Strong European consumer demand for sustainable food

28 Feb 2023 08:45 CET

Press release

Strong European consumer demand for sustainable food:
Huge opportunity for food industry
to reduce emissions

The climate impact of food is important to Europeans. Three out of five
consumers consider climate impact when buying food according to a new survey by
Yara.

Oslo, February 28th, 2023:  Yara International announced today the findings in a
new European survey on sustainable food conducted by leading international
market research company IPSOS on behalf of Yara. The report provides an overview
of consumer purchasing habits and sustainable food preferences.

"The report shows that Europeans are highly motivated to buy sustainable
food to reduce their climate impact. This should be a wake-up call to the
entire food industry," says Birgitte Holter, VP of Green Fertilizers at
Yara. "While three out of five Europeans find the climate impact important
when buying food, a majority feel it is not easy enough to understand
available information about the climate emission to be able to make
sustainable choices. More than three out of four consumers would prefer to
be able to read the carbon footprint on the food item," Holter says.



The world's food production accounts for more than a quarter of global
greenhouse gas emissions. This new report shows that 58% of Europeans consider
the climate impact important when buying food and beverages. In addition, 51% of
Europeans are willing to pay more for fossil free food items, meaning food
produced without fossil sources. However, most people feel that it is not easy
to know which food is climate friendly, as 76% of Europeans would like the
carbon footprint to be visible on the food label.

"Decarbonization of food is possible and that is why we are developing green
fertilizers made from water and air using renewable energy, to support
farmers and food companies in reducing their climate impact of their food.
These voluntary choices must be supported by adequate policies. The EU's
Sustainable Food System initiative, planned for the end of 2023, should
therefore create a set of incentives for food systems' actors to go beyond
the minimum requirements and favor low-carbon footprint solutions such as
green fertilizers," says Holter.



In Porsgrunn, Norway, Yara is building the first production plant to run on
renewable energy. From here, Yara will produce green fertilizers made without
the use of fossil energy or fossil sources. This will result in crops with an up
to 30% lower carbon footprint and up to 20% carbon footprint reduction in the
food produced, making them a powerful solution to grow a decarbonized and fossil
free food future. The first green fertilizers are planned to enter production in
the second half of 2023.

The market demand for food made without fossil energy sources is high. More than
half of Europeans (51%) said they are willing to pay more for climate friendly
food. A clear majority of Europeans (74%) say food companies need to work to
reduce the emissions from their food production.

Key findings in this survey

* 58% of Europeans consider the climate impact important when buying food and
beverage items

* 69% of Europeans would choose a climate friendlier food item versus a
cheaper option. (26% would choose a fossil free food item, 43% would choose
a low-carbon item)

* 51% of Europeans say they are willing to pay more for food made without
fossil fuel sources

* 31% of Europeans already make sustainable choices when it comes to their
buying habits

* More than three out of four (76%) Europeans want to see the carbon footprint
of food items on the label

* Nearly three out of four Europeans (74%) believe food companies should work
to reduce emissions in their food production

About the survey
The survey on the need for sustainable food was commissioned by Yara
International and conducted by IPSOS. The panel consisted of 12,000 consumer
respondents in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Spain,
Poland, Romania, Turkey, Norway, Sweden and Denmark (1,000 respondents in each
country). The data was collected from online interviews during the period of
December 1- 14, 2022.

Read the full report here: https://we.tl/t-53RKj8RkQm

Contacts
Marius Wærhaug Madsen
Press contact
Mobile: 0047 977 23 199
Email: marius.madsen@yara.com (mailto:marius.madsen@yara.com)

Birgitte Holter
VP Green Fertilizers
Photo of Birgitte Holter
(https://brandcenter.yara.com/shared/assets/0b6dde473a4a30cd72e2)
Email: birgitte.holter@yara.com (mailto:birgitte.holter@yara.com)

About Yara
Yara grows knowledge to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet.
Supporting our vision of a world without hunger and a planet respected, we
pursue a strategy of sustainable value growth, promoting climate-friendly crop
nutrition and zero-emission energy solutions. Yara's ambition is focused on
growing a nature positive food future that creates value for our customers,
shareholders and society at large and delivers a more sustainable food value
chain.

To achieve our ambition, we have taken the lead in developing digital farming
tools for precision farming and work closely with partners throughout the food
value chain to improve the efficiency and sustainability of food production.
Through our focus on clean ammonia production, we aim to enable the hydrogen
economy, driving a green transition of shipping, fertilizer production and other
energy intensive industries.

Founded in 1905 to solve the emerging famine in Europe, Yara has established a
unique position as the industry's only global crop nutrition company. We operate
an integrated business model with around 18,000 employees and operations in over
60 countries, with a proven track record of strong returns. In 2022, Yara
reported revenues of USD 24 billion.

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