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I'm Shalini and I lead the topic

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of sustainable food systems and nature-based solutions

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in our Climate & Sustainability

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and Social Impact practices at BCG.

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Nature is already at the brink

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and we've only begun to see the effects of climate change.

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Many of these systems are failing.

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Our food systems, for instance, were fragile to begin with

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and while we made great advances in productivity

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in the past few decades

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with which we're now producing enough food

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to feed the world, we still have a billion that are hungry.

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Just a few shocks in a year or two,

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a flood here or a drought there,

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a geopolitical crisis somewhere,

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it's brought on its knees,

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creating a humanitarian crisis, a supply-chain crisis,

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challenging access, quality, and affordability of food.

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The same can be said for many natural systems

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that are at strain,

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the rivers and the oceans

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that are at the brink with plastic waste,

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the land and biodiversity challenges from deforestation.

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In this context, only transformational change will work.

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We will need to modify centuries-old traditions

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on how we grow food.

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We'll need to embrace some forgotten ideas on what we eat.

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We will need to transform what and how we grow

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and consume and wear.

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In my role as the leader

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of climate sustainability and societal impact

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for consumer and retail companies,

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what I see around the world is the tremendous opportunity

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and impact that consumer and retail companies can have.

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Many of the leading companies have bold ambitions,

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really exciting initiatives,

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that can support this transformation that is happening.

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Companies can affect the way consumers think

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about the products that we buy,

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what we do with those products after we use them.

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They can create resilient supply chains

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that have lower carbon footprints.

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They can create access to products

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that are not reliant on deforestation

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and don't result in loss of biodiversity.

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What we see leading consumer and retail companies

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to in this space is integrate sustainability

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into the core of their business,

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into every aspect of decision making.

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They look at sustainability as a source of value creation,

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as a way to drive advantage for their business,

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not just as a cost,

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and they invest in digital to create a robust backbone

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and real transparency into sustainability

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to be able to drive this transformation for their business.