Photos: Bühler Group
Photos: Bühler Group Over 1,200 business leaders from the food, feed, and sustainable mobility and materials sectors gathered at Bühler’s headquarters in Uzwil, Switzerland, to address the urgent challenge of building successful businesses that feed and move 10 billion people sustainably by 2050. Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, highlighted the urgent need for industry to operate within Earth’s safe limits. As the architect of the Planetary Boundaries framework, he stressed that sustainability is no longer optional – it is essential to resilience, competitiveness, and future success. He encouraged leaders to speak openly about the business value of sustainability: “We must think of sustainability as central to competitiveness, security, stability, and health,” he said. “When a decision improves your performance, attracts talent, opens new markets, or enhances resilience, communicate that clearly: show that sustainability is not a burden – it’s a competitive advantage.” Other speakers throughout the event echoed the magnitude and urgency of the challenge, calling for accelerated innovation – in digital tools, process technologies, and business models – to deliver more value with fewer resources. Johan Westman, CEO of plantbased oils producer AAK, shared his company’s journey toward sustainability leadership. Since 2019, AAK has transformed its palm oil supply chain, prioritizing sources verified as deforestation-free. By 2024, 91% of its palm oil supply met this standard – a shift that coincided with a significant increase in profitability. AAK believes that there should be more focus on producing sustainable palm oil. “Palm oil offers yields per hectare 4 to 10 times greater than any other plant-based oil,” says Westman. “That’s important when you need to feed the world.” Transformation through collaboration Thomas Zurbuchen, Leader of ETH Zurich | Space, and former Head of Science at NASA, spoke about the importance of collaboration between science and industry in addressing climate and environment-related challenges. “Industry has the ability to take scientific ideas and transform them into innovative solutions that make a real difference,” he said. “Sometimes the future is already here, you just need to scale it.” As an example, Zurbuchen highlighted recent developments in satellite imaging technology: “We can now use new technologies to analyze data from space with a resolution of millimeters and make it useful to inform decisions on the ground,” he said. “A farmer can use satellite images to decide exactly which fields need fertilizer and which do not.” Many speakers echoed the message about the power of collaboration to drive sustainable business success, mitigate climate change, protect and restore nature, create jobs, and ensure food security. Michele Andriani, CEO of Andriani S.p.A., gave a compelling example of the power of circularity to unlock new markets. His company set out to find alternative uses for all the side-streams generated by its core food production business. That led to the development of entirely new product lines – from pet food to nutritional supplements – with support from Bühler and other partners. Any material that cannot be transformed into a valuable product is instead used to generate energy for manufacturing. “Sustainability is not a goal, but a way of acting and doing business,” said Andriani. “For us, circularity is not just a sustainability concept – it’s an engine for innovation and growth that has opened doors to entirely new sectors.” Delivering on promises: grow business, lower footprint “Reflecting the urgency with which we need to act, our efforts go beyond simple compliance, drawing on partnerships, innovation, and a focus on building businesses that deliver measurable reductions in environmental footprint, while supporting profitable growth for both our customers and our company,” said Ian Roberts, Bühler Group CTO. “This work not only benefits the environment but also drives operational efficiency, creates 36 food Marketing & Technology • August 2025
Marketing jobs, and builds long-term resilience. We are helping our customers achieve significant reductions in energy consumption, waste generation, and water usage – delivering real impact up and down the value chain.” Bühler supports its customers in growing their businesses while lowering their footprint in many ways. From offering new state-of-the-art solutions to optimizing current systems through services, including machinery refurbishment, digital process control, and predictive maintenance. These services lead to higher productivity and yields, resulting in better returns on investment alongside positive environmental impacts. As a result, Bühler is delivering on its promise to multiply solutions that reduce energy consumption, waste, and water use in its customers‘ value chains by 50%. According to Bühler’s value chain analysis, when combined with other technologies and solutions beyond Bühler’s portfolio, peak savings potential exceeds 80% in some value chains. The CO 2 e reduction potential is 71% for processing aluminum into finished products, 77% for transforming cocoa beans into chocolate, and 65% for processing rice. Safe, healthy, affordable food that tastes good A panel discussion focused on the challenge of providing safe, healthy, and affordable food to a growing global population. Abigail Stevenson, Chief Science Officer at Mars, described the rising importance of nutritional density in packaged food products, with manufacturers adding more whole grains, nuts, and legumes to their products. She also emphasized the value of collaboration across sectors: “Looking beyond our industry is critical for broadening perspectives and for really thinking differently. By coming together with people from different parts of the industry and the ecosystem, we find novel ways to think about how to address the challenges we all face.” Florian Schattenmann, Chief Technology Officer at Cargill Incorporated, underscored the complexity of this task and noted that efforts to improve nutrient density required companies to achieve four simultaneous objectives. “Products need to offer the right taste, the right nutrition profile, the right sustainability profile, and the right cost,” he said. “And of those, taste is king.” Operating robust food systems in Africa comes with its own challenges, including limited infrastructure and difficulties securing expertise and capital: “You need successful businesses to feed the world,” said Simon Tecleab, Chief Executive Officer at Naval Group. He described how his company had expanded from its roots in Eritrea to develop a network of processing and production sites across neighboring countries. The Group has set up its own logistics company to move products from farms to processing sites and is now partnering with Bühler to build a stateof-the-art food park in Angola. Mandla Nkomo, Chief Executive Officer at Partners in Food Solutions, is another supporter of the power of innovation and entrepreneurship to resolve challenges in Africa’s food systems. His organization connects experts from world-class food companies with farmers and food processors in countries across Africa. “Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity isn’t,” he said. “Let’s create an opportunity superhighway to transform Africa’s food systems, one factory at a time.” Innovation in action Leaders attending the event also had the opportunity to see innovative technologies at work in Bühler‘s extensive research and training center facilities in Uzwil. Technologies on display included new solutions for milling, AI process optimization tools, digitally-controlled die casting, and energy-efficient technologies for grain puffing, food extrusion, and the production of plant-based proteins. In the final Networking Days session, the topic returned to bold leadership. Francois Pienaar, on the 30th anniversary of his historic Rugby World Cup victory as captain of the Springboks, recalled Professor Johan Rockström, a leading expert on global sustainability and Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, highlighted that sustainability is no longer optional, it is essential to resilience, competitiveness, and future success. the significance of that event in the history of post-Apartheid South Africa. His sporting career, he told guests, gave him the chance to witness the effect of great leaders. “They embody the spirit of perseverance, understanding the pressure of competition and thriving under it. From them, I have learned that great leaders make decisions grounded in strong principles. They balance critical thinking with a resistance to groupthink, fearlessly embracing risks and maintaining their integrity,” he said. “At the heart of all is a profound care for society and a commitment to leaving … them in a better state. Imagine the impact we could have if we cultivate a generation of young leaders with integrity.” Bühler Networking Days 2025 set a new benchmark, bringing together the largest number of industry leaders and the broadest range of sectors in the event’s history. Guests left Uzwil with fresh insights, new strategic connections, and a strengthened commitment to driving progress within their organizations. In his closing remarks, CEO Stefan Scheiber thanked participants their ideas and active engagement, urging them to act boldly: “We need the courage to take decisive action – action that accelerates growth and drives the sustainable transformation of businesses, value chains, and entire industries. By doing this, we will shape a better future for our businesses and our societies, and truly multiply impact together.” fmt For more information: www.buhlergroup.com food Marketing & Technology • August 2025 37
