SUPPLY CHAIN
Delivering a sustainable
food supply chain
What does the food supply chain of the future look like? Greg Hilton, partner - renewable
energy and sustainability, bidwells agribusiness, peers into his crystal ball.
T
he food industry is warming impact of the supply chain. The never going to be a one-size-fits-all strategy.
responsible for around 17% of emissions associated with the energy used in Bidwells has taken a strategic view on how
the UK’s total greenhouse gas conventional UK glasshouses accounts for alternative energy systems, when employed
emissions, with agriculture the over 90% of the supply chain’s total emissions. throughout a supply chain, can reduce the carbon
largest source of methane and nitrous oxide In addition to the greenhouse gas emissions impact of food supply.
emissions - the ‘worst’ greenhouse gases in terms impact on food production, there are wider Two key elements in the supply chain of
of global warming impacts. environmental implications. the future, and increasingly of the present, are
So it is clear that putting food on our tables one of the other major impacts surrounds energy and waste. As well as contributing to
has a major impact on our environment. the use of water for food production. While the food supply’s environmental impacts, energy and
The big question is: what can we do about it? methodology for measuring the relative impacts waste offer exciting opportunities.
one way of answering this question is to look of water use in agriculture for different crops and There are a range of projects which are
at a food supply chain of the future: how far into different regions is still developing, it is clear harnessing energy from waste material in
the future will depend upon a range of factors, that some production systems have a significant agricultural and food systems. Anaerobic
not least on industry, regulators and consumers impact on local and regional water resources. digestion is gaining increasing attention from
all working towards a common goal. A system that is gaining increasing attention both industry and government, and for good
Bidwells Agribusiness, a consultant to the in terms of use of scarce water resources is reason. Anaerobic digestion can deliver a
food, farming, energy and agri-investment the production of salad crops in countries profitable solution for a range of organic wastes
sectors, has undertaken a range of carbon foot- bordering the Mediterranean. Typically dry, while providing significant supplies of clean,
printing studies to enable its clients in the food warm climates mean that production of water green energy for export or for use within food
sector to capitalise on future opportunities. What hungry tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers in businesses. Where the food waste is diverted
is clear is that the primary production stage of these areas will require the use of water extracted from landfill, the methane that would have been
many food products - what goes on ‘in the field’ - from groundwater reserves - surface rainfall released to the atmosphere is instead captured
is responsible for much of the finished products’ simply cannot provide for the demand. When and put to good use. The food supply chain of
overall greenhouse gas emissions. for example, you consider that southern Spain exports more the future is likely to use anaerobic digestion as a
the planting, maintenance and harvest of than one million tonnes of tomatoes every year means of reducing the costs of energy supply and
potatoes contribute over 60% of the greenhouse - which represents around 87 billion litres of waste disposal, at the same time as dramatically
gas emissions of the whole supply chain. for ‘virtual’ water - it is important to be able to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
potatoes this is mainly driven by the use of fossil identify and quantify the impact this is having on We can also expect to see more examples of
fuels for the tractors and other farm vehicles and ecosystems and water reserves. co-locating of differing operations looking to
inorganic fertiliser use. So what can be done to reduce the benefit from the synergistic relationships which
The cultivation of tomatoes also makes a environmental impacts of food production? are thrown up by an imaginative approach to
significant contribution to the overall global The challenges are complex and there is energy and waste. for example, we can expect
SuStainable SolutionS January/December 2009 29
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