Sustainability analysis of the product portfolio of the German deep-frozen products industry, and identification of strategic options for sustainable development

The project aims at providing the Deutsche Tiefkühlinstitut (German Institute for Frozen Food) with a sound basis for communication with the consumer, thus enabling clear statements on the share of frozen food products in the overall annual greenhouse gas emissions due to private con-sumption, and providing a sound assessment of the environ-mental impact of the portfolio offered by selected companies from the German frozen food industry. In addition, optimiza-tion potentials with regard to climate protection are to be identified for the German frozen food industry. First, a categorization of the product portfolio of the German frozen food industry will be carried out in the context of a preliminary study (see description of the preliminary study). The actual sustainability analysis or main study is then to be elaborated on the basis of examples that have been selected in the preliminary study, seeming to be well suited for this purpose. The categorization of the product portfolio and the selection of the examples shall be made in close consultation with the participating companies. The overall objective of the preliminary study is to limit the scope of the planned main study to such an extent that the work steps of the main study will have a manageable size and that an optimum effort and benefit ratio can be achieved. The following results will be obtained in the framework of the preliminary study: -A set of sustainability criteria relevant to the industry; -A selection of product categories relevant in terms of sustainability aspects; -An exemplary pilot scheme comparing different product formats.