AgroFresh Solutions, Inc. (AGFS)

Company website 2020 Financial Report Stock Analysis

800000

Tonnes of CO2 Reduced

while making US apples available year-round

3500

Direct Customers

are served by Agrofresh worldwide

3.7

Million Tonnes of Apples

have been sold fresh rather than being processed thanks to Agrofresh solutions

View Our Analysis

The Path to Drawdown: Food Waste

Raising and preparing food is resource intensive - it takes water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, transportation, and financial capital to make it happen. When food is wasted, either in transit, grocery stores, restaurants, or households, those resources are also wasted. In fact, somewhere between 30-40% of the food raised or prepared never makes it to people's mouths.

Food waste accounts for 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere, or roughly 8% of total human-caused emissions. In low-income countries, food waste happens because of poor storage conditions, inadequate equipment or packaging, and a combination of heat and humidity. In higher-income countries, most of the food waste happens further down the supply chain: retailers reject food based on their aesthetic appearance or consumers overestimate how much food they will cook in a week.

There are ample solutions to food waste. Things as simple as using improved storage bags, silos or crates during transit can make a difference early in the supply chain. At the retail and consumer levels, setting food waste targets, generating public awareness about the issue, and changing consumer behavior toward food would greatly reduce waste.

Project Drawdown estimates that if these solutions are aggressively pursued, we can cut 101.7 gigatons of greenhouse gases from food waste between now and 2050.

About

AgroFresh Solutions, Inc. (stock ticker: AGFS) provides science-based solutions, data-driven technologies, and services to enhance the quality and extend the shelf life of fresh produce. They operate in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. AgroFresh Solutions is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

AGFS's Role in Drawdown

AgroFresh sells products like packaging solutions that extend the shelf life of food, preventing food waste from the spoilage of produce.

They provide solutions in various fresh produce through their flagship product, the SmartFresh system, which regulates the post-harvest ripening effects of ethylene to preserve the texture, firmness, taste, and appearance of produce during storage, transportation, and retail display. AgroFresh also provides Harvista technology for use in near-harvest management of pome fruit, blueberries, and cherries; FreshCloud, a digital technology service platform of produce monitoring and screening solutions; LandSpring, a 1-MCP technology targeted to transplanted vegetable seedlings; and RipeLock, a packaging technology solution for fruits and vegetables. In addition, the company offers fungicides, disinfectants, coatings, and packinghouse equipment for the citrus market.

AGFS: What We Like

AgroFresh's Sustainability Brochure shares some of their contribution to enhancing the sustainability of food production and food supply chains:

<::marker> Between 2002-2018, AgroFresh's SmartFresh solution helped divert 259,500 tonnes of apple waste in the US, France and Italy
<::marker> Reducing this amount of apple waste has led to avoiding 342,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and 2.5 million metric tons of water
<::marker> In France and Italy, packers reported a 23% reduction in waste, and in the US, that figure was 31-39% as a result of AgroFresh's solutions

What We Want to See Improve

Disclose Sustainability Metrics

We believe AgroFresh's solutions are contributing to a valuable Drawdown solution of reducing food waste. But we also like to see their own carbon footprint. How many greenhouse gas emissions are they responsible for? What are the sources of their energy use? This information should be readily available to investors and other stakeholders.

Set Emissions Reduction Targets

We also want to see AgroFresh committing to reducing their own GHG emissions. They should publish an annual sustainability report that outlines steps toward zero-emissions in the next few decades.

Borrow from Clean Banks

AgroFresh has a credit agreement with the Bank of Montreal. But unfortunately the Bank of Montreal is ranked 16th (p. 13) among banks worldwide that funds fossil fuel companies, having invested over $97 billion in dirty companies between 2016-2020. We urge AgroFresh to seek out banks that, in principle, do not finance companies in high-emitting sectors.

Related Food Waste Stocks in the Climate Index

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Allocated		Company	Description
0.02%		AgroFresh Solutions, Inc. (AGFS)	Agrofresh sells products like packaging solutions that extend the shelf life of food, preventing food waste from the spoilage of produce.
0.02%		Save Foods, Inc. (SVFD)	SVFD offers solutions that can extend the freshness and shelf life of fruits and vegetables. By reducing food waste, they’re helping cut methane emissions