The Essay On Corporate Social Responsibility And Sustainability In The Food Industry.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Food Industries

This report will analyze the concept of corporate social responsibility in food industries. This report will also discuss the concept of sustainability and how can corporate social responsibility can improve the sustainability of the business. This report also explains the concept of best practice with references to ethical and moral issues involved in the food industry. Corporate social responsibility is a concept by which companies make their contribution to the social, economic, and environmental growth of society. Though corporate social responsibility companies take their responsibility for damaging or affecting the environment and society. In the 21^st century, the concept of corporate social responsibility is very important for the business because as per the Forbs report 42% of the population of the globe make their perception about the company by analyzing the contribution in CSR activities. CSR activities also help the companies in getting more consumers and media coverage. The trend shows that companies are using CSR for their purpose and defecting the original purpose and object of the CSR activities. Food industries also need to show their responsibility towards the environment by adopting climate-friendly technologies. Companies involved in the food industry need to be more responsible because food serves the basic purpose of humanity. They also need to ensure food safety and quality. On the contrary, consumers also need to be aware of the nutritional facts and healthy practices This report also includes some recommendations which can be adopted by the food industries which will make them more responsible.   

Sustainability is the procedure to empower and inspire the overall growth of the business. It includes all the dimensions such as economic and social. Industries also need to adopt such practices which promote sustainability in the organization. Sustainability will also contribute to the growth and development of the industry. Sustainable practices will also improve the image of the company and this practice will benefit companies in a long term. Industries and companies need to focus on balance strategies (Ashrafi, et al., 2018). If the industry will focus on the short-term and only focus on profit that will lead towards the collapse of the company for example Enron and WorldCom. On the contrary, if the company will focus on the best valve the customers, then it will affect the long-term survival of the company. As per Sheldon's work on the social responsibility of management, industries are incorporated with the object to serve society. The society also has the main element in the progress of the industries. While making development and expansions, companies need to work for the damages which are the result of their development. Industries must need to take full responsibility for the damages done by them. In a recent initiative Danone, which is a multinational food company shows his commitment towards climate change and investing a huge amount to make their business more sustainable. They are investing more than 2.18 billion dollars in climate change (Danone , 2022). In this initiative, the company will focus on the transformation of agriculture, energy efficiency, and eco-friendly packaging. This initiative of Danone will reduce the negative impact of the operations on the environment and make business more sustainable.   

The Importance of Sustainability in the Food Industry

Corporate social responsibility is an obligation of the firms and companies towards society. Industries through corporate social responsibility try to fulfill social, legal, commercial, and public expectations that society has towards the company (Tamvada, 2020). Corporate social responsibility is a very broad concept, it mainly includes the issues related to human rights, environment, labor laws, and working for the benefit of other stakeholders. In recent times the concept of corporate social responsibility has developed more because the state government and international bodies constantly working for it. Companies can also attain the goal of sustainability by contributing to CSR. Industries and companies made a contract with the customers and other stakeholders for their growth but they lack in committing the sustainability and hesitate in making contributions for the improvement of social, economic, and environmental conditions of the society. In the food sector companies also need to show commitment towards responsible consumption.

Food is very important for the existence of humanity. Food industries must provide good quality and safety because it impacts the health of the individuals. Food industries and companies must show their commitment towards the health of their consumers and countries around the world also need to make strict regulations and norms for these companies. Food industries should invest in health and nutrition research that can encourage healthy eating. They should also ensure that if there is any surplus production, it should be transferred to the food banks. Food industries also work for the improvement of education and culture (EPA, 2022). These are some examples where food industries can make their investment as a part of their corporate social responsibility.

Food industries also need to focus on the environment because 18% of total greenhouse gases emission and 31% of acidifying emissions are done by the food industry around the world (Roser & Ritchie, 2020). These activities have a global impact and that is the reason why a need for global involvement to make these industries more accountable and efficient. Food industries should focus on environment-friendly practices therefore the impact on the environment can be reduced. Companies need to show their commitment towards environmental problems as well. In a recent initiative of PepsiCo, they set a commitment to use 100% recycled plastic bottles for Pepsi (PepsiCo, 2020). This initiative will help in reducing the negative impact of the manufacturing process on the environment.      

