Food for thought
December 1st 2007 With environmental issues at the forefront of the news agenda, rising water and effluent costs and pressure to cut down on packaging, the industry has much to gain from the free advice on offer at FEED 2008, says Clare Campbell, Envirowise Food and Drink Sector specialist
he environment is a topic which has prompted a great deal of debate in recent months and the grocery sector in particular has regularly come under the spotlight, with many supermarkets unveiling comprehensive strategies to improve their environmental credentials.
This change in business tactics has been largely driven by a rise in demand for goods that are produced in an environmentally responsible way.Today's consumers are increasingly savvy shoppers who care about the impact they make on the environment, and are subsequently attracted to companies that do too.
Businesses are also facing increasingly strict legislation designed to reduce the impact that UK industry has on the environment.
For instance, the Government has recently announced plans to set tougher targets on packaging waste in order to meet its obligations under the EC Packaging Directive. And the new Non-Hazardous Waste regulations mean that every business in the food and drink industry is now required to treat their non-hazardous waste before disposal to landfill which could include anything from food waste to paper and plastic.
Coupled with this is the realisation that improving use of key resources can often have the added benefit of giving rise to valuable cost savings. Envirowise experience has shown that sustainable business practices from 'cleaner' packaging design techniques to water efficiency measures can enable companies to generate long-term cost efficiencies as well as opportunities to innovate.
Envirowise is hosting a major national event in February 2008 to provide food and drink businesses with free advice to improve their environmental performance and help them realise these potential commercial benefits.
The Food Environmental Efficiency Day (FEED) will offer a range of expert advice designed to improve resource use in priority areas such as packaging,water, energy efficiency and raw material use.
There will be a variety of activities at the event including interactive workshops on issues ranging from resource efficiency, packaging optimisation and transport and logistics.Each session will outline the financial and wider benefits that can be achieved by improving environmental performance in these areas as well as providing delegates with practical advice on how these tools can be implemented into the workplace. Businesses are able to take bills for discussion in the workshops.
Expert advisors will also be on hand in 'drop-in' clinics throughout the day, allowing delegates to access confidential, one-to-one guidance and ask questions specific to their own operations.
In addition to this, FEED will also feature high-profile industry speakers, including the Food and Drink Federation.David Bellamy, Sustainability Manager for the FDF, who commented:"We are pleased to be collaborating with Envirowise on this event and encourage the sector to take advantage of the free help on offer. Environmental issues continue to rise up the agenda and there is still much to gain from improving performance in this area." Furthermore, delegates will also be able to meet trade associations, business support organisations and network with other industry stakeholders in an exhibition area.
FEED was previously held in 2006 an event which saw hundreds of businesses taking advantage of the free help on offer.
Following the runaway success of the last event, Envirowise is urging businesses to register for their free place now or risk missing out on this exciting opportunity.
The Food Environmental Efficiency Day will take place on 5th February 2008, at the East Midlands Conference Centre. Businesses can book their place now by logging on to www.envirowise.gov.uk/ feed2008.
Envirowise provides a range of bespoke, practical advice to help the food and drink industry improve their environmental performance for further information contact the Advice Line on 0800 585 794 or visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/foodanddrink More articles from Envirowise: | 
