything has been vetted.

• It took a year to get all the approvals, get all the people aligned, and then clean up search results for people searching for Fine Food Pantry.

Making Change

• Emily believes she can make more impact at Google on your behalf than if she left.

• Impact work is an extension of the values of the brand.

• Bringing consumers along is important because this is our community and we want them to be a part of the journey.

Transparency and Consumer Demands

In this section, the speaker talks about how consumers demand transparency from companies and how it is important to bring them along on the journey of packaging and recycling.

Bringing Consumers Along on the Journey

• Packaging and recycling in the US is complex, varying by state and county.

• The challenge for companies is to bring consumers along on the journey of packaging and recycling.

• Strategic storytelling will be necessary when bringing consumers along, including being honest about why things failed.

• Sharing stories of failures can help other brands learn from them.

ESG Backlash Conversation

• There is a lot of conversation around what companies should do regarding sustainability, which can be polarizing.

• Kroger's strategy is comprehensive, thoughtful, informed by engagement with stakeholders, and puts people first.

• Balancing affordability with introducing new sustainable products is important for Kroger's price-sensitive customers.

• Maintaining a wide range of choices while being responsible as a company is crucial.

Driving Change in a Positive Direction

• Kroger has an opportunity and responsibility to drive change in a positive direction.

• Patience is needed during times like the global pandemic when momentum may have been lost.

• Advocating for change internally at Kroger helps drive progress forward.