Food System Commitments
The world is facing multiple interconnected global food system challenges that impact the health of people and planet, and the livelihoods of the people who produce our food.
In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, the world needs to transform its food systems. We are determined to apply our science-based solutions to contribute to significantly reducing the environmental impact of food production, improve health impacts through improved nutrition and create a fairer food industry, joining forces with governments, NGOs, academics, and knowledge institutes.
In 2021, we published a series of commitments that outline our dedication to transforming food production and consumption. These align with our business priorities, which deliver the environmental, social and health impacts we create. We will deliver on these commitments by working closely with our value chain partners, including our customers and suppliers.
For more information on how we measure our Food Systems Commitments, see the Non-financial reporting policy.
Health for People
In 2022, we provided nutritional solutions to 642 million vulnerable people, many of whom are mothers and children with especial nutritional needs. These nutritional solutions currently entail the market output of a selection of our nutrition portfolio such as fortification for staple foods, public health supplements and emergency foods, with the reach measured by means of the use of standard formulations and dosage regimes.
This year, we have made our solutions more widely accessible, working together with our partners including the World Food Program, UNICEF and World Vision.
In 2022, our products helped support the immune systems of 321 million people. We measure this figure via our sales of vitamin C and D solutions into multivitamin and straight supplements. The inclusion rate of vitamins is based on the composition of consumer products, and the annual use of supplements by consumers is based on market research.
This year, we further promoted the role of micronutrients for a well-functioning immune system and the vital role of health and well-being. We provided support to an article in the journal Vaccines titled “Micronutrients to Support Vaccine Immunogenicity and Efficacy”, as well as a global ‘Immunity Report 2.0’ campaign that focused on key consumer-immunity trends and solutions to support customers.
Health for Planet
We deliver solutions that enable our animal protein farmer customers in various animal protein value chains to achieve emission reduction. In 2022, we enabled:
- A 20.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in dairy production (target: 20% in 2030)
- A 20.0% reduction in ammonia emissions from swine farming (target: 30% in 2030)
- A 6.8% reduction in phosphorus emissions from poultry farming (target: 30% in 2030)
The percentage of emission reduction potential per kg of animal protein product is calculated on the verified lifecycle-assessment-based reduction performance of the feed additive solutions on the market.
In 2022, we further invested in cutting edge technologies such as Bovaer®, our methane inhibitor solution for ruminants. Bovaer® achieved EU approval in February 2022, and we began construction to scale up production of Bovaer® with the official groundbreaking ceremony in November at our location in Dalry (Scotland). For swine we are further investing in technologies such as feed enzymes and eubiotics, including VevoVitall® and Digestarom®.
In 2022, we reached 62 million people with solutions for nutritious, delicious, sustainably produced plant-based protein foods such as meat, dairy and fish alternatives. We calculated the number of people’s lives reached by reference to our market output and known recipes and market consumption data for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives.
In December, we launched the Vertis plant proteins portfolio of solutions, which will enable us to expand our impact and further develop our collaboration with key customers in the meat and dairy foods segments.
Healthy Livelihoods
Through our Africa Improved Foods (AIF) joint venture, and working together with our partners, we reach at least 60,000 smallholder farmers in Rwanda and Sub-Saharan Africa. AIF engages with small holder farmers directly, and via traders and farming cooperatives, as well as by working with our partners including World Vision to maintain and improve farmer livelihoods. We are working on solutions to further improve the documentation of the full scale of our impact, with an eye to local conditions and the differing business context and practices. Furthermore, we are developing new business activities in greater Africa, Latin America and South East Asia where farmer engagement, training and improved livelihoods are core to the business model. We will assess the impact of these activities as they mature.
Basic Commitments
Food system commitment 6: Deforestation-free in our primary supply chains by 2030
In 2022, 67% of our relevant sourced volume was assessed as deforestation-free. This relates to our Tier 1 supply chain for our deforestation-risk crops: palm-derivative products, sugarcane, and direct soy and corn products. We assess ‘deforestation-free’ through certification schemes such as RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) and Bonsucro, making the next steps toward deforestation-free primary supply chains.
Food system commitment 7: Good workforce nutrition for all employees by 2030
As a company focused on supporting good health through nutrition, we ensure access to good nutritional information and increased access to healthy nutrition for all our employees. In 2022 we launched the ‘Let’s Chat Nutrition’ program, with 3 global webinars reaching DSM employees globally, creating further awareness of what a healthy diet involves, how to make healthy choices and how nutrition needs change throughout the lifespan. In 2022, we provided access to food via canteens as well as food in vending machines for 69% of our workforce. In 2023, an approach to define the ‘healthy’ dimension of food will be documented, and we will assess the access to healthy food with this definition.
