Learning from the success stories in environmental management to stay within the earth’s planetary boundaries: A case study of Insectipro
This piece was a graded assignment as part of the module ‘Introduction to Sustainability’ under the MSc Environment and Development program at the University of Leeds. This piece is to enable readers (international students) understand the calibre of questions required of them at UK institutions. Included are the grade, comments, referencing style and my reflective reaction. Do not plagiarise. The question prompt was as follows:
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries — developed and developing — in a global partnership. The 2030 Agenda also underlines the important role that major groups and other stakeholders (MGoS) play in its implementation. These are officially called “Major Groups” and include the following sectors: Women, Children and Youth, Indigenous Peoples, Non-Governmental Organizations, Local Authorities, Workers and Trade Unions, Business and Industry, Scientific and Technological Community, and Farmers. Choose one of the Major Groups and outline how they are making progress to achieving sustainable development, focusing on a particular case study(ies)/context. In your essay you are expected to: i) describe the MGoS you are focusing on, ii) identify and analyse how they are contributing to achieving one or more of the SDGs, focusing on a particular case study)ies/context and iii) examine what lessons we can learn more broadly for achieving sustainable development.
To do well in this assignment, you should:
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the key arguments in the area, and the evidence used to support it. This understanding should be based on a broad exploration of the most relevant and important pieces of literature in the field. Here the lecture material and the class reading list can be used as a starting point, but you are expected to go well beyond this and find relevant peer reviewed literature in relevant journals and books.
- Construct a coherent argument which fully explores the topic, within the bounds of possibility of a 1,500 word essay. The word limit longer than the first assignment, and this should be reflected in the depth and complexity of your argument, and the amount of understanding and analysis.
- Support your argument using appropriate evidence (citations, case studies etc), and reference correctly throughout. Make your argument compelling and convincing.
- Critically analyse the arguments put forward in the literature, such as evaluating their relative merits, the evidence supporting them and counter evidence, and comparing and contrasting different approaches. Form your own opinions on conflicting points of view in the literature.
- Successful combine both theoretical or conceptual evidence and arguments with relevant empirical case studies.
- Keep your answer relevant to the essay title, whilst situating the answer in the broader context of sustainability studies — in other words, you might want to bring in relevant concepts, ideas, theories etc which are not mentioned in the essay title and integrate them into your argument, but without making irrelevant, trivial or incorrect arguments or letting the essay drift off-topic.
- Answer the question in full. Make sure you read the question carefully, note the key terms and exact meaning of what is being asked, and address this question, and not a different question, in your essay. A good essay on a different topic will not get a high mark.
- You need to be clear in your language and explanations — imagine you are writing for a reasonably intelligent person. This is a useful way of ensuring that you write clearly and that you are able to demonstrate understanding.
Your essays will be anonymously marked, and will be submitted through Turnitin on the VLE. When submitting your essays, do not include your name anywhere on the text or filename. Please name your file with your student number and the number of question you answered (i.e. call it something like “20095575 Question 1” or “400058912 Question 2”). Essays that do not comply with this naming protocol will be deleted.
The maximum word limit is 1,500 words, excluding title, bibliography and graph/diagram texts. Tables will count towards wordcount. Penalties will be applied once this limit is exceeded. Please consult the Code of Practice on Assessment for details of what is acceptable in terms of use of appendices etc.
The 2030 Agenda for global sustainable development by the 193 United Nations member states has been described as global governance and management approaches to ensure the anthropocene does not cause further strain on the planetary boundaries, particularly climate change (Rockstrom et al., 2009; Griggs et al., 2013). Despite these goals being set by national governments, in the matter of the implementation of successful environmental management, specific actors have been identified as Major Stakeholder groups such as Business and Industry, Scientific and Technological Community, and Farmers (UN, 1992; UN General Assembly, 2015).
This report shall focus on environmental management practices as contributions by the Major stakeholder group, ‘Business and Industry’ to limit the effect of human activity on climate change as evidence indicates this planetary boundary has likely been crossed (Rockstrom et al., 2009; Mathias et al., 2017). This report discusses the specific contribution of Kenyan enterprise, Insectipro that has led to the sustainable management of food waste. Usually, 3,000 tonnes of food waste generated daily in Nairobi would be sent to landfills to decompose and emit 2,490 kilograms of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and traps heat 21 times more than carbon dioxide (Adhikari et al., 2006). This case study describes the activities of Insectipro in diverting that food waste and analyses the factors contributing to its success. This report shall end by broadly examining lessons that can be studied for successfully managing resources in a more sustainable manner.
