Sustainable Food Lab services

Turning Ideas into Action: The Sustainable Food Lab’s collaborative approach with diverse partners helps us facilitate solutions to complex problems. Through our experience, global network, and convening skills, we create safe spaces for honest and open dialogue, from which collaborations can take root and stakeholders can turn ideas into action. When challenges are too knotty for individual organizations to address by themselves, the Food Lab can bring together key players in sourcing regions, commodity systems, or across an industry sector. We bring a systems lens to building partnerships that work for long-term change.

System change is a team sport and requires an understanding of the complexity around any particular problem. No single person or even organization is sufficient, but well-designed partnerships that foster collective leadership are hard to find. Within the Sustainable Food Lab community, we keep learning how to foster system thinking and collective leadership. We know that trust is crucial and confidentiality frequently helps. System leaders notice their own assumptions and continuously learn to see through the eyes of others. We design and lead system leadership initiatives that facilitate reflection, creative conversations, and co-creation of system innovations.

Food Systems Expertise: The Sustainable Food Lab works with food companies and agricultural organizations at all stages, from industry leaders to those just beginning sustainability programs. With decades of experience working around the world, our staff: Build on deep knowledge of global food supply chains and extensive networks of companies, NGOs, researchers, and governmental agencies. Develop and draw on scientifically based measurement tools to identify impactful interventions. Span different regions, commodities, and farm types, from small-scale farmers growing vanilla, coffee, grains, and cocoa to large-scale grain, livestock, and dairy supply chains. Work with many large and small companies on strategies, including the internal and external alignment needed to execute those strategies. Orient our consulting towards system-level change, encouraging partners to join and support high-impact pre-competitive efforts.