KANSAS CITY, MO. — The Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) is not just a non-profit organization working to create a “positive impact for the communities and environments where we do business.” The coalition is a collaborative, impact driven, action oriented, solutions focused and inclusive association that has been helping guide the pet industry through its collective sustainability journey since its inception.  

For 12 years, PSC has been leading industry-wide initiatives including sustainable ingredient sourcing, responsible packaging solutions, water and energy use management, and social issue involvement and community collaboration. 

“The way the PSC brings companies together to collaborate and make sure we, as an industry, are moving in one direction has been a part of our mission all along, and something we still really care about,” said Allison Reser, director of Sustainability and Innovation with PSC. 

Allison Reser, director of Sustainability and Innovation with the Pet Sustainability Coalition.

| Source: Pet Sustainability Coalition

Sustainability is one of the many industry topics that will be discussed at the second annual Pet Food Processing Exchange Oct. 19 to 21 in Kansas City, hosted by Pet Food Processing magazine and parent company Sosland Publishing. During the event, subject matter experts in the areas of product formulation, animal nutrition, data analysis, packaging, food safety, automation and more will share their knowledge of the formulation, production and safety of pet food on-stage.

On Oct. 20, Reser will take the stage to talk about “The Quest for Sustainable Packaging.” She will shed some light on how pet food manufacturers can translate key sustainability initiatives into achievable action items, focusing on the role of packaging in creating a more sustainable future.

Speaking with Pet Food Processing magazine, Reser shared her insights about how pet food manufacturers are approaching the topic of sustainability in their operations including through responsible ingredient sourcing and packaging selection, and how PSC can help processors start their sustainability journey.

Pet Food Processing: Sustainability is a broad term that pertains to a wide range of initiatives, how does the Pet Sustainability Coalition define sustainability?

Reser: Sustainability definitely needs to be defined. I like the official definition of sustainability, which is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future.” What I think is important to acknowledge though, is that right now we are meeting the needs of the present and we are also compromising the needs of the future because a lot of the things that go into producing human food and pet food are damaging natural resources, polluting the air, the water, etc. 

PSC's definition of sustainability is creating a healthy and safe future for people, for the planet and for our pets. In our industry, we tend to focus our sustainability efforts on ingredients, packaging and responsible business practices.

PFP: The Pet Sustainability Coalition started more than 10 years ago, how has the coalition evolved from the grassroots organization it started out as to what it is today?

Reser: With pet parents seeing their pets as members of the family, seeking out more premium products, and caring more about the impact on their pets, Chris Bentley, founder of PSC, realized there was an opportunity in the pet industry to make sure as the industry was growing, that it was growing sustainably. Bentley, alongside co-founder Caitlyn Dudas worked with eight founding members, and with their combined effort, they created a free toolkit of online resources online to help pet industry companies who were interested in sustainability, start their journey.  

The next iteration came after companies started requesting more hands-on help beyond the basic online tools that were provided. So, the coalition started helping with sustainability projects to guide organizations through the implementation of some of their suggestions. And that evolved to the model the PSC uses today, which is all about providing one-on-one, hands-on sustainability support.

The coalition was a result of a group effort, by the eight founding companies, coming together. The voice of eight companies was a lot louder than just one company would ever have been. The way the PSC brings companies together to collaborate and make sure we, as an industry, are moving in one direction has been a part of our mission all along, and something we still really care about.

PFP: If a pet food company wants to get started on their sustainability journey, where and how do they begin?

Reser: I think that talking about buy-in and resourcing is probably the most important place to start. If an executive or someone in leadership wants to start a sustainability journey at their company, they can probably unlock their budget right away to join PSC to set things in motion. But I think it’s still worthwhile, even for a person in that leadership role to ask, who else do I need to be involved in this, or who else might have an interest in this journey? Understanding how sustainability will be received at a certain company is an important place to start. 

We have a lot of companies coming to PSC and saying, “We know we need to start something, can you help us?” Realizing that no one person at a company should be doing this alone is probably the most important realization. 

Then once there is a certain level of buy-in and you know you’re not alone, I would say a materiality assessment is the first project that any company should tackle. This can range from a major project that takes many months to complete to a simple employee survey or a few interviews. There’s a range of what a materiality assessment can look like, but essentially it is a stakeholder engagement exercise, through which you will come out of with a ranked list of priorities with respect to sustainability. Should we focus on our greenhouse gas emissions? Should we focus on renewable energy? Or do we have a lot of pollutants going into water that we need to focus on? You break down all of these different options about where you could take your sustainability strategy and you decide what matters most to your stakeholders.

PFP: When it comes to the quest for sustainability in the pet food and treat industry, why is it so important to take a close look at the impact of packaging?

Reser: It’s important because customers really see packaging as a major element of sustainability. If you are trying to target sustainably conscious customers with your products, packaging is something that they care about that. They’re probably going to be looking at your packaging to see what their options are for disposing it responsibly. One of the key reasons to think about packaging is because your customers are thinking about it, so you should too. 

It’s important to remember that the package is part of a bigger, interconnected system, and that more sustainable packaging will reinforce sustainable systems. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws are on everyone’s minds right now in the packaging industry. There can be a financial implication when it comes to packaging choices. The less sustainable your packaging is, the more fees you might have to pay in certain states in the United States. There are EPR laws all over the world as well. As an industry, we are starting to transition more to curbside recyclability, because that’s what people know. There are a lot of considerations when it comes to pet food packaging.

PFP: What about ingredient sourcing for pet food and treat products – what role does that play when it comes to sustainable practices?

Reser: In our industry, I think ingredient sourcing plays the biggest role when it comes to sustainability. I’ve seen stats that show that anywhere from 70% to 90% of the environmental impact of a pet food product stems from the ingredients that are in the bag. And, if you drill into that further, it’s the proteins that have the biggest impact. 

For example, beef has a large environmental impact, in fact it gets credit for having the most impact out of any meat product. But there's more nuance to it; the environmental impact of beef will vary depending on what part of the cow is being used (for example, high-quality muscle meat versus offal) and how the cow is raised (conventional versus regenerative). That's why it's important to look into the impact of the specific ingredients being used. 

PFP: What are some of the tools that PSC provides pet food companies to help them get started on their sustainability journey?

Reser: Joining as a member is the best way to engage with PSC's resources. Members get access to our projects and consulting team, so we can help with those one-on-one projects. There's also a lot of marketing and business development opportunities that we have available to members. If you aren't ready to join as a member, we have a number of free resources available including our toolkit and webinars.  

Find out more about the Pet Sustainability Coalition here.

Attendees of Pet Food Processing Exchange can learn more about sustainability in the pet food industry during Reser’s presentation during the event. Learn more and register for Pet Food Processing Exchange here.