Retailers and Suppliers Dialogue about Emerging Sustainability Survey Trend

Two major organic produce suppliers and the largest grocery retailer in the US described the experience of complying with consumer-driven sustainability audits—a growing demand from transparency-focused customers—as part of “The Value of Sustainability Compliance” educational session held during Organic Produce Summit 2023 last week in Monterey, California.

“There is an expectation that companies are doing things responsibly,” said Dana Brennan, vice president of external affairs and corporate responsibility at Grimmway Farms. “We have a story to tell.”

Moderator Kieran Ficken McNeice, director of sustainability programs at Measure to Improve, described a shift in the quality of data being collected. Before, buyer surveys requested general information about sustainability practices. However, consumers are now looking for real, transparent data, said McNeice.

Brennan’s team, which includes a new department formed to address the emerging demand for sustainability data, fields “varying levels” of surveys, questionnaires, and other requests that range from detailed data audits to a simple checklist. More than 60 pages of requests can accumulate from the top 10 retailers alone. Brennan said the answers to one recent request could potentially lie within 15 different departments.

Walmart’s Director of Global Food Sourcing Roland Harmon offered the retailer’s perspective on these surveys, aimed to better serve “our collective customer.” Harmon said Walmart ranks as a leader in this kind of data collection, using these audits as part of Walmart’s way “to engage suppliers in climate action,” according to the company’s website.

In 2017, Walmart launched Project Gigaton with a goal of avoiding adding one billion metric tons of greenhouse gasses to the global supply chain by 2030. This comprehensive sustainability survey focuses on six areas of improvement for suppliers, including reducing waste and energy with strategies like innovative packaging and responsible raw material and transportation choices. A commitment by companies to regenerate their natural environments is also prioritized.

“[Audits] help us understand where we stand in relation to our goals and understand where our suppliers are in their [sustainability] journey,” Harmon said. “We cannot tackle these broader systemic issues alone.” Data provided by suppliers in response to buyer surveys are not shared with other suppliers or used as leverage, he said.

Taylor Farms’ Director of Organic Integrity and Compliance Jim McKeon described consumer questions on topics ranging from energy use, food safety, irrigation practices, and even diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards appearing on sustainability questionnaires received by Taylor Farms.

“It is a lift to get that data," McKeon said. "But we’re also seeing it as an opportunity. It’s a broad set of data being requested from a bunch of different channels because the customer is more in tune with where their food is coming from.” explained McKeon.

McKeon said strategies are closely analyzed to determine how to collect the most accurate and consistent data pulled from a field test or a database, especially through unpredictable growing seasons. At this time, sustainability metrics remain mostly undefined. “We’re in the space right now where we're trying to define and measure improvement,” McKeon said.

Currently, the sustainability audit process operates as a one-way street as consumers submit questions to retailers, which are then passed along to corporations like Grimmway Farms or Taylor Farms to decipher and report back. Unclear phrasing from customer questions can lead to frustration when attempting to extract data from various departments, said Brennan, who advocated a more interactive process between consumers, retailers, and suppliers.

Grimmway and Taylor Farms identified increased communication earlier in the survey process as an opportunity for improvement—particularly before smaller producers start to experience these in-depth buyer surveys.

“There is a cost associated with every question,” explained Brennan. “If [Grimmway Farms] are the size we are, and we are having a hard time answering questions, what does that bode for anyone else in the industry?”

Taylor Farms uses the data from surveys both to analyze overall consumer trends and in practical application of about five new items, in a spirit of continuous improvement, said McKeon.

“We take it all the way back to the field level to narrow in and decide on what microbiological test we’re going to do, what nitrogen test we’re going to do, how frequently we're going to do it. That’s the type of information the growers need to hear and understand so they can get that buy-in and achieve the broader metric.”

Brennan and McKeon agreed that an unexpected byproduct of completing these compliance audits has been increased awareness within staff teams. Because small, boots-on-the-ground teams and internal task forces identify and gather the data, a bigger picture of the supplier’s sustainability efforts has come into focus for all levels of the company, they said.

The audits have contributed to a new culture among staff, said Brennan, giving employees “additional reasons to be proud.” Task forces at Grimmway Farms included staff at all levels and across departments, which has encouraged problem solving and lent a sense of ownership to the work, she said.

Although they are demanding even for the country’s largest produce suppliers, surveys on sustainability and operational practices are embraced because they are “changing agriculture,” said McKeon.

“The ultimate goal is to move away from the [idea of] the ‘ground as media.’ Instead, we are working with the natural system,” said McKeon. “In agriculture you can create solutions. And even tiny ones have a big impact.”