Second Opinions
“I'm delighted to support the FDF's second progress report on its Five-Fold
Environmental Ambition, setting out the food and drink sector's environmental
achievements in the past year."
View the full statement of support from
The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Committee on Climate Change
“The Committee on Climate Change has identified significant
potential for emissions reductions in industry going forward. We
therefore welcome the commitment of FDF to deep emissions
cuts over the next decade. There is likely to be particular scope as
regards energy efficiency improvement and the use of renewable
forms of energy.
We will work with Government and FDF to
understand better the precise scope of potential cuts and the appropriate
incentives
that will encourage this to be delivered in practice.”
David Kennedy, Chief Executive, Committee on Climate Change
Environment Agency
“We are pleased to see the progress that FDF members have
made in helping to deliver the 
Five-fold Environmental Ambition.
Improving resource efficiency is a vital issue for the food and
drink sector as together we work to ensure that resources
and the environment are protected and the effects of climate
change are mitigated. We are excited to be working with
operators and partners in the sector on a range of new opportunities for water,
waste and energy reuse and minimisation schemes.
“Moving forward, our work with FDF and others to improve environmental
management performance in the sector will be a priority. We will soon be
launching new environmental management and training tools on our NetRegs
website. These products will help all food and drink businesses, including
SMEs,
to ensure that minimum standards are met and the risks of pollution are avoided.
“We join you in celebrating your success and look forward to continuing to work
together on these vitally important themes.”
Tricia Henton, Director of Environment & Business, Environment Agency
FareShare
“Being a strategic partner of FDF for the past two years, we
have had the opportunity to work
closely with the Federation
and to see first hand its commitment to achieving the Five-fold
Environmental Ambition.
“FDF's commitment to promoting the waste hierarchy within
this ambition has been extremely important to FareShare as an organisation that
provides an avoidance solution. FareShare has responded to this support and has
scaled up its service to be able to provide all FDF members with the
opportunity
to
avoid food waste.
“The challenge to FDF members, and the food industry as a whole, is now to grasp
the opportunity that FareShare offers to complete their ethical supply chain by
ensuring that food that cannot be sold, but can be eaten, is redistributed
wherever
possible to those in need within our communities.”
Tony Lowe, Chief Executive Officer, FareShare
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NISP
“NISP has been working with FDF to identify accessible anaerobic
digestion and composting
outlets for the waste produced by
food manufacturers and is encouraged by the progress made to
date on its Five-fold Environmental Ambition.
Much like our own
members, FDF members are contributing towards the development
of a low-carbon, sustainable economy through more efficient use
of resources such as energy, material streams and water, as well as cutting
down
on transport and eliminating waste from their processes.
However, there is
still
some way to go. Having worked with a number of food and drinks manufacturers,
including FDF members, we know there are enormous environmental benefits yet to
be achieved by embracing new technologies and methodologies such as industrial
symbiosis.”
Peter Laybourn, Programme Director for the National Industrial Symbiosis
Programme (NISP)
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Envirowise
“Signatories to the Federation House Commitment have made
encouraging progress towards
the industry's overall water
reduction target of 20% by 2020.
“It is hoped the significant cost savings and volume reductions
already achieved will motivate others to join the Commitment
and help further boost water efficiency in the food and drink
sector. Actions taken by participants range from low-cost, quick-win solutions
to those that require investment or longer lead-in times.
New signatories will
be
able to share in this experience and learn techniques which could help them to
save both money and water.”
Simon Drury, Strategic Partnerships Director, Envirowise
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Forum for the Future
“Forum for the Future is pleased to see the tangible progress
being made by FDF members 
towards the Five-fold
Environmental Ambition. It's also great to see the progress
brought to life in the shape of the diverse case studies included
in this progress report. These studies are also important as many
spell out the clear business benefits that can arise from a
pro-active approach to tackling environmental issues.
“Whilst progress is broadly on track to meet the five goals, two years into
the
programme we are pleased to see a commitment to review the original scale of
the Ambition. Food and drink companies hold one of the keys to more sustainable
patterns of consumption, and their supply chains are particularly vulnerable to
future shocks from both climate change and resource shortages.
It is critical
that
FDF celebrates and builds on the successes to date. But given the current
urgency
of the environmental debate it is equally critical that members look hard to
identify
areas where progress can be accelerated and transformative change delivered.”
Dr. Sally Uren, Deputy Chief Executive, Forum for the Future
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WRAP
“WRAP has continued to work closely with FDF to support its
Five-Fold Environmental Ambition, 
particularly through the ongoing
waste prevention review programme.
“These reviews have played an important role in helping us identify
examples of best practice which are then shared across industry.
They have also allowed us to discover 'hotspots' where the greatest
opportunities exist to make positive changes, such as in the packaging used to
supply raw materials. As a result, we plan to work with FDF to develop industry
working groups to collectively tackle these challenges and deliver tangible
change.
“There is a growing requirement for everyone to move their mindsets away from
the
end problem of waste management to focus more on resource efficiency across the
entire supply chain in order to deliver the greatest economic and carbon
benefits.
“Courtauld Commitment Phase 2 will be instrumental in that change and we're
hoping to receive the support of FDF members to make it happen.”
Liz Goodwin, Chief Executive, WRAP
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The Carbon Trust
“We believe there are significant opportunities to cut carbon
emissions in the food and drink 
sector and strongly support FDF's
commitment in this area. We are delighted to be working with
FDF to help the sector to continue to realise these opportunities
through our Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator Programme.
This aims to unlock major new carbon savings in industries
such as dairy, bakery and confectionery. Not only will the programme generate
significant carbon and cost savings, it will also help to reduce the carbon
footprint
of the food and drink products that the UK consumes.”
Michael Rea, Chief Operating Officer, Carbon Trust
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Green Futures
Ambition is a wonderful thing. Over the years, many companies and organisations
have published environmental reports in which the word 'ambition' features
prominently. Read the
Green Futures opinion.
Martin Wright, Editor in Chief, Green Futures, Forum for the Future
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Partner websites
- The Carbon Trust was set up by Government in 2001 as
an independent company to accelerate the move to a
low-carbon economy.
- Enviros are UK based environmental compliance
consultants who administer the FDF Climate Change
Agreement.
- Envirowise is a Government-funded programme
dedicated to putting the sustainable use of resources
at the heart of UK business practice. It also acts as the
independent administrator of the Federation House
Commitment: www.envirowise.gov.uk
- FDF supports FareShare and its work to divert surplus
food to people in need.
- NISP is a free business opportunity programme
designed to deliver bottom line, environmental and
social benefits
- WRAP works closely with FDF and member companies
on a range of waste prevention and resource-efficiency
initiatives, including the Courtauld Commitment.
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More Information
Last reviewed: 07 Dec 2009