The AERU Value Chain Compass

Risk

Environmental

The food and fibre sector faces a number of environmental challenges. At the best of times, care must be taken to maintain soil quality and there can be supply interruptions due to events such as drought, flooding or biosecurity incursion. Mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis is an ongoing and urgent task. This includes consumer perceptions about the greenhouse gas emissions of long-distance value chains. Adverse impacts of some food and fibre production systems on local water quality carry regulatory and consumer risks. New Zealand is addressing many of these issues at a national level, but the issues also have implications for individual value chains.

Questions for developing a value chain

• How does the value chain address environmental risks to continuity of supply?

• How does the value chain communicate and validate its initiatives to mitigate the impact of food and fibre production, processing and distribution on the global climate emergency?

• How does the value chain communicate and validate its initiatives to ensure its production and processing systems are minimising any damage to the natural environment?