Last month in Warsaw “Foodhaton”, an event focusing on food-related challenges for professionals, under the auspices of EIT Food, took place. The leitmotif of the event was reducing food waste. The event included a start-up competition, won by Algdeha from Turkey, which I had an opportunity to mentor for the last three months. The assignment was part of the EIT Food RIS Solution project at the University of Warsaw.
My main take away from the event is that start-ups and other up-and-coming companies in the food sector are currently required to communicate their social or environmental case, rather than focusing solely on business operations. Further – they have to be transparent about the statements they make on this subject, as the inquiries during the pitching and power speeches commonly referred to the environmental claims made by the presenters. In fact, several questions even concerned unique selling points, which included making an impact beyond business.
Algdeha, a start-up which through new ways of cultivating algae aims to offer a sustainable alternative to products made traditionally by the fish industry, won the competition by being clear and precise about the measurable environmental impact of their success.
The fact that the ability to plainly communicate your company’s social or environmental impact may actually distinguish your business case is apparently also starting to be understood in the NGO sector. The NGO I work for, MSIS, has recently started evaluating the impact of its programs using Global Goals as a framework. Not only does this help with increasing transparency and keeping the clarity of its vision and mission, but it also unifies its language with the one already recognisable by its sponsors – large corporate companies.