The Consumer Goods Forum was created in 2009 to bring together manufacturers and retailers from around the world to address issues affecting people and the planet, including deforestation, food waste, human rights and employee well-being.
Organizations led by today's CEOs have pledged to move faster to implement change by: Approximately 400 members including Coca-Cola, Nestle, and Walmart. CGF's goal is to leverage the diverse nature of its member base, including the different pressures, priorities and regional factors each company faces, to identify the best strategies and reap the massive scale benefits that organizations create.
Last year, CGF appointed Frans Muller, CEO of grocer Ahold Delhaize, and Dirk Van de Put, CEO of Oreo and Ritz maker Mondel.I have done itz International has a new co-chair until June 2025. Executives recently sat down with Food Dive to discuss CGF's role, the responsibilities consumer companies have in addressing issues affecting the planet, and the challenges that complicate the group's efforts. Complete your mission.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Food Dive: What can companies gain by actively engaging in issues like deforestation, plastic waste, and human rights?
Dirk van der Put: The main driver is the consumer. Consumers are increasingly interested in this. And as the younger generation gets older, interest in health increases. They are more interested in sustainability. They want to make decisions based on what the company represents.
Additionally, some countries have taxation and regulations related to some of the topics discussed in CGF.Regulations on anti-deforestation products in the EU) Companies must demonstrate that their supply chains are free from deforestation.
Above this, I think investors increasingly want to invest in companies that are doing the right thing.. So if you look at the whole spectrum, by (managing properly) taxes and regulations, you can sell more, be seen as a better company, and investors are happy. This is a very powerful incentive to study these topics.
Frans Muller: It's not really a charity. It's also about strengthening our own individual businesses. … This is incredibly complex. How can we work together? We all have significant ambitions as individual businesses, so how can we do this more efficiently?
Scope 3 emissions (emissions not produced by the company itself, such as when consumers dispose of food) have been a challenge for some companies because they do not have much control over them. How do companies handle scope 3?
Muller: I think every company has Scope 1 and 2 within its own operations, as well as easier oversight, making it easier to assess what needs to be done. But we know that Scope 3 is very necessary to complement the whole and impact the entire value chain.
And that's why this forum is important, I'll be collaborating with other retailers. We will work with our manufacturing partners. We've already had great discussions, bringing together companies from different regions, different perspectives and different categories.
That's why we said, let's measure where we are and make sure we're making good progress. Every company has its own unique journey and some are a little further along than others, but talking about these kinds of things, uncertainty and what we don't know yet, is already very revealing and very helpful. And this applies not only to large corporations but also to domestic small and medium-sized businesses. We can develop critical mass if we can help each other get there.
How can companies ensure they work together when they have members of different sizes, goals and strategies on how to make progress for people and the planet?
in the well: Some of these areas still require solution definition. If you talk about Scope 3, there's a lot of work to be done to understand Scope 3 better and start talking about deforestation and how to ensure deforestation-free supply chains. The Coalition is working to advance these discussions comprehensively. It's kind of like a think tank and they work on what the solutions are, what are the theories of change that we can collectively come up with. We have top experts from a variety of companies working together to think this through. What should we do about health and wellbeing, human rights, etc.?
Especially for small and medium-sized businesses collaboration Very helpful. Because when we show the way and everyone does, we begin to make real progress.
muller: Another good thing is that in most schemes, if you do better in the coalition, you also get better business in most cases. If you can avoid food waste, if you can work on plastics and recycling, if you can coordinate packaging specifications between industry and retailers and do it in a harmonized way, that can also save a lot of money. Aside from the environmental benefits.
In recent years, more companies have chosen to work together through partnerships or alliances like yours. Why do you think that is?
muller: As we see the number of collaborations increasing, we can see (CGF) members becoming more dedicated. I see people jumping to conclusions. You see people looking for the next generation of solutions. We share all of our solutions with our members so everyone has access to this kind of stuff. And many companies learn a lot.
At our most recent Consumer Products Forum in June, we spoke with people about what works, what doesn't, and how we can learn from it. You are very collaborative on this because together we strengthen your products, assortments, categories and retailers, and adjustments here can have a huge impact. There are some things that are not in good shape, such as human rights, so there is a much higher level of cooperation and a much higher ambition to resolve the situation now.
in the well: When we look closely at some of the areas we work in, we begin to realize that in most areas, one company cannot drive major change.
If we dig deeper, we can see why collaboration makes sense. Also, in terms of solutions, When it comes to Scope 3 and thinking about how to deal with plastic waste, I would say that we really need the best minds in the industry to come together and work towards solutions.
Recently, issues such as climate change and social inequality have been receiving significant attention. Has it influenced the urgency with which you or your members act?
muller: I think we all understand that we need to accelerate in certain areas. That is why the acceleration area must be a place where everyone can participate and participate.
Unfortunately, it is now very clear to us that climate change is not waiting for us on Earth. We need to pick up the pace and it is now more urgent to get these metrics right, and we can do it ourselves. We don't have to wait for the government. This is a topic in the industry. We take more of our fate into our own hands to make that impact.
Has the food industry moved quickly enough to respond to some of the challenges we face globally?
In the well: I think there's definitely an acceleration happening and it's becoming more and more clear what the solutions are. And we're seeing some larger companies taking the lead and taking bigger steps. That's right. I think the industry is making a clear statement that it wants to solve some of these problems. This is not an easy problem to solve and I think sometimes there is a belief that you can just snap your fingers and it's over.
It will take years to solve this problem and it will involve a collaborative effort with many companies around the world. So it will not be an easy road. But when you look at the level of participation and the type of work being done by the companies that are part of the organization here, you can tell that there is a very serious approach to things and a sense of urgency that we need to move.
What are the biggest challenges your members face in making meaningful progress?
in the well: It is not necessarily an agreement on finances between companies. I would say that most companies understand that some financial commitment is required, but as Fran explained a little while ago,If you approach sustainability the right way, you can see many benefits. For example, in the case of food waste, tackling it is not only the right thing to do for businesses, it also means reducing CO2 and saving money. It makes sense to do so. All you have to do is put in the effort.
So I would say that's the biggest problem at least. And I'm talking more about us as a company. But I think it's the same for everyone. Doing all this while also facing difficult situations. economic situation. This is how we, as a company, push forward on all of these topics using our sometimes limited means. So, as a result, I think people are trying to prioritize.
