The Ultimate Guide to: Sustainable Supply

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 5 specialityfoodmagazine.com 68% OF CONSUMERS VIEW SUSTAINABLE FOOD POSITIVELY , WITH 55% VIEWING IT AS BEING BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT SODEXO There ishope, and thepublicareasking for this. Those of us inthe speciality sector knowthat customerswill pay apremiumif they see value,wehaveaduty toensure that customerswill activelypay for anenvironmental premium asmuchas theydo for tasteor tradition SHANE HOLLAND, CHAIR OF BOROUGH MARKET Ruth Galpine, programmes director at Soil Association clarifies the sustainable supply chain mission SUSTAINABILITY DRIVERS Sustainability in supply chains is being propelled by two main forces: 1 Firstly, businesses are increasingly required to operatemore sustainably and to evidence that through credible reporting. 2 Secondly, there is growing consumer awareness of what they’re eating, where it came from, and its environmental impact. In short, one driver is policy and legislation; the other is that customers and supply chain partners expect, and want, progress. Clear, explicit communication of action on sustainability is now valued and increasingly expected by brand and business customers, and in some cases required by customers and supply chain partners. Whether requested in tender applications, procurement contracts, or embedded within a sustainability strategy, this is increasingly helpful positioning for businesses in competitive markets. THE VALUE OF THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY Beth Mander, retail programme manager at Ellen Macarthur Foundation explains the concept The Ellen Macarthur Foundation exists to accelerate a transition to a circular economy. By that we mean enabling people to live the lives they do now, enjoying products and services, but in a way that is decoupled from depleting finite resources and polluting the world. The easy comparator is to think of today’s systems as linear. We take stuff out the ground, we make stuff with it, and then we throw it away. So it’s very wasteful. It is polluting, and it is depleting the natural environment, soil health and more. Currently, we’re working with an extractive supply chain. The people doing a lot of the work are the least compensated for it, and then that has risks compounding it because actually then there’s no resilience at that level – this means that the supply chain more broadly is at risk. As ever, it is a hugely complex system. There’s no silver bullets. But we need to start to think about investing in more sustainable circular ideas such as co-products – byproducts of food manufacturing being resources, not waste. THE ORGANIC FOOD AND DRINK SECTOR GENERATED AROUND £3.7 BILLION IN UK VALUE SALES IN 2024, WHICH WAS AN INCREASE OF 7.3% FROM 2023. INDEPENDENT RETAILERS AND MAJOR RETAIL SAW THE LARGEST GROWTH IN VALUE SALES OF 9% AND 8% RESPECTIVELY, WITH MAJOR RETAIL SALES REACHING £2.4 BILLION GOV.CO.UK 10% 13% 35% 41% 6% CUT DOWN/AVOID EATING MEAT OR DAIRY (IE HIGH CARBON FOOTPRINT) BUY FOODS THAT ARE IN SEASON CUT DOWN ON FOOD WASTE BY COMPOSTING OR RECYCLING LEFTOVER FOOD CUT DOWN ON WASTE BY PLANNING WHAT FOOD I BUY BUY FOOD PRODUCED LOCALLY REGULARITY OF UK SHOPPERS’ SUSTAINABLE HABITS WHICH