Can you explain how life-cycle assessments (LCAs) are used at KMC and why they are essential for sustainability?
At KMC, we utilize LCAs to calculate the carbon footprint of our products. LCAs enable us to make data-driven decisions aimed at reducing environmental impacts, meeting the growing demands for detailed climate data, and supporting our customers’ sustainability goals. We see this as one step towards a more fact-based approach to working with sustainability, which is necessary to ensure and document the accomplishments and changes.
By prioritizing the use of primary data where possible and conducting critical reviews of all inputs, we ensure the accuracy and reliability of our assessments. Third-party verification further adds credibility, and we rely on globally recognized, standardized methodologies to guide our calculations.
How does KMC obtain precise data from potato fields and ensure the accuracy and reliability of its carbon footprint calculations?
Currently, we base our calculations on national average data for potato cultivation. We are working on gathering accurate data directly from the fields supplied by our farmers, emphasizing close collaboration to improve field-level impact. Additionally, third-party verification provides independent approval, enhancing the credibility of our findings.
Why is transparent communication important to KMC, and how can customers leverage this for their sustainability goals?
Transparent communication enhances our climate impact performance by fostering open dialogue. This openness aligns with our goal of supporting market and customer ambitions, as they need reliable product-level data for making improvements.
Carbon reduction is a shared objective across the value chain, so communication and valid calculations are essential first steps. This collective effort ensures more effective climate action.
By engaging in dialogue, we understand customers' needs and future expectations, allowing us to tailor our efforts to better support their sustainability targets. Customers should be open to discussing new ideas for improvements and recognize that sustainability initiatives often involve shared costs across the value chain.
While we cannot achieve everything at once, focusing on identified priorities and best practices ensures steady progress. Transparency from both sides is crucial. Customers can use our improved data to refine their practices and help reach their sustainability goals by guiding us in the right direction. Working together, we can share and implement best practices across the industry.
What are KMC's next steps and challenges in advancing sustainability efforts?
Our next steps include improving data quality and extending the scope of our calculations. By integrating primary data from potato cultivation more actively into our operations, we aim to enhance our data collection and monitoring processes.
Challenges in our sustainability journey include staying ahead in a rapidly evolving field with low maturity and a lack of established best practices. Unlike financial accounting, sustainability accounting is relatively new and lacks standardized guidelines with no room for interpretation.
Data quality and availability present hurdles, as achieving precise and reliable data is complex, especially when information is not always publicly accessible. Sustainability is also seen as a competitive parameter within the industry, driving progress but making it challenging to access required data and encouraging some to focus on gaps rather than actions and achievements.
At KMC, we address these challenges by continuously improving our data collection methods and collaborating closely with stakeholders. We assess the value of our achievements to maintain momentum while being transparent about areas needing improvement. This balanced approach helps us navigate the complexities of our sustainability journey and push the agenda forward.
What role does innovation play in KMC's sustainability strategy?
Innovation is a cornerstone of KMC. In June 2024, we opened a new innovation center, reinforcing our commitment to placing innovation at the heart of our product development.
By building a stronger data foundation related to sustainability, we can integrate sustainability parameters, such as climate impact, directly into our innovation processes. This integration ensures that our new developments align with our sustainability goals, contribute positively to our overall environmental impact, and meet the expectations of our customers, end-consumers, and society as a whole.