Sysco, Largest Foodservice Distributor, Sets Corporate Sustainability Bar High

Sysco Corp. of Houston, the largest US foodservice distributor that I came to know very well from many angles when I was editor of ID (Institutional Distribution) several years ago, has placed its money where its bottom line is in terms of sustainability.

It has designed a wide-ranging sustainability program that covers not only the typical green issues but also lifestyle ones.

In a press release a few days ago, Sysco announced its Sustainability Bond Framework, under which it may issue Green, Social or Sustainability Bonds to advance its 2025 corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals.

The framework provides information:

• about the types of projects that are eligible for financing or refinancing with the use of any potential bond proceeds,
• how any projects would be evaluated and selected,
• how any potential proceeds would be managed,
• and how the company may provide any allocation and impact reporting.

According to its press release, Sysco’s CSR strategy focuses on three key areas: people, products and planet, setting a clear path for the future and demonstrating the company’s continued commitment to caring for people, sourcing products responsibly and protecting the planet. Clearly this broad plan covers many if not all of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The company’s 2025 CSR goals, announced in 2018, include a comprehensive set of objectives, including sourcing 20% of its electricity from renewable sources, powering 20% of its truck fleet with alternative fuels, expanding its sustainable agriculture program to five fresh crops, and doubling the availability of Sysco Brand organic produce.

With specific nods to SDGs No. 3, No. 5 and No. 8, Sysco said it would increase its spend with women and minority-owned suppliers by 25%.

“Eligible projects have been defined as those that support Sysco’s 2025 CSR goals and relate to renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, waste reduction, sustainable water and waste management, environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use and food security, aquatic biodiversity conservation and food security, and socioeconomic advancement and empowerment,” the foodservice giant said.

This laudable plan by a highly visible corporation with more than 69,000 associates, 320 distribution facilities worldwide serving more than 650,000 customer locations, and sales of more than $60 billion, demonstrates that sustainability is not merely turning off the lights and taking care of water leaks. Sustainable development that ensures a safe future for humanity and the planet requires attention as many of the SDGs as possible.

No, Plastics are not the Future Globally & Locally

Five decades ago the most lucrative career for a new college graduate was summarized in one word. Benjamin Braddock was that graduate and he heard it at a party in his honor hosted by his parents.

“One word: plastics.”

That was from the famous 1967 cult move “The Graduate.” Fast forward to 2020 and that image of a profitable life thanks to CH2=CHCl (the chemical formula for plastic) has become the bane of society.

Due to its ubiquitous nature, seemingly helping us with every chore including carrying food from the grocery store, plastics are killing us.

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), plastic pollution has increased tenfold since 1980.

Here are some more statistics to shiver your timbers.

The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that total US plastic waste generation grows 3.8% per year (2015 vs 2014 growth rate from USEPA) from 34.5 million tons in 2015 to 38.5 million tons in 2018. The primary data source on the generation of plastics is the American Chemistry Council.

Furthermore, the average American person produces about 5.91 pounds of trash, with about 1.51 pounds being recycled while 4.4 pounds is the rough average daily waste per person.

Plastics are a rapidly growing segment of municipal solid waste (MSW). While plastics are found in all major MSW categories, the containers and packaging category had the most plastic tonnage at over 14 million tons in 2017. 

Don’t doubt that plastic is harmful. It can release harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, which can then seep into groundwater or other surrounding water sources, and also the ecosystem. This can cause a range of potentially harmful effects on the species that drink the water.

Generally speaking, when plastic particles break down, they gain new physical and chemical properties, increasing the risk that they will have a toxic effect on organisms. And the larger the number of potentially affected species and ecological functions, the more likely it is that toxic effects will occur.

The UNEP says very little of the plastic we discard every day is recycled or incinerated in waste-to-energy facilities. Much of it ends up in landfills, where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose, leaching potentially toxic substances into the soil and water.

