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Sustainable production is becoming an increasingly important issue in the process industries. In the cane sugar industry, pressure for sustainable production has come largely from the importers of ethanol from sugarcane. This has focused attention on sustainable production in the sugar industry in general. Some of the major producers of white sugar are aware of the advantages in the market place of sustainable manufacturing processes in terms of brand enhancement and are using the low carbon footprint of sugar to their advantage. This paper aims to introduce the main elements of sustainability and the major sustainability issues facing producers. The estimation of the carbon footprint for raw and refined sugar production is described and the aspects of production affecting greenhouse gas emissions are identified. Opportunities for refiners in terms of reducing the carbon footprint of their products and the implications are described. Attempts to certify production as sustainable have led to the need for formal certifiable sustainability standards in the sugar industry. The process of developing credible sustainability standards is described. Substantial progress has been made in this respect by the Better Sugar Cane Initiative (now referred to as Bonsucro) in the development of standards for the certification of sustainable production, paving the way for auditing and certification in 2011.
P. W. Rein (2011) studied this question.