Bühler calls on industry to act now for a sustainable future

The world faces urgent challenges in the coming decades as climate change and a growing population make many of our current systems of production unsustainable.

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway and former Director General of the World Health Organization, addressed the 800 experts, leaders, scientists and professionals from 500 companies and over 80 countries attending the three-day event.

Harlem Brundtland:

“There is no turning back. The need for private sector engagement is stronger than ever. We cannot solve all the challenges without the resources, the expertise, the technology and brain power of business.”

Sunny Verghese, Group CEO of Olam International Limited and chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, underlined the importance of the challenges:

“You cannot produce the food, feed, and fiber that all of us need if we destroy the planet.”

“There has to be an alternative way to do this on a more sustainable basis. Business as usual will not get us there so do not accept the status quo.”

Good reason for optimism

The combined potential for change embodied by the businesses present at the Bühler Networking Days is enormous. Together they feed 4 billion people and provide mobility for 1 billion every day – a powerful lever for change.

The food of the future could well be grown in the fermentation tank, rather than in the field and ocean. Both disruptive new companies and incumbents are investing to address the consumer needs of today and the future.

They are developing new technologies using biomanufacturing and digital advances to revolutionize agriculture and increase yields to meet the world’s nutritional needs within the environmental boundaries.

Saint-Gobain, representing the building and construction sector, brought the perspective of heavy industry.

Bühler is already leveraging the power of IoT, Artificial Intelligence and big data to enable faster, smarter, better decisions. Bühler Insights, the first cloud platform dedicated to the food and feed industry, is helping to drive up yields, reduce waste, and improve food safety.

Ian Roberts:

“Digitalization has changed the world. It allows completely new technical solutions, changes how we collaborate, communicate, and innovate. It is changing and disrupting our lives and, crucially, can help us to meet our sustainability targets.”

“Technology has a huge role to play.”

“But it cannot solve these challenges alone. We also need to think and work across value chains and systems. We cannot achieve our targets by working in isolation. Collaboration is no longer an option – it must be a core competence in all businesses.”

Bühler is already creating networks with industry partners, research institutes, universities, startups and not-for-profit organizations to broaden and deepen the knowledge and expertise focused on solving these challenges. Through its 29 application and training centers it has created a worldwide network for innovation.

Kate Robertson:

“When you see a company as efficient, as innovative, as driven as Bühler taking their young talent seriously, you begin to see what the world of business can actually do.”

Closing the event, Stefan Scheiber underscored the need to hand over a better world to future generations.

Stefan Scheiber:

“We recognize the urgency of the challenges and have dramatically increased our sustainability commitments. It is now our goal to reduce energy, waste and water by 50% in all our future solutions, and make a significant impact in the value chains of our customers.”

“As industries, companies and individuals, we all have to ask ourselves, today, how we can become part of the solution. We hope that Bühler Networking Days 2019 will be seen as a turning point. The challenges are demanding, but we can do it.”