Articles

By Craig Hanna, Partner at Power Sustainable Lios 

Let’s set the table with an often cited, but hard to believe statistic: if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter, behind only China and the United States. 

It takes a whole lot of food waste to rival the emissions of the world’s largest economies. Indeed, a full third of the food produced globally never gets consumed, or even repurposed through upcycling or composting. Much of it is harvested, transported, processed, refrigerated, stocked, purchased, and stored in kitchens, only to be tossed in the trash and carted off to landfills where it rots and releases vast quantities of methane—a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short to medium term. 

Food waste poses a significant environmental challenge with global repercussions, as the resulting emissions contribute to the accelerating impacts of climate change. Beyond emissions, consequences include exacerbating food insecurity and driving habitat loss, as we transform forests into farms to grow crops never to be eaten. 

There is also a colossal financial cost of food waste, estimated at $1 trillion annually, affecting the bottom line of farmers, retailers, manufacturers, and municipalities—not to mention consumers, who are already dealing with rising food costs. The total value of wasted or lost food in Canada alone is over $49 billion annually. 

The full scale of the problem is daunting. However, behind all great problems lie great opportunities. Finding these opportunities is core to our work at Power Sustainable Lios, where we invest in and support mid-market companies who are creating innovative solutions for a more resilient and sustainable food system. 

One such company is Food Cycle Science (FCS), who are transforming how we deal with food waste in our homes, businesses, and communities. A former recipient of CFIN’s Innovation Booster program, FCS has only continued to gather momentum. This past June we were thrilled to make a significant investment in the company to help scale their comprehensive food waste solutions. 

The company’s product line of sleek food waste recycling machines provide on-site food waste management for homes, restaurants, and even remote communities lacking composting facilities. They transform food scraps into a dry, odour-free, and nutrient-rich soil amendment, significantly reducing the volume of waste and avoiding the methane emissions that would result if those scraps ended up in landfills. The technology is user-friendly and energy-efficient, capable of reducing waste volume by up to 90%. To date, FCS has delivered over 250,000 units across more than 20 countries, proving that this solution is not only viable but exceptionally scalable. 

While FCS is closing the loop on food scraps, there are countless solutions being developed to mitigate waste at all levels of the food value chain. These include innovative packaging that reduces spoilage, regionalized controlled environment food production systems that shorten supply chains, and technology platforms that connect food waste and reuse. 

As investors, we have an opportunity to direct capital towards businesses that can both generate returns and contribute to a more sustainable future. The food waste crisis is a complex, multi-faceted challenge, but I’m optimistic about the potential for meaningful change in this space. Solutions are possible, demand for them is growing, and the investment opportunities are clear. 

If you're as passionate about tackling food waste and building more sustainable agri-food systems as I am, I would love to hear about the innovations that are inspiring you. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, and let’s keep the conversation going. 

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Disclaimer 

This article is being provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or partnership interests described herein. Interests in any funds or vehicles sponsored by Power Sustainable may not be purchased except pursuant to the applicable offering documents, each of which should be reviewed in its entirety prior to an investment. None of Power Sustainable or any affiliate thereof shall have any liability, contingent or otherwise, to an investor or third parties, or any responsibility whatsoever, for the correctness, quality, accuracy, pricing, reliability, performance or completeness of the data or information provided herein, and nothing contained herein shall be relied upon as a promise or representation whether as to past or future performance.

Certain information contained in this article constitutes “forward-looking statements,” which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “can,” “will,” “seek,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “forecast,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “target,” “plan,” “continue” or “believe” or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events or results or the actual performance of any investment may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements.

Statements contained in this article (including, for example, statements relating to current and future economic or market conditions, trends or developments) that are not historical facts and/or are not cited with a specific source are based on current expectations, estimates, projections, opinions and/or beliefs of Power Sustainable. Moreover, certain estimates and/or statements by Power Sustainable contained in this article are based upon the opinion, judgment, and belief of Power Sustainable with which other professionals in the industry may disagree and are subject to a number of uncertainties. While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, assumptions, and expectations, they are not guarantees of future performance. Prospective investors should not rely on these statements as if they were fact.

This article contains statistics and other data that has been obtained from or compiled from information available by third-party service providers. We have not independently verified such statistics or data.

It should be noted that there is currently no clear definition (legal, regulatory or otherwise) of, nor market consensus as to what constitutes, a “sustainable” or an equivalently-labelled investment or as to what precise attributes are required for a particular project to be defined as “sustainable” or such other equivalent label, nor can any assurance be given that such a clear definition or consensus will develop over time. While we believe that the that food waste recycling machines possess sustainable characteristics as described in this article, no assurance is or can be given that investor expectations regarding such characteristics will be met or that any adverse sustainable, green, and/or other similar impacts will not occur over time with respect to the food waste recycling industry, and their respective role in the economy.

Power Sustainable is a multi-platform alternative asset manager whose platforms invest in private equities and infrastructure credit. Power Sustainable Lios Inc. ("PSL") invests in sustainable food and agriculture assets. Power Sustainable is a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada, a publicly traded company on the TSX.