For the fresh produce industry, arguably one of the most sustainable industries in the UK, the issues of being environmentally sustainable and securing a sustainable financial future goes hand in hand. It has now been established that going ‘green’ can help a business cut down its costs and also attract new customers, and as retailers, suppliers and growers take on the ethical challenge, a more sustainable food chain should be established.
Denis Punter, executive chairman of this industry’s largest operator, Total Produce, says that sustainability is an increasingly complex issue of which the fresh produce sector, along with the rest of the food industry, is only beginning to develop an understanding. “Total Produce and its retail operations in the UK are very concerned about the issue of sustainability in its widest sense,” he says. “The consumer is beginning to make the connection between the products they buy and the impact each of these products has on the society and environment that they live in today and that they face tomorrow.
“Total Produce is aware of these new customer needs and, as a responsible business, we have for some time been evaluating our supply chain and moving towards a sustainable structure for the products we supply. This process is a long journey, but we as a company are making good and sustainable progress in this direction,” he adds.
David Piccaver of vegetable grower JE Piccaver & Co. believes environmental sustainability is the key to maintaining his company’s existence in the business world. “Sustainability is at the heart of what we do,” he says, “down to managing the land, availability of products, good reliable labour and water availability.”
According to Piccaver, barriers to sustainability in both a financial and environmental sense are created by both government policies making strategy delivery unpredictable, and the weather affecting production.
At the English Farming and Food Partnership’s (EFFP) annual conference last week, Jeff Rooker, minister of state for sustainable farming, food and animal welfare, put across how important sustainability is to growers and the food chain. “The greatest environmental challenge so far is climate change,” he says. “I know that there may be some people that still don’t agree with it, but this [changeable weather] is not just a cycle that comes every couple of years. The world is changing because of man-made actions, and farmers feel the impact of these changes probably more than anybody. I know growers that work on the floodplain - they expect floods in the winter, but they don’t expect flooding to that degree in the middle of the growing season. We need to reduce everyone’s carbon footprint and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Rooker believes that climate change and farming is a two-way street, with one affecting the other in a vicious circle. “Climate change has an impact on production, but production causes climate change,” he says. “The government needs to raise awareness and provide practical advice.”
Many in the industry would say that the large multiples’ actions have a negative effect on the supply chain, regardless of what the Competition Commission may recommend.
Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose, also at the EFFP conference entitled ‘Farmers and Retailers - a marriage made in heaven?’, says that, in Waitrose’s case, the title’s question mark should be removed. “Some retailers have forgotten how important food producers are,” he says. “Waitrose is part of an established chain in which communities and economies can continue sustainably. This is part of our DNA at Waitrose. The relationship between farmers and retailers can and should be a marriage: a healthy, vibrant and mutually productive one. We truly care for the supply chain, and treat our suppliers fairly and with respect.”
But with Waitrose only commanding four per cent of the national food retail market, its well-meaning strategies may be just a drop in the ocean.
However, Darren Blackhurst, executive board director at Asda, also recognises these issues. Speaking at the IGD convention earlier in October, he said that consumers’ needs will push retailers into acting responsibly. “Consumers want to make a difference,” he said. “They want to shop somewhere where they feel they are doing their bit for UK farmers, developing countries and sustainability. Low prices at any cost is undesirable for many.”
Blackhurst added that if a supermarket goes green, it actually makes more money, and becomes more financially sustainable itself. He maintains that if a retailer can operate for less, with the same quality standards, then that should be reflected in its prices and will entice further customers. Asda has introduced ‘green rollbacks’, which mean that, as the supermarket removes unneeded packaging, it also reduces the price of the product.
Blackhurst predicts a slowdown in the UK economy having an impact on retailers’ attitudes, but believes this will not necessarily make a difference to retailers acting responsibly. “Will it mean ignoring ethics or sustainability? No, it will not,” he said. “All retailers can work hard to resource in a fair and ethical way; be a green retailer and be fair with all producers.”
Whilst some industry insiders may think big gestures from powerful multiples are all talk, it reinforces the fact that all companies involved in the fresh produce food chain will have to work together towards a more sustainable supply chain. If fresh produce companies do not speak out about their individual situations, then they risk falling behind.
Rooker agrees that retail’s impact on the food chain needs to be looked at in depth in order for the industry to create a more sustainable path forward. “We, as an industry, are going to have to change,” he explains. “For example, the food delivery programme from farmer to warehouse is restricted on the delivery times and route they take. They could dramatically reduce their carbon footprint by having more freedom to go through residential areas and so on. We now need to balance the benefits of the local community with the environment.”
Rooker believes that the two main issues that need addressing within the industry are its carbon footprint and waste. He estimates that 40 per cent of agricultural and horticultural produce in the UK is wasted. “World population will reach nine billion by 2070, and there will be a greater demand for food,” says Rooker. “We need to show that we can provide that food, but in a sustainable way. Waste is a resource in every avenue you look at, and farmers need to work together to make use of it.”
WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) has launched the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, in which it works with retailers, manufacturers and the packaging industry to reduce food waste both before and after it reaches the consumer. WRAP’s research reveals that approximately 40 per cent of total food waste is fresh fruit and vegetables. In addition to this, the research shows food is thrown away for two reasons: it has not been eaten in time and consumers are preparing or cooking too much. WRAP aims to answer this problem through packaging and is working with International Food Partners (IFP) to further develop its integrity seal hermetic sealing system, adopted by Marks & Spencer, which by sealing packs hermetically, can increase shelf life, of iceberg lettuce, for example, by three days. As part of the campaign, WRAP is also working with East Malling Research, Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL), Mack Multiples and Sainsbury’s to look at ways of improving the advice given to consumers to enable them to store both loose and packaged fruit and vegetables better at home, in order to keep them at their best for longer.
Waste control is not only a problem caused by consumers; many fresh produce companies could easily make changes that will ensure both its future and the environment.
Those that think that the buzzword sustainability will fade away are very wrong, according to James Lloyd, managing director at HotRot Composting Systems Ltd. “It is important to realise that the fiscal and legal measures will not go away,” he says. “Tax is rising on practically all key products; waste, fuel, and costs. It will simply not pay to be unsustainable in the future - to invest in efficiency is not a new concept; the environment is simply a new area of focus where similar business benefits can be felt. Not to future-proof your business against these changes would be unsustainable in the extreme.”
HotRot offers companies large-scale composting systems, which provide cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to landfill. Glasgow Fruit and Vegetable Market is one of HotRot’s customers, and the company is working with a number of fruit and vegetable processors on various composting and renewable energy solutions to suit their own particular waste streams. “All of our technology and operational solutions will do the one thing we all need to ensure a sustainable business - save money and make sure we have a profitable business well into the future,” says Lloyd.
Many will see globalisation of the industry as a barrier to sustainability in the UK, but Rooker says that it brings both challenges and advantages. “Globalisation is here to stay and things won’t always be as they have always been,” he says. “The changes that will come about in the future will be substantial. It will bring negative effects, but also opportunities - like the opportunity for growers to invest in growing different crops that thrive in the changing climate.”
The demand for local food and provenance has become paramount as an increased amount of fresh produce is imported from overseas. Rob Weaver, business development manager at the local distribution business Local Food Alliance (LFA), says that being able to pack, procure and distribute produce sustainably is very important to the company. “We are driven by customers, consumers and communities that are all encouraged to buy and support local produce,” he says. “Growers need to be encouraged to grow more produce of different varieties. The market is out there and growers need to think like retailers - a lost sale through lack of produce is not good business. They should look ahead and prepare for future growth in produce.”
Rooker agrees that a change of attitude in the industry needs to come about before the food chain can move forward in a sustainable way. “Some growers want to stay in the region and don’t want to supply national retailers,” he says. “But supermarkets are changing - years ago you wouldn’t have seen the kind of local provision that you now get in supermarkets.”
UNILEVER ON THE WAY TO SUSTAINABILITY
Unilever is preparing a major campaign to highlight its sustainability credentials to consumers with the help of a solution from Muddy Boots. Unilever is putting a new software-based farm auditing system in place that will allow the company to quantify suppliers’ progress against a long-standing 11-point sustainability programme called Growing for the Future. Muddy Boots’ quickfire system runs on handheld computers and can therefore be used in the field. “Until now, the audit system has generated a pile of paper that is hard to interrogate,” says David Pendlington, sustainable agriculture manager at Unilever. “This software will allow us to capture the benefits of our programme and help suppliers work out where they are on that journey.”
The software will be trialled with 400 Europe-based Unilever suppliers behind the Knorr and Bertolli brands over the next three years ,and will in turn work with thousands of farmers as the company intends to cover the whole supply base. Benefiting from the principle of one-time entry, the system combines portable and handheld PCs for remote data capture, with server-based and internet-based management reporting. Quickfire can be adapted to accommodate virtually any inspection or verification protocol and can be used to monitor areas such as corporate governance, health and safety, ethics, food safety, social accountability and the environment.
Unilever is also extending the system to third-party suppliers. Costing the company £13.5 million to develop, the system requires growers to work towards goals, such as improving soil fertility and supporting local communities. The software also underpins Marks & Spencer’s field to fork assurance scheme and is used by foodservice operator Compass.
“The scope and scale of our endeavour - sourcing all raw materials from sustainable sources - means we must make sustainable improvements among all our suppliers and the millions of farmers involved with our business,” says Jan Kees Vis, sustainable agriculture director at Unilever. “It is crucial to have good information on performance, trends and gaps. Muddy Boots is essential to us achieving that.”
COLLEGE OFFSETS ITS CARBON FOOTPRINT
Specialist land-based education facility Hadlow College has registered as a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) in an effort to help promote sustainable land management practices within the UK to mitigate climate change.
The college is proposing to establish a UK carbon credit trading scheme through the CCX, which is a voluntary, legally binding programme for reducing and trading greenhouse gas emissions in North America, and register landowners across England as an indication of the potential generation of carbon credits for the UK.
Launched this year, the scheme has registered more than 40 landowners so far, and a total of 5,000 hectares of eligible land. Eligible land is ground that has been replanted with grass after January 1999, with the landowner making a commitment to maintain the grass cover for at least four years. Carbon stocks are calculated according to recognised models based on the grass type, management of grasslands and planting date. The Carbon Financial Instruments (CFI) can then be sold at the CCX trading platform.
As part of this move, the college has welcomed students for the first time to enrol in a foundation degree in sustainable land management this academic year.
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