Milling & Baking News - June 19, 2018 - 12

Business

Mondelez expanding European
sustainable wheat program
resource shortages by promoting sustainable farming practices and improving biodiversity in our supply

MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL, INC.

DEERFIELD, ILL. - Mondelez International is expanding its sustainable
wheat sourcing initiative to cover
100% of the wheat that goes into its
European biscuit brands by 2022.
In 2017, the sourcing program,
called Harmony, included 1,700 farmers, 13 millers and 21 cooperatives
across six markets, including Belgium,
the Czech Republic, France, Italy,
Poland and Spain. By 2022, the company hopes to increase the tonnage to
280,000 tons. The amount would cover
the volume of wheat needed to produce the company's entire European
biscuit portfolio.
"European consumers increasingly
equate high-quality products with
sustainable production," said Hubert
Weber, president of Mondelez's European business. "They're aware of the
impact of their food choices on the environment and have high expectations
of manufacturers to take their share of
responsibility.
"As Europe's largest biscuit baker, we can play a role in tackling
challenges like climate change and

Harmony champions biodiversity and
good environmental practices in wheat
production in Europe.

chain. In doing so, we contribute to
creating a fairer, more transparent
and integrated supply chain, in which
good quality for consumers means a

Shifting consumer habits altering
market environment for Bunge
NEW YORK - It has been five years
since Soren W. Schroder took the helm
at Bunge Ltd., and one thing that has
stood out to him during his time as
chief executive officer is how consumers everywhere are taking more steps
to personalize their food.
"People want to know what they
eat," Mr. Schroder told participants
at the Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic
Decisions Conference held May 31
in New York. "They want to relate to
what they eat. They want to eat real
food, less processed, connected to the
origin. And so I think this umbrella
of real food is a massive change, and
you see it, of course, in the packaged
goods companies, but it's something
that we're beginning to feel also in our
business as we supply, not only the established companies, but also the new
ones that are coming up knocking on
the door."
Mr. Schroder's comments came in
response to a question by an analyst
to identify the biggest changes and
surprises in the global ag environment during his tenure at Bunge.
12 / June 19, 2018

Milling & Baking News

In addition to personalization of
food, another major change has been
the focus on sustainability, he said.
"A huge part of the intersection
between agriculture and the environment is around sustainable practices, and it connects also to what we
think is a selling point for Bunge to
downstream customers: that we control the entire supply chain and that
we are a big advocate for sustainable
farming practices and that we help
farmers make the right choice in
those growing regions of the world
where it's not always easy," Mr. Schroder explained.
He said that since he took over five
years ago the demands and complexity surrounding sustainability have
ramped up, a trend he described as "a
good thing."
A third challenge, or surprise,
over the past five years has been the
amount of innovation taking place
across the supply chain. Mr. Schroder described the pace of change as
"mind-boggling."
"Whether it is gene editing on the

good impact on farmers and society."
The Harmony program was introduced a decade ago in France, according to Mondelez International.
It focuses on biodiversity and good
environmental practices in wheat
production. Farmers participating in
the program work to conserve water,
care for the soil, protect biodiversity
and reduce carbon emissions. They
do so through the selection of resilient wheat varieties, crop rotation and
other practices. For example, 3% of the
wheat-growing fields are dedicated to
flower borders or hedges that provide
pollen and nectar all year long to pollinators.
"Harmony is much more than an
agreed set of sustainable wheat farming practices," said Romeo Lacerda,
president of biscuits for Mondelez
Europe. "It's a movement that connects everyone involved in our supply
chain with others seeking to increase
the positive impact we can make on
our environment and biodiversity. By
bringing N.G.O.s (non-government
organizations) and farmers to work
together, we can implement farming
practices that are both effective and
pragmatic. In doing so, we can act as a
catalyst for positive change." MBN
farm input side to alternative meats,
on the other aspect, conversion of protein, big data originating from tractors
or from markets or contract systems,
satellites, all converging to try and
predict something free flow of information," he said. "There's so much
going on across the value chain that
it can be disorienting, but I als o believe that if you pick the ones that you
feel are most disruptive or potentially
opportunities, they can also give you
new avenues of growth."
Subsequently asked to look into his
crystal ball over the next 5 to 10 years
to identify the biggest opportunities,
Mr. Schroder pointed to complete control of the value chain.
"I think it is delivering to our downstream customers specific traits that
we can help our farmers grow," he
explained. "Of course, you can do that
and match it perfectly one-to-one. But
I see the supply chain control and the
- whether it is crushing of specialty
seeds or milling specialty grains to
meet ever-increasing demands for
health and wellness and functionality
by our downstream customers, at the
same time, giving some differentiations to farmers around the world to
grow specialty crops." MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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Milling & Baking News - June 19, 2018

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