Five-fold Environmental Ambition: Progress Report 2011
This report marks a key developmental stage in the
life of FDF's Five-fold Environmental Ambition.
- Our core ambitions
- Introduction - Nick Bunker, President UK & Ireland, Kraft Foods and
Chair of FDF's Sustainability Steering Group
- Foreword - James Paice MP, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food
Our core ambitions
Launched in 2007, our Five-fold Environmental Ambition was founded on the need
for greater resource efficiency in our sector's own operations.
Our performance to date is evidence of the commitment of our members and of the
tangible business benefits which improved performance brings. This is all the
more important at a time of rising commodity prices and other cost increases,
which is why we reviewed and updated our targets last year, as part of our
industry's wider contribution to generating
sustainable growth.
Revised targets following 2010 review
- Achieve a 35% absolute reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 against a 1990 baseline
- Seek to send zero food and packaging waste to landfill at the latest by 2015 and
make a significant contribution to WRAP's Courtauld 2 target of reducing
product
and packaging waste in the supply chain by 5% by end of 2012 against a 2009
baseline
- Make a significant contribution to WRAP's work of reducing the carbon impact of packaging by 10% by 2012 against a 2009 baseline
- Achieve significant reductions in water use to help reduce stress on the
nation's water supplies and contribute to an industry-wide absolute target to
reduce
water use by 20%
by 2020 compared to 2007
- Embed environmental standards in transport practices, including contracts with
hauliers as they fall for renewal, to achieve fewer and friendlier food
transport miles and make a contribution to IGD's Efficient Consumer Response UK
Sustainable Distribution Initiative to save 200 million
HGV miles over the period 2007-12 in the grocery sector
Summary progress to date against our targets
We have continued to make excellent progress this year. In particular we have:
- Cut CO2 emissions by 25%
- Reduced product and packaging waste in the supply chain by 6.9%
- Cut the carbon impact of packaging by 1.2%
- Reduced water use (outside of that embedded in product) by 5.3%
- Saved 163 million HGV road miles[1]
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Introduction
Nick Bunker, President UK & Ireland, Kraft Foods and
Chair of FDF's Sustainability Steering Group
As the UK's largest manufacturing sector, we are proud of the leadership and
progress FDF's Five-fold Environmental Ambition is continuing to deliver for
the
food and
drink industry.
In the critical area of CO2 emissions, we passed our 2010 target of a 20%
reduction a year early. This year's figures show that we have achieved savings
of 25%
– well on track to meet our
revised target of 35% by 2020! In this and other areas, we have also improved
performance while increasing output to meet higher demand – successfully
decoupling environmental
impacts from economic growth, which is key to meeting the sustainability
challenges of the future and to our own and global food security.
When we reviewed the Five-fold Environmental Ambition last year, we also
identified the need to look beyond the manufacturing process at how we could
help
promote improved sustainability
across the supply chain. We set ourselves a number of new aims relating to the
raw materials we use and what happens to the products we make and sell across
their whole life-cycle. We recognised that this would require collaboration and
engagement with a wider range of partners, and that success would depend on
collective action as well as our own efforts, ideally in the context of a
shared vision
about the future direction of travel.
We also recognised the need to remain competitive and profitable to be able to
invest in the innovation and technology that would be required.
We were very pleased to see the Government's Foresight report, 'The Future of
Food and Farming' come to similar conclusions about the need to produce more,
from
less and with less
impact and for a clear strategic framework through which to address these
challenges – at both national and international levels.
The subsequent publication of the Natural Environment White Paper and the
accompanying National Ecosystem Assessment underline the importance of
protecting the
biological systems
on which food production depends and the complexity of balancing different
demands on basic resources and the potential trade-offs involved.
Getting this right is key to the stable future supply of safe, nutritious and
affordable food and drink, and to the opportunities for wealth creation and
low-impact economic growth which a
competitive and sustainable manufacturing sector can provide.
In this, our fourth annual progress report, we set out what we have achieved
against our revised targets for efficiencies within members' own operations –
supported as usual by a variety of case studies showing how this has been done
– and
the steps we have taken to address the bigger picture issues in respect of
water
use elsewhere in the supply chain, the importance of
biodiversity and the need to promote responsible and sustainable sourcing.
We look forward to continuing this journey in 2012 and
contributing to the work of Defra's Green Food project, the
government's broader growth strategy and the other partnerships
and initiatives that will help us to succeed.
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Foreword
James Paice MP, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food
“It is hugely encouraging to see that sustainable behaviours are now well
embedded in the operation of the food and drink manufacturing sector, and to
note the
financial benefits which
better resource efficiency bring as well as environmental gain. This is more
important than ever given the current economic climate.”
However, there is no scope for complacency. As the Government's Foresight Report
on the Future of Food and Farming indicated, there is a huge challenge ahead of
us to balance the competing pressure and demands on the global food system.
This challenge applies to the whole of the food supply chain, so I am
particularly pleased to see that the Five-fold Environmental Ambition is
encouraging
collaboration and engagement with
food producers on sustainability objectives.
We all recognise the long term need to increase production of high quality food
to fulfil growing world population needs, with less waste and less demand on
vital resources such as energy and water. We also need to act now, even though
this
may be challenging in
the short term given the uncertain economic circumstances in many of the UK's
traditional markets.
The range of case studies included in the report yet again demonstrates the
industry's ability to work hard and creatively to find practical and economic
solutions to improve resource
efficiency and reduce costs. The reporting against targets shows that the
sector
continues to make good progress on a number of fronts and I commend those who
are sustaining and
increasing output with better use of energy and water and less waste.
I also look forward to seeing the result of the Federation's work on
biodiversity and its importance for the supply chain.
Finally, I welcome the Federation's leadership in playing an active and
constructive role in the Defra Green Food project, which will help to shape the
future
of our food policy.
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More Information
Notes:
[1] This is the latest saving recorded by IGD through its ECR sustainable
distribution initiative and includes savings from retailers,
wholesalers and manufacturers
Last reviewed: 06 Dec 2011