Messages of Support
Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State, DEFRA
"A sustainable environment is important for all of us – the public,
industry and
government – and contributes to a
healthy economy.
"You have set out an ambitious programme to improve the environmental
sustainability of the food manufacturing
industry. As you strive to achieve these
goals,
you are providing an example for other industries to follow.
"I was interested to hear of the FDF's case studies showing how companies
found
more environmentally friendly
ways to do business such as decreasing
the
size
of
their carbon footprint, reducing waste and reducing water use.
"I look forward to FDF members both hitting your ambitious targets and
setting
new targets for further improvement
in years to come."
Jonathon Porritt, Chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission
"It's hugely encouraging that the FDF, on behalf of its members, is now
coming
forward with a wide range of ambitious
targets on key environmental
challenges.
This is such a critical sector, not just for the UK economy as a
whole,
but
for
every UK consumer. FDF members now have a significant
opportunity
to
help
people
reduce their overall
environmental
footprint."
Baroness Barbara Young, CEO, Environment Agency
"The food and drink manufacturing sector, as one of the UK's largest, has a
significant impact on the environment.
I therefore very much welcome the Food
and
Drink Federation's ambitious five-fold plan towards environmental
improvement.
I
am encouraged that they are making this commitment to address the
priority
environmental issues
resulting from the manufacture of food and
drink.
I
welcome
FDF's
commitment to annual reporting against tough
targets
and
would
like
to see
individual companies reporting too, to
demonstrate
boardroom
commitment
and give
credit where it is due."
Vicki Hird, Friends of the Earth
"Friends of the Earth is encouraged that the food and drink industry is
getting
to grips with the environmental
challenges it faces, in particular on
climate
change and waste. These targets will be a valuable start in helping the
industry
steer onto a more sustainable path. The Government must be prepared to
bolster
this commitment with
the support and legislative framework needed so
that
the
whole
food industry is clear of what it needs to do."
Tom Delay, Chief Executive, the Carbon Trust
"The Carbon Trust supports the Food and Drink Federation's efforts to show
leadership in this area and to galvanise
its membership to achieve reduction in
carbon emissions by 2020. We appreciate its commitment to support the
development
of
the draft standard, called the Publicly Available Specification (PAS)
2050,
to
measure the embodied
greenhouse gas emissions in products and
services
to
enable
companies to cut carbon from their products."
Dr Liz Goodwin, Chief Executive, WRAP
"WRAP welcomes the launch of the FDF's new policy position paper: 'The
environment – our five-fold ambition'.
The food and drink manufacturing sector
generates
about 7.2 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste
each
year
and
has a
significant influence on the nearly 13 million tonnes of
food
and
packaging
waste
that ends
up in household bins each year. This
announcement
includes
challenging
waste reduction targets for the sector
and
has the
potential
to
support and
broaden WRAP's work under the
Courtauld
Commitment.
The
achievement of
the
five-fold
ambition will
bring
about
significant
reductions in
waste and
greenhouse gas
emissions and
move us
all
towards
a
more
sustainable
food supply
chain."
Adrian Cole, Envirowise Programme Manager
"We welcome FDF's environmental objectives announced today as a
comprehensive
and ambitious response to the
challenges facing the sector. Improvements
in
resource efficiency will play a fundamental role in helping the industry
achieve
these
targets, as well as bringing cost benefits that go direct to the
bottom
line. We
are delighted that FDF
is taking a lead on these issues and
look
forward to
working with its members to help them achieve the stated
goals."
Tony Lowe, CEO, FareShare
"FareShare supports the FDF commitment to zero food and packaging being
sent to
landfill from 2015. Most
importantly we applaud their commitment to
the
waste
hierarchy and the recognition that 'using' good quality surplus
food
for
social
benefit must play an important part in this strategy.
Working
in
partnership with
the FDF, FareShare
will be able to make a
significant
difference to
the
amount
of
'fit for purpose' product diverted
from
landfill
and
used
to
improve
the
health,
wellbeing and
quality
of
life
of
thousands
of
disadvantaged people
in
our
communities."
Peter Laybourne, Programme Director, National Industrial Symbiosis Programme
"NISP is delighted to work with the FDF and its members in order to achieve
their target of sending zero food and
packaging waste to landfill. NISP has a
unique
national network of company members, which enables us to identify
mutually
profitable links between companies (both NISP and FDF members) so that
previously
discarded resources
can be treated, reprocessed or re-used by
others
and
put to
beneficial use. We will seek to use this network to the
benefit of
all
FDF
members
in order to help reduce their landfill volumes
and
costs."
Sally Uren, Director of Business Programme, Forum For The Future
Whilst we know climate change is an urgent issue requiring urgent action, it is
critical that business addresses the whole suite of sustainability issues. The
Federation House Commitment is significant as it focuses attention and action on
perhaps the next urgent
sustainability issue – water. For the food and drink sector
to achieve greater
sustainability across all of its operations, we not only need
individual
company
leadership, but also collective action. The scale of the
sustainability
challenge
is such that individual company action alone won't be quick
enough.
The FDF
is
setting a great example by providing its members with the
framework
to work
together to get serious about water use and wider sustainability.
Jacob Tompkins, Director of Waterwise
The Federation House Commitment is a fantastic development. The combination
of the FDF's knowledge and
influence in the food and drink sector, the commitment
of its members, and the
expertise of Envirowise, will translate into big water savings.
The agreement
makes
excellent business sense and is great for the environment.
We hope that
other
business sectors will follow the food and drink sector's lead.
The information in this section is taken from a document entitled The Environment: Making a real difference (pdf, 1.4Mb) published by FDF in October 2007 .
top
Last reviewed: 19 Sep 2008