The next Sustainable Foods Summit will take place in Amsterdam, 10-11th June 2010. Like similar events organised by Organic Monitor, it will bring together key stake-holders (food manufacturers & retailers, ingredient suppliers, industry organisations & certification agencies, investors, packaging companies, etc.) and create a forum to debate and discuss key issues in a high-level forum. Please contact us to receive further information on the summit programme.
The Sustainable Foods Summit comprises four key sessions.
The summit opens by giving an update on sustainability initiatives in the food industry. Although organic and fair trade are the leading eco-labels, new initiatives are gaining currency. Details are given of carbon labelling and climate-neutral schemes.
A leading expert will look at approaches to measuring the environmental impact of food products. An update is given on EU policy on sustainable agriculture as well as the European Sustainability Consumption and Production Roundtable. Case studies will also be given of food companies who are at the cutting edge of sustainability initiatives. The morning session ends with a panel discussion titled, ‘Sustainability: Regulation-Led or Consumer-Driven?’
This session is devoted to fair trade, the fastest growing sector of the eco-labelled food industry. Key papers in this session will enable food & ingredient companies to make key decisions about adopting fair trade practices, assess their benefits and gauge the future growth potential.
The session opens by giving details of the leading fair trade labeling schemes: FLO, Fair For Life, etc. The latest facts and figures on the global market for fair trade foods are given, along with future growth projections. Other papers look at the complexity of fair trade pricing, building ethical partnerships and measuring the impact on marginalised producers. A leading food company will show how it has converted its supply chain of ingredients to fair trade practices.
With marketing having arguably the most influence on the success of new ethical products, this session focuses on marketing best-practices. Case studies are given of companies who are successfully and legitimately meeting the marketing challenges.
Papers will focus on communication of sustainability values, expanding brand distribution, the future of ethical retailing as well as the dangers of greenwashing. The potential of social media marketing will be explored, and insights will be given of consumer behavior towards sustainable food products. The panel discussion will look at how food companies can strengthen communications with consumers.
This session focuses on the major issues associated with sustainable sourcing; key papers will cover managing risks of commodity sourcing, investments in developing countries, the role of sourcing roundtables, and building transparent supply chains.
The second part of this session looks at innovations in sustainable packaging. Details are given of the various packaging types and their applications on certified ethical food products.
Please complete a registration form to download the conference program.
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