If the food industries respect the norms of corporate social responsibility, then that will help in creating a positive image of the company. The positive image of the company will attract more customers and that will directly increase the sale of the products. The large customer base and increase in sales directly improve the profit of the company. A recent study of Adecco foundation on corporate social responsibility shows that 80% of the Spanish population would consume that food brand that respects the environment and fundamental rights. The study also shows that more than 60% of the population did not know about the concept of social responsibility (Roser & Ritchie, 2020).   

Ethical Best Practices in the Food Industry

The connection between the food industries and sustainability is very old because sustainable development of the food industries was the major object of many countries in the history of the development of food industries in the world. Food industries are facing the issue of sustainable development from the past to date. Food industries also face many criticisms about their participation in being socially responsible for their work (Vollero, et al., 2019). People and individuals have a perception about the food industries that they use corporate social responsibility as a marketing strategy which is helping in the business expansion because corporate social responsibility is a very reputed concept to create a brand image.    

Corporate social responsibility is a way by which companies can be responsible and profitable. Both these objects can be achieved by performing the task of corporate social responsibility yet the industries are not willing to perform their duties. The concept of Corporate social responsibility is created to deal with the problems of societies which they are facing because of the operations of the industries. But rather than dealing with the problems, the concept of CSR is creating problems and misunderstandings in societies. There are two major misconceptions created by CSR. First, companies are using the CSR tool to make public relations but the goal of CSR is to assist the industries in achieving the goals of sustainability. Second, companies are using CSR as a tool to maximize their profit. Profit must be the aim and object of the industry but it is not the only objective (Doane, 2022). Industries and companies need to focus on the actual objects of corporate social responsibility.     

It is very difficult to adopt best practices in food industries because the food habits of consumers are changing with time. But there are some steps and best practices that can help the food industries to stay in the competition. In the modern era trust is a very important factor for the growth of the business. Companies need to promote and maintain the trust of their customer towards their products and business. In the food industry companies need to ensure food safety and quality. Companies need to address the issues with their best efforts and within a suitable timeframe.

In food, industries need to create a positive culture of safety and quality through behavioral changes. Companies need to show a strong commitment towards a strong culture of quality and safety in every step of manufacturing and supply. Companies also need to identify and manage the risk in supply and manufacturing.

Companies also need to adopt a risk-resilient business culture as it is also a part of best practices in the business. For resilient business culture, responsive and effective leadership is most important (Renjen, 2020). It starts from the efforts of the top executives of the company. The top executives must be more responsible for the work and the management of the quality of the products.  

Continued review of the supply chain is also mandatory in the food industry. Companies need to ensure complete oversight over the supply chain of the company. Problems in the supply chain and transportation are the biggest reason behind food waste (Parfitt, 2010). Companies need to work efficiently to deal with this problem. Companies need to work with extra caution and need to introduce reforms in supply chain management to deal with these problems. They also need to adopt best practices to set a benchmark in the supply chain.

The Need for Responsibility towards the Environment

Companies also need to focus on performance improvement. In food industries, companies need to ensure that all their resources and efforts are focused to deal with the biggest threats to the company. They need to conduct a risk analysis of both internal and external factors to find the problems and need to plan strategies to deal with these problems efficiently. Companies also need to introduce innovation and technology in the food industry (Kilimova, et al., 2021). These innovations will help the companies to deal with the problems related to water efficiency, energy, and quality of the food. Technological solutions will help the companies to deal with the management of the supply chain and also promote transparency in the management of the company.

Food industries are also having some moral and ethical issues. The most important issue is related to food quality. Companies in the food industry give more priority to profit rather than the quality of food products (Gardner , 2022). They also ignore the negative impact of their operations on the environment. Companies also did not respect the provision of corporate social responsibility. They use CSR activities to show their positive image and for managing their customer base but in reality, they did not adequately contribute to the CSR. One of the concerns in the food industry is related to the condition of the animal reared and the quality of crops grown for food manufacturing (Roser & Ritchie, 2021). Companies are also not investing in green technology; they are not using alternative hazardous materials. They need to invest in green technology by using an alternative to plastic for packing purposes and promoting eco-friendly materials.    

