ESG

Squeaky Bean

© Squeaky Bean
Investments & Finance

New $300M Smart Protein Fund Intends to Disrupt Food Industry, Directing Climate Capital Towards Alt Protein

London-based Milltrust Ventures and Ireland’s Earth First Food Ventures are launching a new $300M (£242M) Smart Protein Fund tomorrow directed at funding alternative proteins companies to “disrupt and decarbonise” the food industry. The new Smart Protein Fund aims to invest climate capital toward scaling up startups and companies developing innovative plant-based, fermented, fungi-based, and cultivated meat, fish, or dairy products to replace industrial farming. 26% of global green gas emissions According to the Smart Protein Fund, the alternative protein market received over $600M in investments last year. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) predicts that smart proteins are set to account for up to 22% of global protein consumption over the next 15 years, representing a $500 billion investment opportunity for early investors. Milltrust Ventures, the venture investment arm …

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Allen Zelden headshot
Market & Trends

Allen Zelden: My 4 Trend Predictions for 2023

APAC expert Allen Zelden, co-founder of FUTUREVVORLD and PlantForm Partners, shares his predictions for 2023, spanning alt seafood; ESG; the Australian market; and private labels. They say adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it. That was certainly the case for the plant-based foods industry in 2022. In the face of stagnant sales growth, rising costs and diminished investment appetite, this last year revealed a strong sense of community, an epicentre for collaboration, and an unrelenting message of urgency and purpose. Whilst there is clearly competition amongst the increasing number of plant-based food businesses and service providers, we are all ultimately driven by a mission beyond just turning a profit. Whether that mission is health, animal welfare or the environment, 2022 revealed that our industry truly has a …

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Vegan Kraft Mac and Cheese Australia

©Kraft Heinz
Company News

Kraft Heinz Releases 2022 “Together at the Table” Report Highlighting the Company’s Plant-Based Progress

Kraft Heinz has released its 2022 Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report, outlining the company’s progress toward ESG priorities during the 2021 calendar year. Titled “Together at the Table,” the report highlights Kraft Heinz’s increased investments in plant-based foods, including its recent launch of dairy-free Philadelphia Cream Cheese.  Since 2021, Kraft Heinz has continued to increase its number of plant-based offerings, ranging from three varieties of Heinz Beanz Burgerz and vegan mayonnaise to plant-based Heinz Salad Cream and Kraft Mac and Cheese.  This month, the company appears to have released a dairy-free version of its famed Philadelphia Brick Cream Cheese in select markets in the US and UK, including Kroger and Tesco. Shoppers on social media have been posting sightings of the new cream cheese, which …

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new vegan leather seat head covers made by Toray

© Toray
Tourism & Travel

Japanese Airline ANA to Adopt Toray’s Ultrasuede Alt Leather

Eco-materials manufacturer Toray recently revealed that its new upgraded vegan leather Ultrasuede will be used to make the headrest covers of Japanese airline All Nippon Airways’ Green Jet seats. Toray is a general materials manufacturer focusing on developing 100% plant-derived polyesters to achieve a carbon-neutral, circular economy not dependent on fossil resources. In 2015, the company launched the first commercial production of its Ultrasuede vegan leather made using plant-based recycled resources as part of its raw materials. Starting this November, the modern version of  Ultrasuede will debut in ANA’s Green Jets interior cabins in green colour. ANA claims to be the first Japanese airline to use vegan leather for seat headrest covers as a sustainable material. ANA chose to work with Toray’s Ultrasuede because the …

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FAIRR Initiative

©FAIRR Initiative
Protein

FAIRR and GFI Launch New ESG Reporting Tool for Alt Protein Industry

Alternative protein companies now have a new tool to report environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts to investors and others. Recently launched by FAIRR, a world leader investor network on ESG, and the Good Food Institute (GFI), the reporting tool provides businesses with two different frameworks for disclosing the sustainability of alternative protein products. FAIRR Founder and Chair Jeremy Coller declared in an interview for AFN: “We expect that FAIRR’s members, representing $68trillion AuM, will welcome the frameworks as a further tool in their investment process.” One tool, two frameworks For the tool’s development, each organisation added its expertise. FAIRR contributed its knowledge of ESG concerns, and the GFI helped with its authority in the alternative proteins sector.  According to AFN, 38 companies and investors …

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