Conscious sustainability in professional use

Günter Dorn - Veröffentlicht am 02 June 2023

Privately, I am changing my habits, such as swapping the liquid in my soap dispenser for a hand soap powder. In doing so, I ask myself the following questions: Is this also possible in food retail? Where can this hand soap powder be positioned and does it even make sense? In this blog post you will find my thoughts on conscious sustainability in food retail.

How I came to think about sustainable change in the food world.

The topic of sustainability is on everyone's lips and many companies are consciously implementing measures as a contribution to the environment. While searching for facts and figures, I came across an article in the Ifo Institute magazine. Interesting aspects emerge from the essay on sustainable supply chain design in the food retail sector:

Global food systems are responsible for, among other things....

about 70 % of fresh water consumption,
about 60% of species loss,
more than 30% of land use,
and nearly 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

In Germany, as much as 30 % of all environmental impacts can be attributed to the production and consumption of food. Many areas, such as production, packaging, cleaning, transport and many more, have an impact on this result.

Influence of cleaning agents on sustainability in food retailing

In order to be able to comply with the specified hygiene guidelines, the cleaning supplier also has an important role in the complete process. In consultation with the customer (e.g. food retailer), the supplier should discuss how a contribution to sustainability can be made. The following aspects should be taken into account when assessing the options:

What is the best order volume?
What is the best packaging size and material?
What should the stocking level be?
What is the best product application with a focus on fewer chemicals for maximum hygiene?

These are precisely the questions that flow into a comprehensive assessment and development of sensible measures in the cleaning process, among others.

Clean Green - that's what's behind it

Clean Green is a broad field and takes place at different levels in the food world. This broad spectrum includes packaging to ingredients and corporate values.

The general question about the necessity of sustainability in the food world does not arise for me at all. A sustainable cleaning and hygiene concept that takes legal guidelines into account is inevitable, because taking economic, ecological and social aspects into account brings benefits for people and the environment. For companies, the use of optimised cleaning agents can even reduce costs.

What would happen if we stopped buying soft drinks in plastic bottles on Mondays, if I brought my own cup to the shop with my coffee on Tuesdays and if we stopped using straws on Wednesdays...?

Prepare the way there together with me already.

I would be happy to support you in finding and implementing measures for more conscious sustainability in food retailing. I am also happy to be your personal contact for optimising your existing measures. Contact me to identify your potential in the area of sustainable cleaning processes!