Southeastern Grocers (SEG) and Relocalize partnered to pilot ice manufacturing in the world’s first autonomous micro-factory, which was recognized by Real Leaders with an Impact Award for Best Collaboration. The partnership helps eliminate middle-mile logistics and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, water waste, and plastic pollution.

Southeastern Grocers is an omnichannel retailer and one of the largest conventional supermarket companies in the U.S. with brands like Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets. This innovative and automated manufacturing process empowers the grocer to scale production and create waste-reduction solutions through the full lifecycle of the product.

“Our collaboration with Relocalize has allowed us to push the boundaries on what’s possible in our industry,” Dewayne Rabon, chief merchandising officer for Southeastern Grocers, tells Real Leaders. “By pioneering this revolutionary approach to ice production with the world’s first AI-powered micro-factory, we’ve enhanced the quality of our products and significantly reduced waste and carbon emissions.”

Here’s how it works: Relocalize sells automated food production platforms as a service (PaaS) to grocery and convenience retailers. These micro-factories (RELOs) are located at retailer distribution and fulfillment centers, where they produce CPG products on-demand for 100–200 retail stores. Each RELO performs all the processes of a traditional factory (e.g., production, processing, material handling, packaging, palletizing, inventory management, food safety) at about 1/20th scale. By eliminating middle-mile transportation and 100% of production labor with robotics, the retailer is supplied with fresher products at a much lower environmental and economic cost. Relocalize says its goal is to disrupt the $1+ trillion ice and beverage CPG category by hyper-localizing production to eliminate transportation CO2 and waste. 

“We set out on a mission to decarbonize food supply chains,” says Wayne McIntyre, CEO and co-founder of Relocalize. “Fully autonomous, hyper-local food manufacturing is now a reality. This ice microfactory represents a fundamental shift in how packaged food is produced and distributed, ushering in the era of the one-step food journey from production to consumption.”

Through the partnership, SEG has introduced Party Cubes, which the duo says is the world’s first hyper-local, certified plastic-negative, packaged ice produced on-demand. The partners say this super-premium cubed ice stores better and costs less for consumers compared to traditional bagged ice, and the smaller, leak-proof packaging is 100% recycle-ready. For every one pound of plastic used in packaging, Relocalize will remove and recycle two pounds of ocean plastic. The process produces zero water waste (compared to 50% normally) and reduces trucking carbon dioxide emissions by 90%.

Highlights of the SEG-Relocalize Partnership

• 100% of production labor is self-contained to the microfactory at one of SEG’s distribution centers in Jacksonville, Florida.
•   Packaging is 100% recycle-ready and plastic-negative.
•   Relocalize removes 2 pounds of ocean plastic for each pound of plastic used.
•   Ice quality is improved and costs are reduced compared to traditional bagged ice.
•   It produces zero water waste and reduces trucking CO2 emissions by 90%.

By Real Leaders

The world’s leading industrialized nations are taking these actions together.

The Group of Seven’s leaders gathered for the 50th G7 Summit in June 2024 in Apulia, Italy. The G7 is made up of leading industrialized nations Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. Here are several actions on which they pledged to collaborate.

Promoting Economic Resilience and Security

The G7 is looking to take further steps to protect workers, industries, and the investments being made from being undermined by unfair practices, which create global spillovers that undercut market firms and lead to supply chain dependencies in several sectors. This includes:

• Leveling the playing field and protecting economic security
• Promoting resilient supply chains and reducing critical dependencies
• Protecting critical and sensitive technologies
  

Investing in Developing Countries’ Future

The G7 is taking steps to scale up support to developing countries and accelerate progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These include:

• Backing the Nairobi-Washington Vision that calls on the international community to step up support for developing countries to make critical investments and reforms
• Planning contributions to multilateral development banks which once approved domestically would make it possible for the World Bank to boost lending by $70 billion over the next decade
• Reaffirming their commitment to unlocking public and private capital for investments in partner countries
  

Accelerating the Clean Energy Transition

The G7 is accelerating its work to address the challenges of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. G7 members reaffirmed ambitious COP28 commitments to triple renewable energy capacity, double global energy efficiency by 2030, and strengthen energy security. These efforts include:

• A first-time commitment to phase out unabated coal power generation in energy systems during the first half of the 2030s, a target to deploy 1,500 gigawatts of long-duration energy storage by 2030, and building on the COP28 pledge to triple globally installed renewable energy by 2030
• Building clean and resilient supply chains through its Partnership for Resilient and Inclusive Supply-Chain Enhancement, launched by the G7 last year, which supports low- and middle-income countries to drive the clean energy transition and promote resilient supply chains
• Recognizing nuclear energy as a clean/zero-emissions energy source that can reduce dependence on fossil fuels to improve global energy security, and pledging to support multilateral efforts to strengthen the resilience of nuclear supply chains
  