Plastics block waterways, float along the surface of the ocean, kill marine life and wildlife, and are even found in human tissue. New research also has shown that plastics, when exposed to solar radiation, release methane (a potent greenhouse gas) and ethylene, especially as it degrades.

Since the 1950s, we have produced 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste — the equivalent in weight to 25,000 Empire State Buildings.

Recent years have seen a rise in awareness about the detrimental impacts of plastic pollution. So it’s no wonder that plastics have been targeted for elimination, leading many of us to carry groceries home in paper bags, homemade cloth bags or by hand.

“We need all actors to work together in the plastic pollution crises: UN Environment Program calls on all relevant businesses and governments to join the Global Commitment to fight against plastic pollution as part of the implementation plan ‘Towards a pollution-free planet,’” Inger Andersen, UNEP executive director, said.

Examples of corporate buy-in include: Unilever has announced it will reduce its use of virgin plastic in packaging by 50%; Mars Inc. said it will make reductions of 25% by 2025; and PepsiCo aims to reduce the use of virgin plastic in its beverage business by 20% by 2025. 

An everyday use of plastics can be seen in drinking straws. While we think of plastic pollution, as bottles floating in rivers and marine animals wrapped in six pack rings, single-use plastic waste also has a detrimental effect on climate change. A report by the Center for International Environmental Law said that the production and disposal of single-use plastics in 2019 caused the equivalent emissions of 189 coal plants, and by 2030 that number could rise to 295. “At present rates, these greenhouse gas emissions from the plastic lifecycle threaten the ability of the global community to meet carbon emissions targets,” the report said.

Straws seem a small part of the equation, but, for example, if each person in Asia were to use a plastic straw on a given day, it would mean 4.5 billion straws making their way into the waste system. Companies developing sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics or raising awareness on how to avoid one-time plastics can help tackle climate change.

When shopping, it’s a good idea to bring reusable bags with you to the grocery store and for retailers to remind their customers to do so.

However, this year, forgetting them at home could cost consumers. Oregon has banned single-use plastic bags at grocery stores, requiring shoppers to bring their own bags or pay a small fee for paper ones. The city of Albuquerque, NM, is also gearing up for a similar eco-friendly initiative. Single-use plastic bags, including compostable bags and plastic ones less than 2.25 millimeters thick, will be banned, according to CNN affiliate KRQE. The city plans to encourage residents to go green by passing out about 2,000 reusable bags at grocery stores and city facilities, the station reported.

Berkeley, CA, made headlines when it passed the most aggressive municipal ban on single-use plastic foodware in local restaurants and businesses in the country.

The local ordinance was designed not just to ban plastic forks, spoons, containers, and yes, straws, only to have businesses replace them with some other throwaway materials. In reality, the effort “rejects throwaway culture altogether,” explained Greenpeace’s Annie Leonard and The Ecology Center’s Martin Bourque, who developed and championed the policy, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed. The policy requires that all local businesses make compost bins available, all takeout containers be made from 100% certified compostable materials, vendors charge 25 cents for all takeout cups, and all eat-in dining be in reusable foodware. The Ecology Center and other local leaders are also championing reusable alternatives for individuals. The Center even sells stainless steel boba tea straws.

The debate is a double-edged-sword. Some environmentalists that favor banning plastics simultaneously caution against using compostable substitutes because they don’t necessarily outshine plastics when it comes to environmental benefits. This has spawned the movement to use or generate less. Furthermore, in foodservice for instance, environmentally safe substitutes for plastic clamshells must have properties that will ensure the integrity of the food.

January 1 marked the first day at least 10 towns and one county in New Jersey said farewell to plastics as new local ordinances went into effect – banning so-called single-use plastics.

“When they get into your body, because you’re ingesting them, they also bring with them organic chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic,” said State Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex. “This is a public health crisis.”

Customers at the Stop-and-Shop in South Orange, NJ, are carrying their groceries out in reusable bags. The supermarket gave away more than 300 environmentally friendly totes to customers as a local ordinance banning plastic bags and charging a 5-cent fee for paper bags goes went into effect.

