Report on the TELUS and Welch’s Strategic Partnership: Advancing Sustainable Development Goals through Digital Transformation in Agri-Food Supply Chains

1.0 Executive Summary

A 10-year strategic partnership, commencing in 2025, has been established between TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods and Welch’s. This collaboration centers on the deployment of TELUS’s proprietary digital platform to automate and manage supply chain compliance for Welch’s global operations. The initiative represents a significant advancement in agri-tech, directly addressing key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those concerning responsible production, innovation, and global partnerships. This report analyzes the partnership’s structure, its alignment with the SDGs, and its implications for the broader food industry.

2.0 Strategic Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The partnership is fundamentally aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By integrating advanced technology into a global food supply chain, the initiative provides a scalable model for corporate contributions to sustainability.

2.1 SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

The core objective of the partnership is to enhance supply chain integrity, which is central to SDG 12. The collaboration promotes sustainable production patterns through:

• Enhanced Traceability: The platform provides unprecedented visibility into the provenance of food products, from Welch’s 700 grape growers to consumers in 40 countries.
• Automated Compliance: By replacing manual processes with AI-driven workflows, the system ensures adherence to complex international and domestic regulatory standards, reducing waste and operational inefficiencies.
• Data-Driven Sustainability Reporting: The technology enables the collection and analysis of data required for transparent sustainability reporting, encouraging the adoption of sustainable practices (Target 12.6).

2.2 SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

This partnership exemplifies the application of innovation to build resilient infrastructure and promote sustainable industrialization (Target 9.2). Key contributions include:

1. Digital Transformation: The initiative represents a significant digital upgrade for the agricultural sector, moving from traditional methods to a technology-first approach.
2. Building Resilient Supply Chains: The platform strengthens Welch’s supply chain against disruptions by ensuring real-time monitoring and validation, a critical component of resilient infrastructure.
3. Fostering Agri-Tech Innovation: The partnership cements TELUS’s role as a leader in the agri-tech sector, promoting investment in research and development for sustainable agricultural technologies (Target 9.5).

2.3 SDG 2: Zero Hunger and SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The efficiency gains from this technological integration support broader economic and food security goals.

• Increased Productivity (SDG 8): Automation and streamlined compliance reduce operational friction, enhancing productivity for Welch’s and its network of growers, thereby contributing to economic growth (Target 8.2).
• Sustainable Food Production (SDG 2): By optimizing supply chain management, the platform helps ensure the stability and efficiency of food production systems, which is crucial for long-term food security (Target 2.4).

2.4 SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The collaboration between a technology firm (TELUS) and an agri-food cooperative (Welch’s) is a model multi-stakeholder partnership (Target 17.17). It demonstrates how cross-sectoral alliances can leverage technology and capital to achieve sustainable development outcomes on a global scale.

3.0 Financial and Operational Framework

The partnership is supported by TELUS’s robust financial health and a prudent operational strategy, ensuring its long-term viability and contribution to sustainability targets.

3.1 Financial Capacity

TELUS’s Q1 2025 financial results indicate a strong capacity to undertake long-term, capital-intensive projects aligned with sustainability.

• Agri-Tech Revenue Growth: The segment reported a 20% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Projected Free Cash Flow: $2.15 billion projected for 2025, providing ample capital for reinvestment in innovation.
• Shareholder Returns: A 7% dividend increase signals financial stability and a disciplined capital allocation strategy.

3.2 Phased Implementation

The compliance platform will be deployed in phases across Welch’s operations. This approach mitigates risk and ensures a steady return on investment, aligning financial prudence with the long-term objectives of the sustainability-focused partnership.

4.0 Global Scope and Systemic Impact

The international nature of the partnership provides a critical testbed for scaling sustainable technologies globally.

4.1 International Application

With Welch’s distributing products in 40 countries, TELUS’s platform will be adapted to diverse and complex regulatory environments. This process will validate its scalability and position it as a preferred solution for multinational corporations seeking to standardize their global compliance and sustainability efforts.

4.2 Portfolio Synergy

The compliance platform is part of a broader TELUS portfolio that includes AI-driven retail execution, trade promotion management, and livestock analytics. This creates a synergistic effect, where data and insights from one domain can enhance value in others, offering clients like Welch’s a comprehensive suite of tools to optimize their entire value chain in line with sustainability principles.

5.0 Conclusion: A Model for Corporate-Led Sustainability

The TELUS-Welch’s partnership is more than a commercial agreement; it is a strategic initiative that operationalizes key Sustainable Development Goals. By leveraging digital innovation to build transparent, compliant, and efficient food supply chains, the collaboration establishes a powerful precedent. It demonstrates that corporate partnerships, grounded in technological advancement and strategic foresight, can serve as primary drivers for achieving the 2030 Agenda. This model of turning data into trust is essential for building a resilient and sustainable global food system.

