The J.M. Smucker Company – Alexandre Rehbinder – 2025
Summary
Alex Rehbinder assessed The J.M. Smucker Company’s climate risks for eight key agricultural ingredients and created a strategy to guide the company’s long-term supply chain resilience.
Goals
Alex Rehbinder partnered with The J.M. Smucker Company (JMS) to strengthen the company’s understanding of how climate change may affect its agricultural supply chains. The fellowship aimed to identify and evaluate climate risks for eight key ingredients, providing insight into potential vulnerabilities across both global and domestic sourcing regions. The goal was to build a clear strategy that equips JMS to anticipate future challenges and improve the long-term resilience of its supply network.
Solutions
Alex Rehbinder designed and implemented a climate risk assessment framework tailored to JMS’s priority ingredients using several different resources. He analyzed global crop suitability data, climate models, and commodity trends to evaluate potential threats such as heat stress, drought, and shifting rainfall. Alex also engaged with internal procurement teams and external experts to align technical insights with business needs. A major obstacle was translating complex climate data into practical supply chain risks, which Alex overcame by developing clear risk rationales and standardized methods. This approach not only clarified vulnerabilities but also provided JMS with tools to integrate climate considerations into sourcing decisions.
Potential Impact
Alex Rehbinder’s fellowship provided The J.M. Smucker Company with a clear framework to anticipate climate-related risks across its commodity supply chains. By identifying vulnerabilities in key ingredients and translating scientific data into practical business insights, his work equips the company to make more resilient sourcing decisions. If implemented, this strategy could reduce financial exposure to volatile markets, strengthen supplier relationships, and guide long-term investments that safeguard both ingredient availability and business continuity.