In Camden County single-use plastics are now banned at all county facilities and every county-sponsored event in a move approved by the Board of Freeholders last October. This includes single-use plastic bags, plastic straws, stirrers, utensils and Styrofoam products. Bottled water that comes in bottles smaller than one liter are also banned.

Other towns such as Lambertville, South Orange, Asbury Park, Bayonne, Garfield, Glen Rock, Paramus, Ridgewood, Sommers Point and Saddle Brook all imposed the new restrictions.

As for Paramus, officials spent more than a year discussing the measure, as well as gathering input from the borough's environmental commission and residents, according to Mayor Richard LaBarbiera. As one of the largest shopping destinations in the country, the mayor said he hopes Paramus can set an example for other municipalities once they see it working in the borough.

More than 80% of litter on New Jersey’s beaches is plastic. Almost 166 million pieces of microscopic plastic float in the waterways of New Jersey and New York. And scientists have found microplastics in some of the state’s most pristine rivers and creeks, including the upper Raritan and Passaic rivers.

“If the public and all these towns have the stomach for this, then the Legislature and the governor should have it too,” said Amy Goldsmith, the New Jersey director of Clean Water Action. 

A Rutgers University study showed New Jersey rivers that provide drinking water to residents are also filled with microplastics, tiny plastic particles that can’t be seen by the naked eye but are regularly ingested by animals and humans, and can increase the risk of cancer.

Businesses that violate any provision of the proposed law would be subject to a warning on first offense but fined up to $1,000 for a second offense and up to $5,000 for successive ones. Although businesses would offer paper straws under the bill, plastic straws would have to be available on request, at the urging of disability advocates.

While communities in the Garden State are proceeding with local ordinances banning plastics, the state as not followed suit. Last month New Jersey State Senate passed a plastic bag ban, but the State Assembly failed to act on the bill. The statewide ban on single-use plastic bags, paper bags, Styrofoam food containers, and plastic straws would have been one of the strictest in the country.

The plastics bill NJ S2776 (18R) / NJ A4330 (18R) stalled in the Assembly after it passed the Senate by a vote of 21-14. The Assembly’s leaders could not agree on implementation, in spite of commitments that the measure would pass this session.

“We wanted to make our position clear in the Senate,” said Senate President Steve Sweeney. “What we’re trying to do is be fair to the consumers and fair to the environment.”

The plastics bill — S-2776 — would have banned film plastic bags regardless of thickness and paper bags in an effort to get shoppers to bring their own reusable bags, like the woven plastic tote bags with handles. It would also have banned clamshell food containers, plates, cups, food trays and utensils made out of polystyrene foam.

“The Assembly should have passed this ban today, but they didn’t. Their failure to act will mean that our plastic waste problem will continue to get worse. Plastics will continue to kill whales and get into our environment and into us. Microplastics have already been found near our drinking water supply, so we could literally be drinking plastic. Plastic bags have been known to clog storm drains and fill up detention basins, affecting our water quality. Animals, especially birds, get strangled and suffocated by plastic bags,” Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, was quoted as saying at the time.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Gov. Phil Murphy believe a ban on paper bags goes too far and would specifically hurt low-income shoppers. While Sen. Sweeney does not want to impose a fee on paper bags.

But there’s always hope.

“These issues are not going away. Whether it’s banning single-use plastics or protecting Liberty State Park, there’s tremendous grassroots support for taking action,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “There’s a lot of unfinished business in the legislature.”

This anti-plastics trend won’t be relegated to the back burner for long so it’s a matter of time before New Jersey lawmakers get with the program. New Jersey businesses should prepare by educating themselves and their customers about plastics and their substitutes. For advice, they could turn to the New Jersey Sustainable Business Registry of the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC).

The sooner this happens, the better for your business, the state and humanity.

As with all things sustainable, when you become sustainable, tell your audience and community because they want to hear about it.