Annual Review 2008: Demonstrating Leadership
Making a Real Difference
Melanie Leech, FDF Director General
The past year has seen the Food and Drink
Federation strengthen its position as the
respected advocate of the UK's largest
manufacturing sector – one that clearly
communicates our 
members' views on
the many issues affecting our industry. I
want this organisation to be an influential,
well-informed and proactive partner with
whom Government is keen to work. And
I know that everything we have achieved
since 2007 – when we restructured around
three priorities (food safety and science,
health and wellbeing, and sustainability
and competitiveness) – has enhanced our
reputation among our stakeholders.
More than that, however, FDF and its
members have been demonstrating
collective leadership on difficult issues.
One of our main priorities in 2008 has
been to build on the launch of our groundbreaking
Five-fold Environmental Ambition
to ensure FDF and its members are
recognised as genuine industry leaders in
the important debates that are now raging
about the wellbeing of the planet.
As you will read elsewhere in this review,
the FDF team has worked closely with
members to deliver some important
projects that have brought our Ambition to
life. Take our work on CO2 emissions. Our
members have set themselves stretching
targets to reduce CO2 emissions by 20%
by 2010 and by 30% by 2020 compared
with 1990.
The latest figures available under our
voluntary Climate Change Agreement show
that our members reduced their carbon
emissions by 17% in 2006, compared with
1990 – which represents savings averaging
58,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
That incredible progress is continuing
thanks to efficiency measures, greater
productivity and, increasingly, investment
in renewable sources of energy. All of
which is starting to make a real difference
to the environment and helping food and
drink companies to reduce their operating
costs in what is clearly a difficult time for
businesses.
When it comes to the health of the nation,
I am equally proud of the way that our
members have not only responded to
complex problems such as obesity, but
are now leading the world with our sector's
work in areas such as nutrition information,
recipe changes of popular brands and
workplace wellbeing.
80 food companies are now voluntarily
providing Guideline Daily Amount (GDA)
information on the front of about 20,000
food and drink lines sold in supermarkets
in the UK. We remain convinced that GDA
labelling is helping to improve the food
literacy of consumers, which may explain
why this system of providing nutritional
information is now being rolled out across
all 27 EU Member States.
Labelling is not the only way in which our
members are making a real difference for
consumers. Since 2004, we estimate that
food and drink companies have changed
the recipes of leading brands, worth £15bn
at retail, so that they are lower in salt, fat
and sugar. In addition, a further £11.5bn
worth of products have been launched
as 'lower in' versions of popular food and
drink products. Independent research from
TNS Worldpanel, among others, suggests
that our innovative work in these areas
of reformulation is changing consumer
purchasing behaviour.
Our efforts can be summed up in a simple
phrase that I have used a number of
times already. In short, our sector is in the
business of 'making a real difference'.
All of us at FDF are equally committed to
making a real difference for our members –
using the resources they provide to deliver
the best possible results. FDF's activities
are underpinned by a longstanding recognition that we must continuously
improve our services to members –
something that is even more important
in the current economically turbulent
times. That's why our aim to 'make a real
difference' on behalf of our members is
now incorporated within the FDF logo – it's
a clear sign of a sense of purpose that is
integral to all our work.
Throughout 2008, the food and drink sector
has again demonstrated real leadership
on key societal issues such as the
environment and the health of the nation.
The economic downturn does mean that
policy makers and regulators need to be
realistic in their expectations of industry.
Nevertheless, I remain optimistic that
companies will want to continue focusing
on these important debates. I look forward
to working with our members – and our
stakeholders – to ensure that through our
collective work we can continue to make a
real difference in the year ahead.
More information