Global professional services firm Deloitte and nutrition, health, and beauty company dsm-firmenich announced today the launch of a new strategic collaboration aimed at providing solutions for the agricultural sector to improve the sustainability of the food supply chain, with a particular focus on sustainable animal protein production.

Agriculture has emerged as a major focus area for sustainability and climate action, as the sector accounts for a significant proportion of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and among the most difficult areas to address climate impact. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, while meat, milk and eggs provide 34% of the protein consumed globally, total emissions from global livestock represent 14.5% of all anthropogenic GHG emissions. The livestock sector faces several other environmental challenges, ranging from deforestation to land and water use, in addition other sustainability issues such as ethical treatment of animals.

The new collaboration will focus on dsm-firmenich’s Sustell software platform, which helps users assess environmental footprinting across the animal protein value chain, using data captured directly from the feed and farm sectors. The platform enables users to determine environmental impact to understand what is driving environmental footprint, provide a baseline to measure improvements, identify impact hotspots in the value chain, and test interventions through modeling across various scenarios, according to dsm-firmenich.

Dr. David Nickell, Vice President of Sustainability & Business Solutions at dsm-firmenich, Animal Nutrition & Health, said:

“Our critical, on-the-ground insights on animal feed and farming, coupled with Deloitte’s global leadership and cross-sector knowledge, will help unlock the missing ingredients needed to create a greener food ecosystem for everybody.”

Under the new collaboration, Deloitte will help expand and enhance the Sustell platform’s reach, in addition to helping to enable growth opportunities for businesses deploying the platform, with advice on how to operate the platform, apply insights to operations, and prepare ESG reporting.

Jorg Schalekamp, Partner, Consulting, Deloitte Netherlands, said:

“The food industry needs holistic value chain transparency to make better choices and transform to future proof business models. This collaboration will help leaders in the agricultural sector access the precise, real-time data and insights that they need to embed sustainability considerations into their operations, contributing to a virtuous cycle that can drive both a profitable agriculture sector and a more sustainable global food system.”

Deloitte added that the new collaboration forms part of the firm’s “latest effort to explore, develop, and scale new climate and nature-positive solutions, working directly with businesses to help implement future-proof strategies and promote transparency across the food ecosystem.”

Deloitte Global Future of Food leader Randy Jagt said:

“From regenerative agriculture and executive education programs with universities around the globe, to working with non-government organizations to find the optimal balance between protein and plant-based consumption, to leveraging technology to create more resilient supply chains and working toward zero waste, Deloitte is committed to supporting and accelerating the food systems transformation.”