Analysis of Upstream Sustainability Trends Within the Food Production Industry

Abstract

Sarah Dallas, Jessica Lam, and Nora Stabert analyzed sustainability trends among U.S. pasta manufacturers with Philadelphia Macaroni Company (PMC) as a case study. PMC, founded in 1914, is a private, pasta manufacturer with an annual capacity of over 170 million pounds of pasta. It sells to customers including but not limited to the Campbell Soup Company, Annie’s Homegrown Pasta, and General Mills. Recently, PMC has been contacted by top customers regarding sustainability and recognizes the growing trend within the industry. This master's project advises the company on the definition of sustainability as it applies to PMC and recommends an approach for sustainability in the future. This project provides a comprehensive overview of the penetration of sustainability for pasta manufacturers, evaluation of PMC's current operations, the expectations of its customers, and the prioritization of sustainability by its top competitors. The final deliverables are (1) market analysis of key competitors, (2) current sustainability initiatives amongst PMC's customers, (3) customized greenhouse gas calculation tool, and (4) analysis of supply chain actors and interactions.