Group 10 - Section F; Industry- Food and Drug Industry; Companies- 7&I Holdings Co, Bayer AG,

Tesco, Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Sinopharm and Smith’s Food and Drug
We have divided the report into different areas after mentioning the industry insights and comparison
of companies’ sustainability efforts have been made in these respective areas as shown below:
Industry insights: Currently countries are facing a $54 billion per year gap in achieving SDG health
targets. The Food and Drug industry can have a positive impact in this regard in the times to come
however mobilizing capital is the need. Collaboration between farmers, food producers, food retailers,
pharma companies and policy makers at all levels to build strong sustainable systems is the key. The
trends within this industry are socio-economic and technological advances spreading at an uneven
rate, opportunity for companies to integrate technology, collaborate and innovate to achieve
sustainability and holistic health care. Steps such as waste reduction in product development and
energy saving solutions become highly important. The recent challenges faced by the industry are
climate enabled pandemics, risks of antimicrobial resistance, ongoing consumer driven shift towards
wellness and holistic illness prevention.
Education: All the companies have identified education as a key factor for a sustainable development
of the community and thus have taken initiatives to promote education by offering various
scholarships and also by partnering with various organizations. Smith’s food and Drug which is a part
of Krogers also has an initiative to promote education among its employees by offering monetary
support. Scholarships are of both merit-based and also based on individual’s financial ability.
Employees: The business practices across companies in terms of employee benefit comprise of
rewards and recognition, with adequate care being given to veterans and staff. Practices in Seven & I
consist mainly of reduction of overtime for employees and promoting the advancement of women,
while Smiths focuses mainly on funding and providing opportunities to employees to pursue higher
education. Bayer has brought in digitalization in their practices, thereby using robotic process
automation and artificial intelligence in some of its processes. Sun Pharma and Telco are involved in
conducting safety audits and preparing for emergencies, making sure that employees' health and
safety are in place.
Energy: With respect to energy saving and emission reduction activities, most of the companies in
the industry have introduced energy-saving equipment like solar panels at stores. Seven & I has also
signed a comprehensive agreement regarding the introduction of hydrogen stations while Smiths has
partnered with World Wildlife Fund to analyze the waste generated and plans for zero waste by 2025.
Sinopharm has made greater investments in environmental protection, sewage treatment and
equipment technological upgrade of environmental protection equipment each year. Bayer uses
energy management systems like ISO 50001 to help identify potential savings in energy while Sun
Pharma has moved towards greener options and the use of energy-efficient motors.
Waste Reduction: Waste reduction practices comprise mainly of reuse and recycling of materials and
products and selling off obsolete inventories or waste in an environment-friendly manner. Seven & I
has installed automatic PET bottle collection machines for recycling and also facilitated the use of
plant-based materials. Sun Pharma has introduced SOPs to ensure effective waste management, with
equipment installed at all major facilities for recycling of the treated effluent.
Sourcing and Packaging: As it can be observed after analysing steps taken by different companies,
we can conclude that there is still certainly a scope for improvement as it can be seen from year 2025
goals set by Tesco and Smith’s Food and Drug who plan to move to 100% recyclable packaging and
complete plastic ban respectively. In terms of sourcing, as we can see from the case of Bayer
purchasing locally as much as possible and Smith’s Food and Drug planning to source all of their
eggs from cage-free hens in the years to come, there is a shift towards sustainable sourcing. Also 7&I
Holdings Co visiting their partners’ farms and factories to ensure standards are met, Sinopharm
revamping their suppliers’ contracts to introduce socially responsible terms and Bayer AG classifying
and evaluating their suppliers point wards attempts at establishing certain standards and benchmarks
in sustainability. 7&I Holdings Co providing traceability information shows improvement in
transparency.
Climate Action: Attempts of companies like 7&I Holdings Co trying to achieve 27% reduction in
CO2 emissions by 2030 and Bayer AG looking at an absolute reduction by 2030 along with a
complete shift to renewable energy are all in sync with the goals set by United Nations for 2030. Also
gaining an ISO 4001 certification aimed at reducing its environmental impact in case of 7&I Holdings
Co shows an increasing importance being given to certifications in sustainability efforts. Tree
plantations, pond deepening are small steps taken by Sun Pharma which are effective in the long run.
Food Waste: When it comes to tackling food waste, Seven & I Holdings seems to have deployed a
Systems Approach wherein a big initial investment is made to the process to change its entire
operations to make it a ‘recycling oriented agriculture’. Smith Food and Drugs also deals with
ground-breaking initiatives with Zero Hunger Zero Waste Program but unlike Tesco does not deploy
a broader view for the upliftment of all the stakeholders. Sun Pharma, however, focusses extensively
on child hunger through awareness drives but no changes to the supply chain or the crude operations.
Forest and Agriculture: In conservation of forest and agriculture, Sun Pharma takes social
interaction in collaboration with environmental conservation; whereas Tesco focusses predominantly
on zero deforestation and sustainable sourcing through stabilizing soil structure and water
stewardships. Bayer focussed on disruptive technologies like Digital Framing and expensive R&D,
thus taking the Systems Approach; whereas Seven & I Holdings practices bio diversified farming and
through a successful sustainable rice cultivation, expands into newer avenues like coffee.
Water and Sanitation: In the fronts of ‘Water & Sanitation’, Sun Pharma has taken up various
initiatives like WATSAN to create infrastructure for augmenting rural water supply, to enhance
accessibility to potable water in rural schools, construction of good quality individual toilets in the
villages, etc. The Sujalam Sufalam Yojana in partnership with Government of Gujarat aims to deepen
water bodies in the state before monsoon to increase storage of rainwater that can be used during
times of scarcity. Tesco has their compliance to Marine Stewardship Council and Ocean Disclosure
Project, they have taken substantial steps to ensure environmental sustainability. Seven&I in Alaska
follows sustainable fishing practices. Smith Food & Drugs has anaerobic waste water treatment plants
established in their factory. Sinopharm has various measures preventing the running, spillage,
dripping, leakage and constant running of water to save water. Bayer AG has various initiatives to
improve the water quality and quantity at drought prone factory sites and also presses for recycling of
waste water.
Social Infrastructure: In ‘Social infrastructure ‘front, Seven&I delivery programme for aging
population, and also provides training and shelter to cognitively impaired people. Smith Food &
Drugs provide donations to charitable homes, orphanages, etc. And also supports the Salvation army.
In 2019, the Bayer Cares Foundation established an ecosystem fund, “Lifting the Base of the
Pyramid,” to support access to medical care, as well as on supporting smallholder farmers in sub-
Saharan Africa. Sun pharma has various initiatives for community infrastructure like bus shelters,
plantation, water harvesting structures, street lights etc.