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Search The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Towards Net Zero Coalition came together in Chicago, to advance their ambitious agenda dedicated to delivering on and accelerating our industry’s commitments to reducing GHG emissions. The Industry needs to move collectively to act on emissions reduction, the new Coalition will support collaboration across the supply chain between manufacturers and retailers.
During the CGF Board Meeting, the newest of the CGF’s Coalitions was represented by its three Co-Sponsors, Nina Jönsson, President & CEO, ICA Gruppen, Scott Price, Group Chief Executive, DFI Retail Group, and Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO, Danone. The Coalition Steering Committee is Co-Chaired by Grant Sprick, VP, Climate & Environment at Ahold Delhaize, and Archana Jagannathan, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo Europe, and Rebecca Marmot, Chief Sustainability Officer at Unilever.
It was agreed that the name of the Coalition would change to “Towards Net Zero Coalition of Action” and alignment with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) would be removed as a requirement for membership. These decisions demonstrate to CGF members that the Coalition encourages all companies on the journey towards Net Zero. The Coalition committed to review its Charter of Action with a key focus on action and short term impact and progress.
The Global Summit: “The Journey to Net Zero”, Panel Discussion
On the opening day of the CGF’s Global Summit, the Coalition’s three Co-Sponsors were joined on stage by Cécile Beliot-Zind, CEO of Bel, and Ramon Laguarta, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of PepsiCo for a panel session.
Panellists presented the mission and work of the Coalition, sharing that it brings together players from across the consumer goods value chain (both retailers and manufacturers) to drive faster progress towards net zero.
They highlighted that through four key focus areas, the Coalition will strive to “do things”, instead of simply “saying things”. They ended the session with a strong call to action to retailers to join the Coalition.
“I think there’s a lot of information that we have as individual companies that I think we need to share. I think we need to break the potential siloes that we have. We tend to work better as individual companies than as an ecosystem, and we need to change that.” Said Ramon Laguarta, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO, PepsiCo
“I think there’s a lot of information that we have as individual companies that I think we need to share. I think we need to break the potential siloes that we have. We tend to work better as individual companies than as an ecosystem, and we need to change that.”
“We need to think in a way that says partnership, systemic, and long term, and that you can only do by joining a coalition.” said Antoine De Saint-Affrique, CEO, Danone
“Failure is not an option. If we don’t change the food system fast enough, we know we do not have the resources to feed the 10 million people we will have in the future.”
Retailer Roundtable
On Thursday 13th June, the Coalition’s Retail Co-Sponsors Nina Jönsson, President & CEO, ICA Gruppen, Scott Price, Group Chief Executive, DFI Retail Group and BCG hosted a Retailer Roundtable to explore the challenges and opportunities of emissions reduction for the retail sector.
Key challenges included data management, engaging with suppliers, changing consumer behaviour and regional differences, to name a few. Opportunities should focus on immediate, impactful actions and best-practice sharing.
Actionable next steps include refining the Coalition’s Charter and increasing retailer participation in the Net Zero Coalition, with the aim of reinforcing a collaborative push towards net zero.
For more information on the Coalition and how to get involved, please visit www.tcgfnetzero.com.
