Barilla
From their classic blue pasta boxes to their artful sauce jars, many people are likely familiar with the comforting taste of Barilla. As a company that services $4 billion worth of sales annually and employs over 8,000 people worldwide, the company鈥檚 name has become synonymous with the words 鈥減asta night.鈥� What fans of al dente fettuccine may not be familiar with, however, is Barilla鈥檚 commitment to food waste reduction efforts and employee empowerment.
鈥淎s a world-leading company in food production, Barilla has a duty, through its activities, to make a concrete contribution to the many social and environmental challenges of today鈥檚 global context, particularly in relation to issues of health, climate change, and food waste,鈥� says Fabio Pettenati, Vice President of Supply Chain for Barilla America.
The word 鈥渄uty鈥� in Pettenati鈥檚 statement is not one Barilla takes lightly. As jovial as the efforts may seem from the exterior, Barilla does not shy away from the sometimes bleak realities of the global food waste crisis.
鈥淣ot much has changed over the years with regards to food waste numbers,鈥� continues Pettenati. 鈥淚t is estimated that 1.3B tons of food is wasted every year 鈥� enough to feed approximately 900 million hungry people.鈥�
Inspired to change this, Barilla has employed several different tactics aimed at curtailing waste at each of its three main sources: production, distribution, and consumption.
Regarding Barilla鈥檚 waste reduction efforts in the production and distribution process, Pettenati says: 鈥淭he food losses in the pasta making process are relatively small, in the single digit range (as a percent), from field to delivery to customers. Despite that, we relentlessly pursue process optimizations aimed at making that percentage even lower, so that we become more efficient and reduce the input needed.鈥�
鈥淭hen, at the next level, we work at educating consumers. Our website hosts recipes explaining how to use leftovers and not toss them, along with which quantity of product to use to avoid eating too much or having too much left.鈥�
The elephant in the room with environmental initiatives is financing. Investing in new processes and practices that optimize waste requires significant capital. To justify the use of this capital, there needs to be proof that such initiatives benefit the company in the long run.
鈥淲hen projects have a positive impact on the environment and social justice, we are allowed to go in longer terms of expected paybacks,鈥� says Pettenati of raising capital.
Some of the expected investments in food waste reduction efforts are aimed at improving the bottom line in the short term as well as the long run. Investments in supply chains and the entire agricultural process serve to both eliminate waste and improve efficiency.
鈥淭here are several areas where improvement can be made,鈥� says Pettenati. 鈥淔armers may adjust their practices so that yields go up, while usage of fertilizers and pesticides go down. Consumption of vegetable-based proteins will keep growing, reducing the carbon footprint generated by kettles, and technology will allow producers and end users to better monitor the life of food and reduce the quantities being wasted due to spoilage.鈥�
These aims for improvement hinge on another key component of Barilla鈥檚 mission 鈥� cooperative engagement. Members of the Barilla family from all ranks and departments are encouraged to play an active role in making decisions and speaking up.
鈥淏arilla鈥檚 work is truly motivated by passion and employee engagement, particularly through the Employee Resource Group (ERG), whose leaders regularly connect with senior leadership and lead critical initiatives,鈥� says Pettenati.
If you want to be a part of the Barilla team and help play a role in producing some of the best food in the world while getting a chance to make a difference in the community, visit barillagroup.com/careers. Barilla America鈥檚 corporate office is located right here in Northbrook, IL.
鈥淢aking food that is good for people and the planet is the purpose that drives us every day,鈥� says Pettenati. 鈥淚t's a commitment from field to fork, to bring to the world tasty, joyful, and wholesome products, made with selected raw materials from responsible supply chains.鈥