My Sustainability MythBusters

In the current times, Sustainability has been a hot topic of conversation all around the world and it is no different for us MBA students at the Schulich School of Business. Recently in our Management Practices for Sustainability course we had a very interesting guest lecture by Tim Faveri, Vice President – Sustainability & Shared Value at Maple Leaf Foods Inc. The conversation revolved mainly around the meat industry and the kind of sustainability practices in the industry.

The aspects of the conversation that were MythBusters for me!

One of the first things that Tim mentioned was the fact that Sustainable Meat as a concept is an oxymoron. According to conversations that Maple Leaf Foods had with the industry, academic and government experts in the UK, about how a meat-based company could be more sustainable, these experts mentioned that to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions the world has to eat lesser meat, the meat has to be grown safety and has to be low on antibiotics. This has led to the sustainable meat principles at Maple Leaf Foods, which is the only major meat-producing company to openly mention the fact that the world must eat lesser meat.

Another thing that was a MythBusters for me was the concept of 3D printed meat. I was under the impression that lab-grown meat would be a great substitute for actual meat and would ideally disrupt the meat industry. There were a couple of things that Tim mentioned in the conversation that changed this idea for me. Firstly, the stem cells that are needed to make this cultured meat are extracted from the embryo of a pregnant cow. Secondly, cultured meat only replicates the muscle but to replicate the taste of actual meat preservatives and processed contents have to be added. This means that this meat is neither sustainably-grown nor is it safe for consumption.

Generally, one would think that sustainability comes at a cost. Either to the producer or the consumer and evidently this question was raised by multiple people in the guest lecture. Tim mentioned that when they started investing in R&D for more sustainable products, they have started using more natural ingredients which have reduced the cost of artificial sweeteners and colours which has led to cost savings. Tim also mentioned that the CEO of Maple Leaf Foods inc. Michael McCain, on an investor call, said that their products will not increase one dime just because the company planned to go carbon neutral.        

How can a company move towards being more Sustainable?

Any major change has to come from the top, and it is no different for a major organizational change, like shifting towards a more sustainable strategy. Tim mentioned that a sustainability strategy has to be an embedded one and for that to happen the culture from the top-level management has to change.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc implemented two major strategies for the same which helped me understand the depth a company needs to go in to ensure its CSR and Sustainability strategy is in place

1.     Maple Leaf Foods has set up an internal price of Carbon. This creates a theoretical cost for per ton carbon emission. This ensures that any capital investment decisions that are made by the company, carbon emissions are considered in the costs for the company. Additionally, according to Tim this has in fact increased the profit-making opportunities for the company.

2.     To embed sustainability in the company, Maple Leaf Foods has created 6 strategies and has around 40 blueprints under these 6 strategies. Each blueprint has a senior leader who is responsible for the performance and is required to present a report to the COO and CEO every month. This has led to the company empowering its employees to ensure that their sustainability initiative reaches its goal.

The guest lecture was very insightful and had many thought-provoking discussions, which have helped me change my perspective towards the field of sustainability.