Insectipro is a business founded in 2019 to convert food waste into compost and animal feed using insects called the black soldier fly (Government of the Netherlands, 2021). Its food waste conversion activity serves as a bulk of its production, converting 150 tonnes of food waste monthly into compost and feed avoiding the emission of 30,000 kilograms of CO2 equivalent annually (FAO, 2013).
This is significantly relevant as globally one third of edible food worth 1.3 billion tonnes is wasted annually (Gustavasson et al., 2011). Food waste cost the global economy $750 billion and 1.7 gigatonnes CO2 eq worth of emissions in 2007 alone (FAO, 2013). More importantly, food waste emission rose to 90.7 gigatonnes in 2020, contributing 8% of global emissions. (Project Drawdown, c2014). These statistics highlight the notable contributions of food waste to climate change as FAO ranked food waste the third emitter of carbon emissions after China and USA (2013).
The success of Insectipro as a startup generating revenue within a year of setting up has been first attributed to its business model (Kirui, 2020; Quartz Africa, 2021). By operating a low technology and labour intensive business supported by a network of outgrower farmer hubs, it has been able to capitalise on the large market demand for its products — animal feed and compost for the agricultural industry and chitin for the pharmaceutical industry (DW News, c2021; Reuters, 2020; Flou, 2021).
In addition, it has been recognised that Insectipro’s operating costs are further reduced to $0.33 per kilogram compared to its competitors producing at $2 per kilogram due to its advantage of an optimal tropical climate for insect rearing, affordable labour and access to an excess supply of affordable and fresh food waste daily (Untapped Global, 2021).
Two significant factors identified as contributing to the success of Insectipro’s business model are an initial enabling policy in Kenya’s National Guidelines on Nutrition and HIV/AIDS and strategic partnership with scientific establishments and other actors.
The first factor is that before Insectipro began its commercial activities in Kenya, there was an enabling policy in its National Guidelines on Nutrition and HIV/AIDS that encouraged the consumption of insects such as edible termites within households. This was largely as a result that human consumption of insects is recognised as a traditional culture as in many parts of Africa with over 400 different insect species eaten across the continent (van Huis et al., 2013). However, Kenya was the only East African country formally recognising the consumption of insects, categorising it as a common source of protein with meat, milk and fish especially in food insecure homes in Kenya (Munke-Svendsen et al., 2016; Republic of Kenya, 2006).
Due to this initial policy, Insectipro did not struggle in establishing its commercial activity unlike in several countries that adopt the entirety of the international Codex Alimentarius, (international standards relating to food), which does not recognise insect consumption by humans or livestock but perceives insects as impurities, stating they should be avoided in the production of feed and food (Niassy et al., 2018; Halloran et al., 2015).
This law was synonymous with the acceptance of insects as feed in Kenya as citizens were already accustomed to consuming them. Elsewhere, businesses have to aggressively market the use of insects as food and/or feed (Musundire et al., 2021). A study of 957 Kenyan animal farmers by Chia et al. (2020) discovered the awareness and acceptance of insects in feed by over 60% of participants. The added socio-economic benefit, Fiaboe et al. (2020) point out is that 76% poultry farmers who are women, typically with restricted access to agricultural resources compared to their male counterparts, are turning to insect rearing to boost their livelihoods.
The second enabling factor that empowered Insectipro to develop its operating model and expand as a business was its partnership with scientific establishments and investor communities. In partnering with International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Insectipro implements knowledge management principles by establishing a knowledge base in the cultivation and management of its insects to optimum conditions and increase yield in the training of its staff, design of its facility and securing relevant equipment (Quartz Africa, 2020). In addition, with the support of ICIPE, Insectpro was able to connect with financial partners such as the Rockefeller Foundation and the Dutch government (Flou, 2021).
