SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Companies that choose to ignore sustainability initiatives may lose the credibility and consumer loyalty they already have, Al Plamann, chief executive officer of Unified Grocers, Los Angeles, told attendees at a conference on sustainability here.
In a keynote speech at the Sustainability Summit sponsored by Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers of America, Plamann said companies that do not participate in sustainability programs "will be unable to ignore the concept of sustainability for very much longer.”
"Those companies will soon find themselves competing at a disadvantage in the marketplace, find themselves battling to preserve their credibility among stakeholders and find themselves fighting to keep loyal customers they have had for years," he said.
Ultimately time is on the side of the sustainability movement, Plamann said, "[but] it is going to take competitive marketplace pressure to ensure that everyone is effectively doing his part to help make this world a better place for future generations."