We have known about global warming since 1938. In 1969, Coca-Cola [pioneered a form of the Lifecycle Assessment](https://knowledge.insead.edu/ethics/measuring-the-green-label-1560#:~:text=In 1969%2C Coca-Cola used,less harmful to the environment.) to determine the environmental impact of switching from glass to plastic bottles. Since then however we have not made great progress in actually managing and lowering our climate impact. And by now, we have also felt the first consequences of our climate changing. A recent UN report estimates 31% of human-caused GHG emissions originate from the world’s agri-food systems.
The majority of emissions in our food value chain come from the very beginning of the supply chain - land-use changes (e.g. deforestation) 🌳 enteric fermentation (also known as cow burps)🐮 the use of fertilisers 🧪 as well as crop and manure management 🌾 . Increasing or decreasing these emissions comes down to millions of daily sourcing, product, and operations decisions made by food companies along the supply chain. Luckily for us, these emissions can be reduced and mitigated almost entirely.
In addition to decreasing emissions by means of more efficient and sustainable operations, our soils can store an unimaginable amount of carbon (currently it stores 4x of the amount of carbon situated in the atmosphere) and make our food system a solution to our climate problem, instead of a cause.
Food manufacturers, processors, consumer packaged goods brands, retailers, and food services providers have no transparency or control over their holistic climate impact. They are struggling to see beyond their four walls and understand where and how their products’ emissions come to be. They cannot manage and reduce what they cannot measure.
This gives companies big headaches. The two biggest economic forces of the next decade for companies will be: How do I deal with a warming planet affecting my business - especially when it comes to growing food - and how do I manage my own impact on our climate. For the first time in history, subpar climate performance is being punished and directly impacts the bottom lines: GHG emissions = 💰 📉.
Some things accelerated this mindset shift over the last 18 months:
Consequently, it is not enough for companies to just report on carbon. We need to enable them to take concrete actions that actually prevent carbon from going into the atmosphere. We need to put the right carbon trade-off data in the hands of the decision-makers in the moment those decisions are being made.
We see a world in which greenhouse gas emissions will be priced into all decisions a grower, company, and consumer will make:
To enable all of the above and more, we started Root Global. We are on a mission to help companies across the food system get to Net Zero. We do that by helping our customers identify, collect, and centrally organise activity data across their supply chains, which we use to model each company’s and product’s environmental footprint according to the most up-to-date calculation methodology suited for a specific commodity. Our ethos is to go beyond industry average assumptions to upgrade the data on the basis of which crucial product, procurement, and operations decisions are being made. Like this, companies can actually identify and act upon individual emission hotspots across their supply chains. Over time, we aim to give precise indications of the carbon impact, cost, and timeline of reduction levers tailored for our food industry.
Climate effort is a value chain effort. We help all participants to speak the same carbon language, share activity data in the same format, and calculate carbon scores with the same methodology. Today, our food system emits 16.5bn tons of carbon equivalents. We offer the platform to manage, prevent, and reduce that number all the way to 0.
We are the first generation to feel the effects of climate change and the last one that can do something about it. If you want to solve our climate problem and care about food, then come join us! We are just getting started 🌤️