The corporate responsibility programme of Fazer Group consists of six areas for which detailed development needs and objectives will be set during 2010. The programme includes, for example, a decision to begin to use only RSPO certified palm oil by the end of 2012 and targets connected to the fish strategy and cocoa vision. The low-carbon theme is one of the main themes in the programme: in food services, it will be low-carbon lunch and in the bakery and confectionery business, energy efficiency and decreasing the amount of production waste.
‘Responsibility is smart business. The consumers of today are prepared to pay for ethically sustainable products and services. We want to be pioneers in corporate responsibility issues as well. We create sustainable taste sensations for the consumers and we will be trend-setters for another 119 years, too’, says Group President Karsten Slotte.
Fazer will provide low-carbon lunch alternatives
Next autumn, Amica restaurants in Finland will test to offer low-carbon lunch alternatives. The environmental impact of a low-carbon lunch is as small as possible. Since most of the carbon load in food – that is, the amount of greenhouse emissions during the whole lifespan - is generated mainly by primary production, raw material choices play an especially important role.
When planning low-carbon meal alternatives, the best possible use is made of seasonal offerings: domestic grains, root vegetables, vegetables and berries. The amount of vegetables grown in greenhouses will be reduced, and rice can be replaced with, for example, domestic barley. The raw materials must fulfil the criteria for low-carbon meals. In addition to being ecological, the food must also taste good and be healthy.
A climate label for low-carbon lunch alternatives will be launched in the autumn of 2010 at Fazer Amica restaurants. The consumption of water and energy and the amount of organic waste are being monitored in Amica restaurants. About 150,000 customers have their lunch in our restaurants in Finland on a daily basis.
Low-carbon meals have been developed in the ‘Peloton’ project which is piloted by the think tank Demos Helsinki and funded by Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund.