The added value of Microsoft Sustainability Manager in the food industry

We will soon be hosting our Food Inspiration Day in Copenhagen for food companies. During this live event we will spend time on the importance of ESG and how food companies can address additional challenges of the ESG goals. From reducing waste to promoting sustainable supply chains, these solutions offer concrete ways to make positive change. Curious to find out more? In this blog we give you a sneak preview of this solution.

What are the ESG-criteria?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. This acronym represents standards created to support sustainability reporting and plays an ever-increasing important role for companies, investors and consumers. ESG allows organizations to assess not only their financial performance, but also their broader impact on the environment, society, and operations. Thus, ESG provides a holistic understanding of risks and opportunities related to environmental, social and governance issues. It transcends the traditional focus on environmental issues and offers an integrated approach to sustainability.

The importance of ESG in the food industry

Sustainability issues play a vital role in the food industry, ranging from food waste and climate change to water use and working conditions. A growing number of organizations realizes the impact of their carbon footprint and feels the need to take social responsibility. This growing awareness influences various decision-making processes, from supply chain management to product development.

According to ESG guidelines, an organization's total environmental impact includes three emission areas: 

• Scope 1: Direct emissions from sources owned or managed by the organization, such as emissions from vehicles and factories.
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions related to the energy consumed by the organization, such as electricity and heating.
• Scope 3: Other indirect emissions, which include those from the supply chain, commuting by employees and production of sold products.

In addition to generating reports on these three scopes, food companies face the challenge of increasingly strict regulations. It is essential to ensure product traceability and food safety. It is also necessary to increase your sustainable practices and report extensively on these efforts. In addition, retailers are also imposing more stringent standards and requirements.

Last but not least, regulations are constantly changing. To keep growing, it is not only important to comply with regulations today, but you also need to be able to comply continuously and without too many obstacles. It requires quick insights and flexible operations to meet any challenge.

This is where tooling like Microsoft Sustainability Manager in Dynamics 365 comes in to play. With this powerful tool, you can rely on quick insights and flexible operational processes so that you are always ready to respond to changing requirements and regulations. 

Taking charge of your sustainability thanks to Microsoft Sustainability Manager

Microsoft Sustainability Manager is a powerful tool that supports organizations in accurately measuring, monitoring and reporting their environmental impact. By collecting data on energy consumption, water use, waste generation and emissions, Sustainability Manager provides valuable insight into the status of your sustainability strategy and your organization's current performance. This allows you to identify trends, examine your performance and ultimately achieve your sustainability goals. With various reports and analytics, Microsoft Sustainability Manager provides in-depth insights that are crucial for making data-driven decisions and driving continuous improvement.

The good news? This powerful tool is already integrated into Dynamics 365, making it easy to implement if you're already using this ERP system. With the help of Sustainability Manager, your organization can:

• Realize efficiency improvements by streamlining and automating manual processes.
• Break data silos and make connections with other business systems through proper data integration.
• Benefit from insights into impact and progress through real-time reporting and analytics.
  
  

Key benefits of Microsoft Sustainability Manager

Microsoft Sustainability Manager supports the identification of emission sources within the before mentioned scopes and provides advice on reducing these sources. Within Dynamics 365, the Sustainability Manager captures emission data using integrated tools and modules. This allows you to analyze your emission data, identify trends, detect bottlenecks and discover opportunities for improvement. This way, you can create an effective action plan to reduce your impact and promote sustainability.

Curious for more insights? Get inspired by our ebook on the Food Inspiration Day in Copenhagen. Download it here for free!