Promoting Health and Food Security

The G7 continues to lead global efforts to address the food security crisis and support strong, resilient, and responsive health systems around the world. Efforts include:

•   Launching the Apulia Food Security Initiative, which addresses structural barriers to food security and nutrition and builds more resilient, sustainable, and productive agriculture and food systems
• Transforming global health security financing by calling for at least $2 billion in new pledges for the Pandemic Fund, and pledging equal to or greater than that for catalytic financing, which helps developing countries build pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities
• Expanding immunization coverage through a sustainable replenishment of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance with the goal of significantly expanding immunization coverage globally this year
• Addressing the emergence, spread, and impact of antimicrobial resistance
  

Investing in Childcare

The G7 is tackling the unequal gender distribution of care work, which contributes to gender inequality. The G7 committed to support, by 2035, at least 200 million more women to join the workforce by investing in efforts to close the global gap in the availability of childcare. G7 partners have contributed more than $100 million to the World Bank to support high-quality investments in childcare globally.

Enhancing the Partnership on Migration

The G7 affirmed a collective commitment to addressing migration. Leaders endorsed a three-pronged approach focused on addressing root causes of irregular migration, strengthening safe and regular migration pathways, enhancing border management and enforcement, and curbing transnational organized crime.

Cooperating on Artificial Intelligence

The G7 is building partnerships around the world to ensure the benefits of artificial intelligence and other technologies are widely shared while mitigating risks. G7 leaders affirmed the importance of international partnerships to bridge the digital divide and ensure people everywhere access the benefits of AI and other technologies to make scientific advancements, promote sustainable development, improve public health, accelerate the clean energy transition, and more. G7 labor ministers will develop an action plan to leverage AI’s potential to increase quality jobs and empower workers while addressing its potential challenges and risks to workers and labor markets.

Promoting AI Safety

G7 leaders committed to stepping up efforts to enhance interoperability between their approaches to AI governance and risk management. This includes deepening cooperation between the G7 countries to advance international standards for AI development and deployment. The G7 welcomed the establishment of a Semiconductors G7 Point of Contact Group to bolster its coordination on issues impacting this critical sector underpinning the AI ecosystem.

For the 50th G7 Summit, leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States as well as the European Union gathered in June 2024 in Apulia, Italy, to set global priorities.

Learn more about the G7 Summit at g7italy.it/en/summit.

By Real Leaders

Club de Madrid, the world’s largest forum of democratic former presidents and prime ministers, is calling for collaborative efforts to fight climate change in its latest Leadership for Net Zero report. Club de Madrid presented the report before King Felipe VI and several high authorities in Spain earlier in 2024.

“In the journey towards net zero, decarbonizing global supply chains stands as a formidable challenge,” says Helena Viñes-Fiestas, co-chair of the Net Zero Policy Task Force. “While some may opt for the easy route of offsetting, true progress demands more. 

What is Leadership for Net Zero?

The Leadership for Net Zero initiative is an international platform for fostering reflection and mobilizing multidisciplinary expertise in implementing practical strategies toward achieving net zero. It brings together political, business, and civil society leaders to address the intertwined challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and inequality.

The initiative convened three working groups led by distinguished figures from political, business, and civil society sectors, including Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo of South Korea, President Jorge Quiroga of Bolivia, President Felipe Calderón of Mexico, and President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica. 

Leadership for Net Zero’s final report comprises a summary of the recommendations outlined by the three working groups with conclusions and next steps.

Key Recommendations

The report provides a set of recommendations for current leaders across government, civil society, and business spheres. It builds on the indispensable role of democratic leadership in securing and maintaining citizens’ backing for the transformative actions needed to achieve net zero. Key recommendations include:

• Business leadership. Business leaders are urged to decarbonize supply chains, including enhancing measurement and reporting, setting science-based targets, and integrating climate criteria into procurement and supplier contracts. The report also emphasizes the importance of supporting small and medium enterprises, ensuring just transition strategies, and advocating for policy support.
• Political leadership. A concerted global effort must mobilize finance, prioritize equity, and enhance urban resilience. The report emphasizes the need to share responsibility and empower citizens, revise economic metrics for sustainability, promote positive narratives for climate action, and implement carbon pricing  initiatives.
• Citizen leadership. Recommendations focus on climate finance for vulnerable communities, global governance for climate finance justice, and empowering citizens to participate in decision-making processes, demand action from governments and companies, and rethink economic and social models to create a sustainable future.
  
  

What’s Next? 

Club de Madrid calls for collaborative efforts between governments, businesses, and civil society to prioritize citizen engagement, equitable distribution of resources, and integration of climate action with broader socio-economic development goals. Leaders across all sectors must observe these recommendations and take decisive action towards net zero, safeguarding the planet for future generations.

In response to these challenges, Club de Madrid will continue to promote these recommendations, advocate for climate neutrality, and mobilize stakeholders through high-level advocacy or public information campaigns.

