FAIRR’s top news picks
Financing a Sustainable Food System
Environmental Finance | 01 September 2021
The agricultural sector has begun warming to the concept of green finance, but the industry’s diverse range of productions systems, sub-sectors and localities pose a problem when trying to quantify sustainability. While efforts are being made to ensure a certain degree of standardisation among issuers and investors when assessing a company’s ESG credentials, the situation is confounded by a lack of transparency across the company’s value chain. Suppliers do not always operate under a single company or its policies, which makes it difficult to assess the agribusiness’s overall impact on social and environmental factors. Increasingly, however, the responsibility is left to companies further downstream to mitigate these upstream impacts.
The FAIRR Initiative is working to improve supply chain resilience by helping six of the world’s largest quick-service restaurants to develop strong supplier policies via the Global Investor Engagement on Meat Sourcing.
First-Ever Cultivated Meat Facility Planned for MENA Region as Eat Just Collaboration Takes Off
Food Ingredients First | 01 September 2021
What was once an unlikely venture is now full of promise. Cultured meats have been gaining momentum in recent years, with countries eager to follow in Singapore’s footsteps and give these products the green light. Companies are now racing to gain competitive advantage and be among the first to market, which — following a collaboration with Doha Venture Capital and Qatar Free Zones Authority — Eat Just Inc. looks set to achieve in the Middle East. The company has announced plans to build the first cultivated meat facility, for which Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health is expected to grant approval.
The FAIRR Initiative is watching this space carefully and continues to work through the Sustainable Proteins engagement to encourage companies to diversify product offerings and build climate-aligned portfolios. In a recent blog, Chris Coggin, Outreach Analyst, also explores the opportunities offered by the cultured meat market, which is expected to be worth $572 million by 2027.
What Is the COP26 Biodiversity Summit, and Why Is It So Important?
Eco-Business | 01 September 2021
There is a lot of intrigue in the run-up to COP26; what is it, why is it important and what do political leaders hope to achieve. With the growing urgency surrounding the debate on climate change and biodiversity, it is imperative that countries agree on a concerted approach to halt and reverse ecosystem degradation by helping to future-proof industries, such as transport and agriculture.
The FAIRR Initiative’s Policy Director, Dr Helena Wright, will be attending COP26 in Glasgow to offer insights and analysis on the ground. We will be using this opportunity to present our new global investor statement, Where’s the Beef?, which will urge G20 nations to include agriculture as part of their climate change mitigation efforts.
Graphic of the Week
Pathway to Net Zero
Source: Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
More Food for Thought
The Road to Energy Transition Is Pathed with Good Intentions | Shivaram Rajgopal | Forbes
UK’s Top Climate Adviser Says Criticism of Net Zero Goal Is ‘Defeatist’ | Jonathan Watts | The Guardian
How Ag Investments Can Bring Climate and Water Goals within Reach | Katie Askew | FoodNavigator
FAIRR’s Protein Pulse is a weekly collection of news articles related to the food sector that may be of interest to our members. FAIRR does not necessarily endorse the views of these news articles and assumes no responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies found in third-party content.