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

The article directly connects to SDG 2 by focusing on the agricultural sector, food supply chains, and the challenges of feeding a growing population. The partnership between TELUS and Welch’s aims to improve the efficiency, productivity, and integrity of food production through technology, which is central to ensuring sustainable food systems. The text explicitly states that TELUS is poised to lead as “the world grapples with the dual challenges of feeding a growing population and ensuring supply chain integrity.”

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

This goal is addressed through the article’s emphasis on enhancing economic productivity via technological innovation. The TELUS platform uses “AI-driven workflows” to replace manual processes, leading to increased productivity and operational efficiency. The article highlights TELUS’s Agri-Tech segment’s “20% year-over-year revenue increase” and its contribution to the company’s overall financial health and growth, demonstrating how technological upgrading in a key sector like agriculture drives economic progress.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The core of the article revolves around innovation and the upgrading of industrial infrastructure. The TELUS-Welch’s partnership is a prime example of “digital transformation” in the food industry. By implementing a platform with “advanced analytics” and “real-time monitoring,” the collaboration is building a resilient and technologically advanced digital infrastructure for Welch’s supply chain. This aligns with the goal of making industries more sustainable and efficient through technology.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

The partnership directly addresses the need for sustainable production patterns by focusing on supply chain transparency, traceability, and compliance. The article notes that “consumers and regulators demand visibility into the provenance of food products.” The TELUS solution provides this visibility, helping a large transnational company like Welch’s adopt sustainable practices and ensure the integrity of its products distributed across 40 countries.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The entire article is a case study on the power of partnerships to achieve strategic goals. The “10-year collaboration” between TELUS, a technology company, and Welch’s, an agriculture and consumer goods company, exemplifies a multi-stakeholder, private-private partnership. This alliance leverages the unique strengths of each entity to tackle complex challenges in the global food supply chain, demonstrating a model for achieving broader sustainability objectives.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger

   • Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production.
     
     Explanation: The partnership aims to “future-proof Welch’s operations against evolving standards” and “enhance productivity” through digitalization. This directly supports the creation of more resilient and productive agricultural systems, especially in the context of challenges like climate change mentioned in the article.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation.
     
     Explanation: The article describes the partnership as a “bold leap forward” in “digital transformation.” The use of an “AI-driven” platform to automate processes is a clear example of technological upgrading to boost productivity and drive economic growth in the agri-tech sector.

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes.
     
     Explanation: The collaboration involves upgrading Welch’s supply chain infrastructure with a digital platform. This technology makes the process more efficient (“reduce operational friction”) and sustainable by ensuring compliance and transparency, which the article calls redefining “compliance as a digital asset.”

4. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • Target 12.6: Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle.
     
     Explanation: Welch’s, a company operating with “700 grape growers” and distributing in “40 countries,” is adopting the TELUS platform to manage “traceability mandates” and “cross-border compliance requirements.” This is a direct adoption of sustainable practices to ensure supply chain integrity and transparency.

5. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.
     
     Explanation: The “2025 partnership between TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods and Welch’s” is the central subject of the article. This “10-year collaboration” is presented as a “strategic redefinition” of industry practices, showcasing an effective private-private partnership model.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. For Target 2.4 (Sustainable food production):

   • Implied Indicator: Increase in agricultural productivity. The article states a key goal of the partnership is to “enhance productivity.”
   • Implied Indicator: Adoption of resilient agricultural technologies. The implementation of the TELUS platform across Welch’s network of “700 grape growers” serves as a measure of adoption.

2. For Target 8.2 (Economic productivity):

   • Mentioned Indicator: Growth rate of revenue/value added. The article explicitly mentions a “20% year-over-year revenue increase” for TELUS’s Agri-Tech segment as a sign of its success and growth.
   • Mentioned Indicator: Free cash flow. The article points to “$2.15 billion in projected free cash flow for 2025” as a sign of financial health and capacity for reinvestment.

3. For Target 9.4 (Sustainable industries):

   • Implied Indicator: Level of investment in innovation and technology. The article mentions TELUS’s commitment to innovation and reinvestment to avoid “technological obsolescence.”
   • Implied Indicator: Scope of technology deployment. The platform’s phased deployment across Welch’s operations in “40 countries” is an indicator of upgrading industrial processes on a global scale.

4. For Target 12.6 (Adoption of sustainable practices):

   • Implied Indicator: Number of companies implementing sustainability reporting/practices. The partnership itself, involving a major company (Welch’s), is an indicator. The potential for scaling the technology to “other markets” and “multinationals” is also noted.
   • Mentioned Indicator: Implementation of traceability and compliance systems. The article describes the platform’s function of “automated validation and real-time monitoring” as a key feature for ensuring supply chain integrity.

5. For Target 17.17 (Effective partnerships):

   • Mentioned Indicator: The existence and nature of the partnership. The “10-year collaboration” is a concrete indicator.
   • Implied Indicator: Financial and strategic value generated by the partnership. The article states the partnership is “expected to contribute significantly to TELUS’s revenue stream” and is a “strategic masterstroke.”

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: ainvest.com