FDF’S Sustainability Convention Highlights Collaborative Efforts To Tackle Climate Change

The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) hosted its second annual Sustainability Convention on Tuesday 10 November to address the challenges and issues associated with climate change including food security, potential business risks, UK climate change policy and impacts on food and drink manufacturers.

Opened by Ian Wright, FDF’s Director General, the event featured expert speakers, best-practice examples and company case studies from the Met Office, DECC, WRAP, DNV-GL and companies including Nestlé UK, Tesco, McCain Foods, McDonald’s and Wyke Farms.

Supply chain collaboration emerged as a key theme, as food and drink companies face increasing pressures on resources and increased risk from investing in new technologies to adapt to climate change.

The importance of seeing climate change risks as a business opportunity and the impact of collaborative industry action was also discussed. FDF announced it is currently reviewing its Five-fold Environmental Ambition, with the aim of launching a new set of ambitions and targets for the sector in early 2016.

The delegates also participated in workshop sessions on low carbon roadmaps, climate change adaptation and how to prioritise action, run by experts from SLR Consulting, Environment Agency, FDF and BIS. Kelda Water Services was the event’s headline sponsor.

Barbara Gallani, FDF’s Policy and Sustainability Director, said: “No individual player can succeed in tackling sustainability challenges on their own so we were delighted to bring together so many leading edge companies and experts at our annual Sustainability Convention.

“FDF and its members believe that collaboration across the food and drink supply chain is essential to building resilience and tackling the challenges of world population growth, increased pressures on natural resources and the need to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We are seeing increased collaborative efforts within the sector and innovative solutions are being developed in all parts of the supply chain.”

Katie Schofield, Key Account Manager, Manufacturing, Kelda Water Services, said: “Climate change is a major challenge for water security. Studies have predicted global temperatures will rise, leading to a substantial reduction in water resources. At Kelda Water Services Retail we work with our customers to limit the effects of climate change, through assessing water usage and looking at feasible ways to reduce and reuse water throughout the manufacturing process. The FDF Sustainability Convention gave us an opportunity to discuss and highlight the issues presented to water usage and security in the future.”