Snack maker tracks its supply chain carbon footprint

Tucker’s Natural, a South Australian family-owned artisan baked snack producer, has become the first food and beverage company in Australia to track and measure its supply chain emissions using Siemens’ Sigreen platform.

The Sigreen pilot that Siemens launched in South Australia earlier this year in collaboration with Food South Australia (Food SA) and the South Australian Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, has now been completed.

Using Sigreen and working closely with the Siemens team for over three months, Tucker’s Natural was able to track verifiable Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data across its supply chain.

Sam Tucker, Founder and Managing Director of Tucker’s Natural, said the pilot enabled the company to make progress towards its net zero commitments and Responsible Sourcing Program.

“Put simply — we can’t reach net zero without tracking supply chain emissions. Siemens Sigreen has enabled us to do this in a way that provides verifiable data. The results have been invaluable,” Tucker said.

Tucker’s Natural was founded on the principle of producing ‘better for you’ baked snack products that are high quality, natural, sustainable and made with locally sourced ingredients.

The Sigreen pilot has given Tucker’s Natural an opportunity to engage with its supply chain on a product level and quantify the CO₂ contribution of individual components and suppliers, enabling a cross-company effort towards decarbonisation, carbon reduction and net zero targets.

“The challenges we faced in collecting this data goes to show that many businesses in Australia haven’t started on this journey yet. The major supermarkets have set aggressive emissions reduction targets, and I am really pleased that Tucker’s Natural, because of the pilot, is in a position to help them now,” Tucker said.

Having gone through the exercise with one product line, the company will now be able to scale and replicate the measurements for its other products, thus providing transparency about the emissions that have been generated in the production and delivery of each product.

“The pilot has supported our family business by providing access to the latest global technology helping accelerate sustainability goals,” Tucker said.

Milan Bawa, General Manager of Factory Automation at Siemens Australia and New Zealand said, “It has been great to work with a company like Tucker’s Natural who are strongly committed to business and environmental sustainability and keen to make a difference in future. The pilot has proven that PCF tracking is a critical step for companies of all sizes aiming to address net zero.

“Siemens began its journey in South Australia in 1872 with the Overland Telegraph — a technological breakthrough which opened communication links with the state and the world. It feels very natural to continue that pioneering spirit in South Australia with the latest digital and software tools to help the F&B sector reach net zero. We believe that digitalisation is the key to accelerating sustainability. Australia contributes around 1% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions and that’s what net zero is trying to address. However, we could do so much more,” Bawa said.

Using innovative technologies, Sigreen makes it possible to exchange emission data along the supply chain — from sourcing raw materials and packaging right through to the end product.

Image caption: Sam Tucker, Managing Director of Tucker’s Natural.