Royal DSM, a global purpose-led science-based company, reveals the first audited results of its progress in helping to address urgent societal and environmental challenges linked to how the world produces and consumes food.
In the first full year since announcing a series of ambitious, measurable, long-term food system commitments, the initial findings provide a benchmark by which to measure improvement between now and 2030, as the company seeks to ensure accessible, affordable, healthy nutrition along with healthy livelihoods within planetary boundaries.
The company’s food system commitments cover areas where the company believes it can make the greatest positive impact and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3, 12 and 13.
It is one of the first companies in the consumer ingredients sector to make its societal impact explicit, with KPMG providing the highest possible assurance opinion for non-financial data on the 2022, conclusions:
Through the fortification for staple foods, public health initiatives, and emergency relief supplements, it helped millions of society’s most vulnerable, many of whom are mothers and children with special nutritional needs. Working with partners including the World Food Program, UNICEF and Sight and Life, it will extend its impact as it targets helping to close the micronutrient gap of 800 million people by 2030.
The animal feed solutions mean its customers can reduce farm emissions, including ammonia from swine farming (by 20.0%); phosphorus eutrophication from poultry farming (by 6.8%); and greenhouse gases in dairy production (by 20.5%). By investing in scientifically- and economically-proven innovations such as feed enzymes and eubiotics, including VevoVitall and Digestarom as well as its methane inhibitor Bovaer, which gained various regulatory approvals around the world during 2022, it targets double-digit reductions by 2030.
With its growing range of plant-based food ingredients, the company enabled its customers to serve millions of people wanting nutritious, delicious, and sustainably produced meat, dairy and fish alternatives in 2022. The company launched the Vertis range in December, including the world’s first textured vegetable protein that is a complete protein, soy-free and gluten-free, as it targets reaching 150 million people by 2030.
Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze, DSM co-CEOs, said, “The initial results are humbling – millions of people around the world already benefit from DSM’s scientific expertise and manufacturing prowess – but also make clear there is much more to be done. The way food is produced and consumed currently contributes to major global challenges, such as climate change, malnutrition and poverty. Urgent change is needed. Quantifying our impact provides a robust benchmark from which we can work towards our 2030, ambitions. We can now reassess if any targets can be revised upwards and, together with our partners, do even more to ensure accessible, affordable, healthy nutrition and healthy livelihoods within our planet’s boundaries
