Dispatch from SSC Intern Emilia Pramova
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) recently released Carbon Footprint 101 – A Guide For Food Retailers. The white paper, which is now available for free download, outlines a 5-step process that retailers can follow to calculate their corporate carbon footprint.
As global climate change has become one of the most pressing issues, many companies are calculating and tracking their carbon footprint as one measure to evaluate the effectiveness of their sustainability planning. Customers respond well to sustainability initiatives, with 60% of them saying it is important for supermarkets to have recycling and sustainability programs (from FMI’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2009 report).
This white paper aims at showing food retailers how to develop proactive greenhouse gas-management strategies that reduce emissions and lead to benefits for the environment and the bottom line. It is divided into three sections:
- Section 1: Calculating Your Corporate Carbon Footprint — Defines the components of a carbon footprint and presents a five-step process to calculate your company’s greenhouse gas emissions.
- Section 2: Industry Benchmarking and Snapshot — Shows how to set aggressive carbon emissions reduction goals that are used by some in the retail food industry.
- Section 3: Legislative and Regulatory Approaches to Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions — Outlines legislative efforts, such as cap-and-trade measures and carbon taxes, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and explores how these could affect the industry.
Download the paper by clicking here.
Additional resources, including a carbon calculator that facilitates efforts to measure a company’s footprint, are available on the Sustainability page of the FMI website.