Mondelēz International enhances Harmony sustainable wheat scheme for biscuit production

Global snacking group Mondelēz International has unveiled ambitious plans for its advanced third-party verified Harmony wheat sustainability programme, which has been considered critical for environmentally-mindful production of its biscuit manufacturing, writes Neill Barston.

As the US-headquartered company explained to Confectionery Production, the initiative is centred on the delivery of regenerative agriculture that aims to mitigate climate change and reverse biodiversity losses, through supporting farmers in investing in improved practices.

Furthermore, the scheme also seeks to support research establishing both potential avenues of more sustainable wheat, as well as producing better-quality harvests. The Harmony program is also helping Mondelēz International to deliver on its Snacking Made Right mission, to lead the future of snacking by offering snacks the right way for both people and planet, along with contributing to its global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its whole value chain by 2050.

Created as what is believed to be the first programme of its kind in 2008 with just a handful of farmers, the Harmony program now collaborates with 1,360 farmers across 7 European countries, uniquely combining scale with a pioneering local partnership approach.

The Harmony program is based on more than 15 years of experience. To ensure maximum impact, it has been co-created with farmers, NGOs, agro-ecological experts and technical institutes. To support Harmony Ambition 2030, the program will also be guided by a newly created Harmony Council. The Council will be an independent panel of scientific experts from organisations such as Arvalis (a French technical institute run by farmers), INRAE (a world leading research organisation in agriculture, food and environment) and Noé (a biodiversity NGO), who will provide strategic recommendations designed to support Mondelēz International’s commitment to Regenerative Agriculture.

The newly announced Harmony Ambition 2030 will accelerate this progress through an across-the-board embrace of Regenerative Agriculture, making a lasting impact across three key areas:

1) Environment: Harmony Ambition 2030 will help mitigate climate change and reverse biodiversity losses by implementing a strengthened charter of farming practices. These practices will aim to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Harmony wheat fields. For example, we will ask our partner farmers to diversify crop rotation by including legumes to help optimise fertiliser use, the main source of greenhouse gas emissions in wheat farming. We will also take the most ambitious approach to biodiversity protection in European wheat farming by widening action from Harmony plot to whole farms, and from pollinators to overall wildlife. Harmony farmers will also aim to eliminate the most damaging pesticides.

2) Farmers: To support Harmony farmers in their transition to Regenerative Agriculture, Mondelēz International will create the Harmony Academy, which will provide farmers with a holistic package of digital and on the ground training. In addition, we will aim to equip farmers with digital tools to help them record farming practices, calculate environmental impact KPIs and improve the efficiency of reporting. These tools will empower farmers to measure their own environmental impact, informing and supporting future sustainable decision making on farms.

3) Consumers: A pioneering program, run by Mondelēz International’s own expert research team, will look to demonstrate that more sustainable wheat is also better-quality wheat.

As Europe’s largest biscuits maker, Mondelēz International’s ambition is to play a key role in helping to tackle the biggest environmental challenges in wheat farming through a robust approach to Regenerative Agriculture. The company has made sustainability one of the four pillars of its long-term growth strategy, helping to drive positive change at scale across a focused set of environmental, social, and governance priorities.

“Harmony Ambition 2030 is a key part of our sustainability strategy,” said Peter Seymour, Senior Vice President Marketing & Strategy, Europe. “We are working with local farmers and partners across Europe to help create a world where the wheat for our well-loved biscuits is grown in thriving and biodiverse environments. All this is part of our long-term business growth ambition and mission to offer consumers the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way.”