About Club de Madrid

Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of democratic former presidents and prime ministers who leverage their individual and collective leadership experience and global reach to strengthen inclusive democratic practice and improve the well-being of people around the world. As a nonpartisan and international nonprofit organization, it counts on the hands-on governance experience of more than 100 members from over 70 countries, along with a global network of advisers and partners across all sectors of society.

Dive Deeper

Read Leadership for Net Zero’s full report here.

Real Leaders: What can business leaders do to promote peace without it becoming too partisan? 

T.D. Jakes: Business leaders are uniquely positioned to become forces for good and positive change in their communities and throughout the country in a broad spectrum of areas. Many communities have benefited immensely from the work of business leaders who use their vast talent and clout to champion civic, educational, charitable, and humanitarian causes.  

Inequality is the soft underbelly of our nation. The United States has deep inequalities in many areas, including housing, education, healthcare, and criminal justice. These are issues that continue to marginalize and frustrate communities. They are leading triggers of crime, violence, illiteracy, and unrest. As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Riots are the voice of the unheard.”

Business leaders can enhance peace in their communities and almost anywhere by proactively addressing issues of inequality. They could begin by addressing wage inequality at their own companies. People of color make less overall than their White counterparts for doing the same work. According to the Society of Human Resource Management, Black men make 87 cents for every dollar made by White men. Among Hispanic men, it is 91 cents for every dollar earned by White men. 

In addition, business leaders could develop creative strategies to provide gainful employment to the recently incarcerated, arguably the most marginalized group in our society. The United States incarcerates more people than any other country on the planet. Most of these returning citizens find it impossible to re-enter society because their records deny them access to housing and jobs, putting them on a path to recidivism.  

In many communities, business leaders sit on civic and community boards and champion charitable causes. And that is as it should be. But there are emerging opportunities to serve in ways that could have ramifications for peace. A growing number of communities have civilian oversight committees that police the work of law enforcement agencies. Business leaders could play a critical role here by sitting on these committees and looking for issues of wrongdoing or disparities in law enforcement.   

What leadership traits are needed in the 21st century?

Many of the traits that have helped leaders and their organizations thrive for centuries will serve us well in the 21st century. However, I believe there are some that we need to pay attention to now more than ever. These include:

Adaptability. Our society is evolving rapidly. There are some things we can foresee: collapsing industries, disappearing jobs, an increasingly fragile environment, and an education system that appears to struggle with meeting the needs of our children or competing with other advanced countries like China and Scandinavian nations like Norway and Finland. Then there are the unexpected — like the pandemic, the worst in more than a century. The pandemic brought the best out of many leaders by forcing them to pivot. Many of the nation’s most prominent colleges and universities shut down their campuses but found a way to continue to engage stakeholders through teaching, research, and service. Many of our largest corporations took a similar approach. 

Inclusivity. Our nation is more diverse than it’s ever been. A great 21st century leader must have the ability to work with people from all backgrounds — racial, ethnic, nationality, physical or mental ability, and all kinds of life experiences. The last 60 years have taught us that our greatest strength as a nation is our diversity. But it is not enough to merely hire a diverse team. You must be strategic and purposeful in utilizing them, including their voices in key decisions, and giving them seats at the table for the betterment of the organization. Remember, diversity invites a person to the party; inclusion asks them to dance. Leaders who fail to embrace differences do so at their peril. 

Character. Many recent scandals, including the Me Too movement and well-documented instances of improper behavior, have pushed character back to the top of the list of desired traits for leaders. Character is synonymous with trustworthiness. It is symbolic of good leadership, integrity, and honor. A leader’s character can sink or buoy an organization’s reputation.

Visionary. The most successful leaders in the 21st century are those who can see around the corner and look far into the future. But it’s one thing to have a vision; it’s another to communicate that vision and inspire your team. Your ego must be sturdy enough to withstand all kinds of feedback about your vision. And you have to show the members of your team that you care enough about them and take a personal interest in them to solicit their feedback. Engaging with employees is critical to morale and company success.

What new work opportunities and jobs could help promote peace?

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in five adults experienced mental illness in 2020. Let that sink in. We’ve had many instances in recent years in which mentally ill individuals were needlessly shot in confrontations with police, leading to tension in that community. Mental health workers could play a huge role in de-escalating some of these confrontations by educating and guiding authorities. Social workers, too, are some of our nation’s great unsung heroes. They are advocates, champions who help people overcome many of life’s toughest challenges, such as poverty, discrimination, addiction, re-entry and recidivism issues, unemployment, and disability. They play a critical role in averting crises. We live in an age in which the ranks of the marginalized are increasing steadily. Social workers will play an essential role in helping meet the needs of these groups and serving as their bridge to society. Consider approaching mental health or social workers to advise your board or help with your social impact strategy.