Some changes in policy, laws and management can make food companies more responsible for climate change and sustainable development by adopting eco-friendly practices.  In food industries, companies need to focus on the promotion of sustainability which will help in reducing the negative impact on the environment. They also need to give importance to the environment, proper management of waste food, and some other sustainable practices.

Food industries must use eco-friendly packaging because food packaging is one of the major sources of water, air, and soil pollution. More than 78 million MT of plastic is generated through the packaging process every year. Only 15% of all the plastic is recycled by the companies (UNEP, 2022). The manufacturing of plastic involves the use of non-renewable sources of energy. Food industries and companies must use the alternative of plastic for packaging purposes. Wood and paper are the best alternatives to plastic because they are biodegradable, renewable and the process of recycling is also not much complex. While using paper and wood, companies also need to ensure that these are the product of sustainably managed forests. Food companies can also use aluminum because aluminum is widely available and easily recycled metals.

Food industries need to be more responsible for food waste. As per the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization, approximately one-third of food produced for human consumption gets wasted because of poor management of companies. A total amount of 1.3-billion-ton food is wasted every year (Netburn, 2019). The loss of food is not only a concern but the loss of other resources is also a concern. There are many other resources are used for the production of food for example water, soil, labor, and energy. Food industries can reduce the total waste in food production by optimizing their process and internal management of the company. Companies need to identify the point of loss and need to make effective policies to deal with it. Recently European Union shows its commitment to reducing food waste by 2030. For this purpose, they adopt new techniques to measure food wastage for the member states. They are making plans to create to legal policy through which food companies are legally bound the reduce food waste. The policy also includes sanctions and punishments for not complaining about the targets for the companies and member states.

Food Safety and Quality Requirements

Food industries also need to focus on their consumption of water and energy. Both the components are most important in food manufacturing and processing. Processing and manufacturing take approximately 23% of the total energy used by the food industries (Hefferon, 2019). It is a key challenge to reduce water and energy consumption for the food industries but they have to make their efforts to deal with the situation. They can use smart meters, recycling technologies, and other sustainable water management systems to deal with the problems related to water. These industries can also adopt solar and other renewable sources of energy to meet the requirements of the energy needs.

Food industries also need to use sustainable food ingredients because many products such as cocoa and coffee are responsible for deforestation and many other social issues. Food industries need to use those agricultural commodities which can be helpful in the improving environment and social sustainability. Food processors and industries can stand against those agricultural practices which are harmful and risky for the environment. They need to make policies for the sustainable growth of agriculture that would not impact the environment.

The global community needs to come together for these changes because the activities of the food industries affect the global environment. An international organization with the help of other governments needs to take a stand against those activities which is adversely impacting the environment. All the stakeholders of the food industries such as consumers, companies, and governments need to work together for achieving zero hunger through their contribution to corporate social responsibility. They can also contribute to achieving zero hunger by changing their management strategies because more than 1.3 billion tonnes of food end up in the bins because of poor transportation and harvesting practices (Netburn, 2019). These are some recommendations that can make food industries and companies more responsible towards to environment and consumers.   

Conclusion 

It can be concluded from the above discussion that food industries need to be more responsible than any industry because it directly impacts the health of the public. Food industries need to take care about the quality of their product, they must try to provide healthy and nutritional food products to the individuals. Companies in the food industry need to do their part related to corporate social responsibility. By promoting corporate social responsibility, companies can also promote sustainability. Corporate social responsibility is the tool through which companies will make their investments for the promotion of society. CSR activities also help the food industries in making profits because CSR helps the companies in making a positive image among the consumers and that will increase the number of consumers for the company. But recent trends show that companies are not performing their CSR activities as per the objectives of CSR. Companies need to perform CSR activities for the benefit of society and as per the global norms. Companies involved in food industries need to adopt best practices that can help the companies in attaining sustainability and long terms objects. It includes adopting eco-friendly policies, growth using innovation, using technology in supply chain management, and change in the behavior of an organization. In the modern era companies also need to be responsible for the environment and human health. They need to adopt environment-friendly policies and ensure food quality to the individuals.

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