Brief: Perfect Day adds Leonardo DiCaprio as sustainability advisor

• Alt-dairy startup Perfect Day has unveiled a new advisory board comprising household names such as Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former UNICEF executive director and US agriculture secretary Ann Veneman.
• The Sustainability & Health Advisory Council will “guide Perfect Day on matters of health and wellness and the environment” and “hold it accountable to ensure that business and global impact go hand-in-hand,” the company said.
• Perfect Day also released results of a life cycle assessment which indicates its ‘non-animal whey protein’ generates as much as 97% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional dairy production, according to the startup. 

Why it matters:

San Francisco-based Perfect Day ferments component dairy proteins such as whey and casein from fungi. It supplies these to third-party manufacturers to produce ‘cow-less’ ice creams and other alt-dairy products.

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In addition to acting, DiCaprio is a recognized activist on ecological issues such as anthropogenic climate change, biodiversity loss, and renewable energy. As an investor, he has backed farmed seafood startup LoveTheWild, recycling tech platform Rubicon, and beverage brand Runa, which supports indigenous farmers and reforestation in the Amazon.

“A full-fledged response to climate change must bring innovation to all aspects of our daily lives, including to the foods we consume,” DiCaprio said in a statement.

“Perfect Day’s forward-looking vision offers a new model for reducing the impact that our diets have on the planet. I’m pleased to be part of their advisory council and work together to support our shared urgent environmental mission.”