The pet food industry is undergoing a quiet transformation. Once driven purely by price, protein, and palatability, it's now being reshaped by a new force: environmental transparency. Lauren Branson, CEO of sustainability analysis company, Calyx.eco, offers insight on ingredient intelligence in the sector.
From retail buyers to global brands like Mars, the call is growing louder — suppliers must demonstrate not only quality and consistency, but sustainability impact. For ingredient processors like Cool Off, this shift has gone from optional to inevitable.
But Cool Off didn’t wait to react. They leaned in.
Faced with increasing pressure to meet customer expectations and parent company ESG commitments, they made a bold move: to understand, quantify, and optimise the environmental footprint of their pet food ingredients — with precision.
Why pet food Is in the spotlight
Pet food has a unique challenge: it shares the same agricultural backbone as human food, but often operates with less visibility. Many products are made from by-products or wild-harvested proteins — materials that aren’t always easy to trace or standardise.
Yet these very ingredients can account for the majority of a brand’s Scope 3 emissions — a critical metric now required under emerging disclosure regulations, including those coming into effect in Australia from 2025.
For pet food brands to report credibly, they need their suppliers to know their numbers. That’s where Cool Off saw opportunity.
The Cool Off approach: high-definition impact data
Cool Off conducted a high-definition sustainability assessment of key products in their portfolio to measure the carbon, water, and biodiversity impact across the entire product lifecycle, from farm to finished ingredient.
The results gave them:
- A clear view of where emissions and water usage were concentrated
- Comparisons across different ingredient types and sourcing regions
- Specific improvement pathways — from supplier engagement to product use-phase education
- The ability to respond to customer Scope 3 data requests quickly, accurately, and confidently
In short, they turned their ingredient knowledge into impact intelligence — and that’s a competitive advantage.
From supply to strategy
Armed with this data, Cool Off is now in a position to:
- Support enterprise customers in their emissions reporting and procurement decisions
- Stand out in a crowded category, where verified sustainability performance is still rare
- Guide product development and sourcing, balancing environmental goals with commercial needs
- Pre-empt regulatory compliance, including Australia’s mandatory reporting laws
Crucially, they’ve shifted sustainability from a background conversation to a strategic business lever — one that supports growth, customer retention, and brand equity.
What this means for the industry
As the pet food sector races to meet net zero targets, transparency will become the price of entry. Brands will increasingly ask their suppliers for impact data. The ones who can deliver will keep — and grow — those relationships.
Cool Off didn’t just measure their footprint. They built a foundation for their future. One where every ingredient tells a story — and where sustainability isn’t a sticker, but a standard.
For pet food suppliers everywhere, the message is clear: now is the time to know your impact, and to lead with it.
