FDBusiness.com

Scotland Food & Drink have launched the first pan-industry strategy for the Scottish food and drink industry which articulates its Environmental Sustainability Ambition and builds on existing work already being undertaken by businesses across sectors.

The Scottish food and drink industry has been identified as a priority sector in delivering sustainable economic growth. The industry target of £12.5 billion by 2017 will be surpassed early given the current value of £12.4 billion, while exports have grown by more than 50% in the last five years.

The new strategy recognises the importance of sustainability to the future of the Scottish food and drink industry to deliver its growth ambition. It aims to drive the industry to become environmentally and economically sustainable while promoting the sharing of best practice and collaborative working to achieve its objectives across the supply chain.

The Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland have welcomed the strategy and the work Scotland Food & Drink and partners will be doing to proactively encourage the industry to realise the benefits of sustainability in their businesses, working closely with partners to ensure the appropriate support and access to the partners’ accumulated knowledge and experience is available.

The strategy focuses on five core themes which concern the efficient use of resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste (including recycling and sending less to landfill), reducing the impact of transport and making businesses more resilient to climate change. A set of commitments have been set in order to benchmark progress against the sustainability ambition annually.

Scotland Food & Drink will continue to work with other stakeholders including retailers and foodservice companies so they can help businesses adapt and respond where required, similar to the on-going work being undertaken with M&S and their Scottish suppliers.

Sustainability is a prevalent theme within the Industry Strategy Action Plan and will be implemented through the SF&D partnership and Industry Champions network which includes Gavin Hewitt of the SWA, who heads up the Sustainability work.

James Withers Scotland Food & Drink Chief Executive comments: “A commitment to sustainability is the mark of a progressive industry and this is the first collaborative strategy with the input of all food and drink sectors. Being sustainable means two things for the industry: a significant and growing contribution to the Scottish economy and responsible stewardship of our environment to the benefit of our reputation and growth.”

CAPTION:

Pictured (left to right): Iain Gulland, Director, Zero Waste Scotland; James Withers, Chief Executive, Scotland Food & Drink; Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment; Gavin Hewitt, Chief Executive of the SWA and the Industry Champion.