Sustainability is a topic that is becoming more complex over time, and most of the pressure is coming from what consumers and customers (retailers across the UK, Europe and beyond) expect from the food they buy.

These expectations then travel back through the supply chain, meaning farmers and food manufacturers are increasingly asked to meet new standards.

The good news is that Ireland already has strong foundations to build on, but understanding what’s driving these demands is essential for protecting our markets and maintaining, and even enhancing, Ireland’s reputation for high-quality, sustainable food production.

Consumers today want their food to reflect their values.

Environmentally, they want to feel confident their choices don’t harm nature, that the products they buy come from systems with lower emissions, good biodiversity, responsible land management and reduced waste.

On the social side, people want reassurance that animals are well cared for, that food is safe and nutritious and that labels are honest and traceable from farm to fork.

And when it comes to the economic side of sustainability, consumers increasingly like to know that the food they buy supports fair incomes, strong local communities and long-term food security.

These expectations influence what international buyers of Irish meat and dairy look for.

Their biggest areas of focus are on carbon, biodiversity, animal welfare and water quality, with carbon being the most important.

For example, retailers such as Tesco, Carrefour and Rewe are aiming for large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across their supply chains.

The majority of the emissions associated with the products they sell are generated at farm level and as a result, farmers are expected to help them meet these targets and provide data that demonstrates their progress.

A survey by Bord Bia asked international customers what their motivation was for sourcing sustainable products. Taking two countries from the survey, the UK and Germany, buyers in the UK said that sourcing sustainable produce was something that helped them to keep up with consumer demands – keeping up with competitors came in a close second.

Buyers in Germany considered compliance the most important followed by keeping up with consumer demands.

This information helps us better understand the requirements of our international buyers.

International buyer demand

The ability of the Irish supply chain to provide detailed answers to the questions posed by customers in relation to sustainability will influence our capacity to retain our position in existing markets and develop opportunities in new markets.

This is where the strengths of the Irish agricultural sector becomes so important.

Ireland’s food industry benefits from grass-based family farming, advanced processing and manufacturing, and strong regulatory oversight on safety and the environment.

Our well-established quality and traceability programmes support and prove high standards. And our world-class research and innovation centres and actively engaged stakeholders and farmers underpin its global reputation.

There is strong engagement on the sustainability front from industry stakeholders and a good history of partnership between the public and private sectors.

The key industry stakeholders have always seen benefits in working collaboratively for their collective good, while also maintaining an ability to compete with each other commercially.

As an industry, we can draw on multiple sources of data, such as the Bord Bia Sustainability Survey, ICBF data, EPA, etc.

With increasing rates of digitisation there is better integration of data, eg AgNav, drawing on data from a number of sources.

By leveraging the power of data, Ireland can provide something that most of our competitors cannot. For example, the Bord Bia sustainability survey completed by 60,000 farmers every 18 months is key to providing this data, by measuring a farm’s environmental impact and calculating carbon emissions.

Ultimately, this supports Bord Bia’s quality assurance schemes and enables the agri-food industry in meeting growing consumer and buyer demands around sustainability.

In short