Food Processors: How Sustainability Investments Can Boost Revenues, Profits

Published on Jun 24, 2025, 3:00 PM WSJPRO

Six strategies can help food companies produce ROI from sustainability initiatives

An analysis of a study of global executives by Deloitte and the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) identified strategies that food processors can use to unlock growth opportunities, enhance resilience, and mitigate risks through their sustainability initiatives. 

Their role as the conduit from farmer to manufacturers (or further downstream) can enable food processors to implement sustainability strategies across the value chain, potentially leading to revenue growth. 

Why it matters: In coming years, sustainability can help build resilience in the food and agriculture sector to challenges it faces, including a growing world population, the increasing number and severity of extreme weather events, and changing long-term weather patterns. However, in the short-term, many companies may be uncertain as to whether they can generate ROI from sustainability investments—and how to do so. 

By the numbers: Eighty-three percent of food processors saw at least a 2% revenue growth from investing in sustainability strategies, according to the Deloitte-CSB study. 

Source: "Unleashing Sustainable Value in Food & Agriculture," Deloitte and NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, October 2024.

The big picture: Water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions among food and agricultural companies highlight a need for more sustainable practices. 

• Agrifood systems consume 70% of the world’s freshwater and generate one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions.1 

• At the same time, demand for sustainable products is growing. 

  
  

The state of play: Many food processors participating in the study were found to have experienced revenue growth from sustainability efforts.  

• Processors surveyed have also found that engaging more with the value chain and using better technologies to track and verify outcomes can speed up the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices.  

Zoom in: The study identified three top strategies that food processors surveyed use to produce revenue growth from sustainability. 

Source: "Unleashing Sustainable Value in Food & Agriculture," Deloitte and NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, October 2024 . 

Improving Food Loss and Waste Management 

Addressing waste. Some food processors have increased revenues by finding alternative uses for food waste at the farm level and within their own operations.  

• Converting waste to animal feed or biofuels can give processors access to new markets and can drive incremental revenues.  

• Processors can also utilize anaerobic digestors to convert waste products into biogas, which can not only reduce environmental impact, but can also open new revenue streams through the sale of renewable energy.  

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Better storage. By ensuring proper storage of crops and ingredients post-harvest, processors could reduce product waste, likely resulting in more inventory available to sell and thus improving their margins. 

Improving Energy Management. By improving energy efficiency and adding more renewables to the energy mix, companies can lower their carbon footprint while creating  commercialization opportunities. This can include selling excess renewable energy back to the grid or marketing low-carbon products at a premium. This, in turn, can make an organization’s products more attractive to its customers, representing a pathway to reduce the customer’s scope 3 emissions. 

Improving Soil Health with Climate-Smart Agriculture  

Programs that incentivize farmers to adopt practices to improve land use, productivity, and nutrient management such as cover crops or reduced tillage can help improve soil health. Processors can strengthen supply chain resiliency and add financial and nonfinancial value to their supply chains, while making progress toward their own sustainability goals. 

Zoom in: Food processors’ top strategies for generating cost-savings from sustainability.  

Source: "Unleashing Sustainable Value in Food & Agriculture," Deloitte and NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, October 2024 . 

The study found that food processors have reduced costs through sustainability initiatives by implementing the following strategies and unlocking value drivers: 

Sustainable and Responsible Supply Chain Sourcing 

A unique value proposition. Although it may increase per-unit costs, sourcing from responsible suppliers can reduce total costs for processors. It may entail more stable supply, fewer supply disruptions, and improved risk mitigation around regulatory non-compliance and negative publicity. Such benefits can, in turn, drive cost competitiveness going forward.  

Soil health. The study found that improving soil health, a form of sustainable sourcing, is correlated with cost reductions of more than 5%. 

That outcome is likely due to fewer disruptions resulting from yield declines and related cost efficiencies. 

Buying and/or Selling Insets and/or Offsets 

In the survey, 31% of participating processors selected this strategy. By generating and selling carbon insets, some processors have created new revenue streams and achieved cost reductions thanks to improved supply chain resilience and supplier relationships, along with risk mitigation.  

Benefits of regenerative agriculture. Many carbon inset-generating projects (excluding the outside sale of carbon offsets) are based in regenerative agriculture practices and implemented upstream within a company’s own value chain.  

• By generating and selling carbon insets, processors can generate additional revenue, while also achieving cost reductions through increased supply chain resilience, improved supplier relationships, and risk mitigation. 

• Nature-based, scalable climate solutions can also help to drive ecological benefits.  

Reducing the Use of Harmful Chemicals 

Buying fewer chemicals. When processors reduce the utilization of potentially harmful chemicals meant to preserve quality and improve texture and appearance, among other uses, they can decrease material costs by purchasing fewer chemicals, reducing waste disposal expenses, and avoiding regulatory penalties. 

The bottom line: Processors have an opportunity to advance sustainability efforts in their own organizations and throughout their value chain. Following six strategies, their sustainability investments can produce a clear ROI, with both an increase in revenues and reduction in costs. (Visit WSJPRO for the original article)

—by Ben Ninio, principal, Sustainability Strategy & Transformation, Deloitte Consulting LLP; Tensie Whelan, distinguished professor of practice and founding director, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business;  Kyle Tanger, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP; Stephanie Phan, manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP

1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Greenhouse gas emissions from agrifood systems: Global, regional and country trends, 2000–2020, FAOSTAT Analytical Brief Series No. 50 (Rome: FAO, 2022).

2. FAO, “Integrated agriculture water management and One Health,” accessed 30 July, 2024.