Talash Hubijers testifies that the research support from ICIPE enabled them to partner with animal and vegetable farmers to demonstrate to the Kenyan government the efficacy of their product (Government of Netherlands, 2021). The economic success demonstrated by Insectipro, ICIPE and collaborators resulted in the approval of a more specific law on the use insects as feed and food (Bryne, 2017; Kenya Bureau of Standards, 2020; Fitch Solutions, 2021)
There are concerns about what this law could mean for consumer health (Musundire et al., 2021). However, considering ICIPE and prominent investors such as MIT — backed Sanergy collaborating with KEBS to establish the ‘insect law’ in accordance with World Trade Organisation guidelines, the implications suggest brand protection and exports are a part of further goals and intentions, hence consumer protection is assured (WTO, 2021; Quartz Africa, 2021).
Two broad lessons from Insectipro’s case study in environmental management are commitment to innovation and collaboration.
The first lesson was that in innovating its business model, Insectipro expanded its activity from manufacturing feed for animals and compost for crops to include feeding food insecure humans [with crickets] and contributing to industrial use of chitin from the Black soldier Fly larvae using the US EPA framework for food recovery. In the framework, the most preferred option for contributing the least carbon emissions sits at the top and the least preferred, sits at the bottom (Fig 1). Four of the six sections of the recovery hierarchy denoting minimal environmental impact are covered by Insectipro’s commercial activities (Insectipro, c2021).
Similar to the European Waste Framework Directive (European Parliament Council, 1989), the US EPA Food Recovery acts as a guideline focusing primarily on environmental impact. This has been criticised by economists (Price and Joseph, 2000; Rasmussen et al., 2005) who argue the environmental focus of the framework may be at cost to economic gains. Insectipro by its profits are exemplary in indicating that economic factors can be achieved whilst focusing on the environment. Moreover, investors by backing Insectipro with $1.5 million, have indicated fiscal interest in the waste management business (Quartz Africa, 2021).
Finally, by collaborating with relevant actors, Insectipro confirms the significance of collaboration with stakeholders for successfully managing resources sustainably. Insectipro’s collaboration depicts effectiveness in knowledgement and relational management principles to improve their business operations and products (Ambrecht et al., 2001). The results can be reflected not just in profits but in Insectipro’s contribution to an ecosystem of over 1,500 animal farmers formally recognised to be farming black soldier fly larvae (Kirui, 2020; Nischalke et al., 2020), crop farmers using compost from black soldier fly larvae (Abro et al., 2020; Beesigamukama et al., 2020) and the introduction of the ‘insect’ law that seeks to formalise and promote the informal trade of insects as food and feed (Nelson and De Bruijn, 2005; Musundire et al., 2021).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Grade awarded 67
Comments from Instructor
The best elements of this work are:
- This is an interesting case study using the example of a company to illustrate wider issues around the role of the business sector.
- There is a good analysis of some of the factors contributing to success.
- The essay manages to address the questions set out in the assignment.
To improve your work for next time:
- Something to consider in future essays is the structure of the text. In this case having separate sections on describing the case study, then the analysis of factors influencing success and a separate section on lessons learnt could have
helped with the flow. In its current form the synthesis of lessons learnt gets diluted in the analysis of factors.
- The text provides a rich description of how the company managed to find a market niche and what factors enabled the success. A bit more in-depth reflection on cultural and institutional elements would have been useful, particularly regarding the challenges for transferring or applying these lessons to wider contexts.
My reaction:
*I agree that I should have added mini-subtitles throughout the work. I actually had them and omitted them last minute to meet the word count. (Yes, word count guidelines must be strictly followed to avoid huge penalities). Was it worth it? Obviously not, but I didn’t know that at the time.
*As well, I agree that more context on the cultural and institutional relation to promote insect consumption could have further highlighted Insectipro’s success. One way to do that is by comparing it to a place (like neighbouring Uganda where they want to expand to or West Africa that doesn’t consume as much insects) to consider elements to scale.
*Additionally, a sentence after the statistic on women turning to insect farming to provide further context as to why farmers and women especially accepting insect cultivation was necessary to Insectipro’s success would have further solidified the cultural and societal acceptance point I was attempting to communicate. I mention a point later on about the large number of farmers Insectipro works with and the prempt would have provided more understanding.
*Lastly, Talash Hubijers is Insectipro CEO. I didn’t correctly identify who she was in relation to the company.
One way to include these four points while meeting the word count would have been to remove the first paragraph completely. The essay won’t miss much without it and it releases enough words to include the necessary information.
I am positive had I done these two, I would have a 90+ grade.
Now, you know and can do better.