On the morning of 23 September, BritCham Shanghai’s ESG Committee hosted an insightful presentation and panel discussion, “How to Lead Business Transformation through Sustainable Food?”, at Sodexo China.
The event commenced with a warm welcome from the Executive Director of BritCham Shanghai, Stuart Dunn. The session brought together sustainability professionals and industry leaders to explore innovative strategies for reducing the environmental impact of our food systems.
Keynote Speech Summaries:
1. “Reducing Carbon Footprint of Meals” by Julie Koch, Sustainability Director, Sodexo China
Julie introduced a practical “Carbon Scoring” system for recipes, categorising them from Very Low to High impact. She presented a clear, step-by-step pathway for transitioning to low-carbon meals, starting with reducing red meat frequency and quantity, and progressing to introducing blended recipes and plant-based proteins. A striking example showed that serving 500 portions of vegetarian lasagna instead of beef lasagna saves the equivalent of driving 4,100 km across China.
2. “Sustainable Nutrition for Patient Health” by Hara Guigou Caceres, Nutritionist, Parkway
Hara presented an expanded, holistic vision of sustainable nutrition that directly links personal health with planetary well-being. She emphasised that personalised, tangible actions are key to reducing overconsumption, which benefits both individual health markers and the environment.
Hara’s talk outlined five key areas for action beyond food choices: food preparation, shopping habits, marketing practices, and lifestyle patterns like sleep and stress. She emphasised that a diet rich in wholesome, plant-based foods is a win-win for regulating appetite and reducing environmental impact.
3. “Innovation of Food Waste Reduction” by Luona Cai, Xishi Magic Bag
Luona introduced Xishi Magic Bag as an innovative digital platform that connects consumers with surplus food from local businesses, such as bakeries, hotels, and convenience stores. This model turns potential waste into value, having already saved over 10,000 tons of food and reduced 30,000 tons of CO2.
The solution creates a triple win: businesses gain new customers and reduce loss, consumers enjoy affordable surprises, and society benefits from significant waste reduction and carbon emission cuts. The presentation also highlighted their “Feedback Bag” initiative, which extends this model to support vulnerable communities.
Panel Discussion: Leading Business Transformation through Sustainable Food
The insightful keynote speeches set the stage for a vibrant panel discussion moderated by Joshua Hiller, Marketing Manager at Jiahui Health, featuring Alex Xie, Strategic Program Director, Asia, at AptarGroup, alongside the other keynote speakers.
The panel delved into critical questions shaping the future of sustainable food:
Barriers to Widespread Adoption: The discussion identified entrenched consumer habits, higher perceived costs, and complex global supply chains as primary hurdles. The panel emphasised that overcoming these requires demonstrating the long-term value and efficiency gains of sustainable practices to both businesses and consumers.
Policy and Regulation as a Catalyst: While consumer demand is growing, the panel agreed that supportive policy is essential to level the playing field.
An Exciting Future Trend: A key trend generating optimism was the convergence of personalised nutrition and planetary health. The integration of health-focused, sustainable diets into corporate wellness and healthcare strategies was seen as a powerful driver for scalable change.
Effective Consumer Communication: The consensus was to move away from messaging about sacrifice. Instead, businesses should focus on positive framing, highlighting benefits like better health, great value, and the excitement of discovering new foods to effectively encourage sustainable choices.
The event concluded with a networking session, where guests enjoyed tea, coffee, biscuits, and lunch at the Sodexo China canteen while continuing the conversation.
We extend our sincere gratitude to our speakers and attendees for contributing to a truly insightful and inspiring morning.
