Many sustainability benefits are seen in the baking industry.
Dallas — At Nexus, an event co-produced by the Baking Equipment and Allieds (BEMA) organization and the American Bakers organization, a baker and an allied supplier shared with the audience the various benefits—some unexpected—that come from approaching sustainability with intentionality.
Sustainability in Baking: Pursuing Greener Practices was the title of the panel discussion that took place on September 26 at Nexus, located within the Omni hotel in Dallas..
Karen Reed, global director of marketing and communications at Kwik Lok Corp. in Yakima, Washington; Charlotte Atchley, editor at Baking & Snack in Kansas City; and Justus Larson, senior director of operations at United States Bakery in Portland, were the panelists. Rasma Zvaners, vice president of regulatory and technical services of the American Bar Association, moderated the panel.
According to Ms. Reed, Kwik Lok’s sustainability initiatives have made the firm aware of the excellent work that has already been done.
Karen Reed, global director of marketing and communications at Kwik Lok Corp. in Yakima, Washington; Charlotte Atchley, editor at Baking & Snack in Kansas City; and Justus Larson, senior director of operations at United States Bakery in Portland, were the panelists. Rasma Zvaners, vice president of regulatory and technical services of the American Bar Association, moderated the panel.
According to Ms. Reed, Kwik Lok’s sustainability initiatives have made the firm aware of the excellent work that has already been done.
“We realized that everything we were doing was something you would do for good business anyway when we really started to look at it,” the woman stated. However, by removing them, we were better able to see it, comprehend it, and uncover other details that weren’t really challenging but that we hadn’t been seeing. Since then, we have continued to add items.
“Being more deliberate and honest has allowed us to speak about it more and better, which is one of its finest aspects. When it comes to hiring, it has shown to be a really strong attraction. People who are interested in working for a healthy world or who wish to work for a firm that accomplishes these things for the community have applied. Although there were unintended effects, they were unquestionably advantageous.
Mr. Larson added that raising awareness aids US Bakery in achieving its objectives.
“It involved collaborating with suppliers of ingredients to see if we could import them domestically rather than from other countries,” he explained. “The sustainability factor has the potential to be tremendous if we can fully incorporate and document it. Next, it’s a matter of disseminating it to our clientele via social media or alternative channels.Mr. Larson added that raising awareness aids US Bakery in achieving its objectives.
For example, the corporation achieved its reduction target for plastic consumption one year early.
He declared, “It was fantastic and crucial to let customers know about that.”
According to Ms. Reed, sustainability solutions might have unintended consequences if they call for unfriendly adjustments.
“We strive to ensure that our products are compatible with the machines they have already purchased when we develop them to operate through their machinery,” the spokesperson stated. “We recognize that a regulation change with a CapEx effect is a lot. It is crucial to choose materials that are both appropriate for their intended use and compatible with existing machinery.
For example, the corporation achieved its reduction target for plastic consumption one year early.
He declared, “It was fantastic and crucial to let customers know about that.”
According to Ms. Reed, sustainability solutions might have unintended consequences if they call for unfriendly adjustments.
“We strive to ensure that our products are compatible with the machines they have already purchased when we develop them to operate through their machinery,” the spokesperson stated. “We recognize that a regulation change with a CapEx effect is a lot. It is crucial to choose materials that are both appropriate for their intended use and compatible with existing machinery.
Therefore, it’s easy to find many flaws in data that you’re attempting to have that the end user can trust if they can get a lot of information rapidly. For example, what about this, what about this? How can one measure in a way that allows for progress tracking?
He gave packaging modifications as an example of which measures are simpler to measure.
“The easier wins are removing the inner wrapping from our bread or changing the packaging’s mill specification to make it a little thinner, like with Eco-Lok or Kwik Lok,” Mr. Larson stated. “Our clients are particularly interested in the larger picture, wanting to know what we’re doing and making sure we can monitor
Suppliers must give as much openness as feasible when providing sustainability information, according to Ms. Reed, who acknowledged the difficulties faced by bakeries.
She stated, “Regulations aren’t always well-informed based on science.” Many of our clients are motivated by science. What are my trade-offs, they ask? What are the effects on emissions if I switch from your standard closure to another plastic or fiber that is at this level? What effects do they have on water use? To what extent will plastics be reduced? We must create that information for the market and make it available to them. Funny thing is, our product isn’t that big. That is what we are collecting for our portion of the bundle. We are aware that this is information that our clients must have for all of their endeavors. The more we can simplify things for them, the more we comprehend it.
the more it aids in our understanding of our true areas of interest.
Ms. Atchley gave a high-level overview of a recent Cypress Research poll regarding sustainability and other activities by wholesale baking firms, ingredient suppliers, and equipment manufacturers for Baking & Snack magazine before the panel discussion got underway.
Priorities for all three were trash reduction, water usage reduction, energy use reduction, and material recycling initiatives.
Regarding recycling, the proportion of businesses implementing such programs varied from 89% to 93%. The percentages of energy savings for bakers were 74%, ingredient businesses were 92%, and equipment firms were 75%.
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Regenerative agriculture, eco-friendly distribution and transportation, heat recovery, uncycled ingredients, supply chain transparency, and the use of humane agricultural practices all had lower percentages than the others.
“Products related to the supply chain are probably of interest to ingredient manufacturers,” Ms. Atchley stated. “Regenerative agriculture, humane farming, transparent supply chains, and recycled ingredients.”
“Generally speaking, the role of equipment makers in sustainability has been to provide highly effective equipment that can help you save money and accomplish your objectives. Although they haven’t always had to take into consideration their own sustainability policies, it’s still important because 70% of them are interested in renewable energy. There seems to be a change there.