The next editions of the Sustainable Foods Summit will take place in North America and Europe in 2011. The dates and venues will be announced shortly!
Like the previous editions, the summits 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 register to request more information on upcoming summits and to receive regular news updates.
The previous edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit took place in Amsterdam, 10-11th June 2010. The summit comprised four key sessions.
The summit started with an opening address by Irish Minister Ciaran Cuffe on 'Tackling climate change by sustainable food production'. Proceeding papers looked at eco-labels and the various dimensions of sustainability in the food industry. Although organic and fair trade are the leading eco-labels, new initiatives such as carbon labelling and water footprints are gaining currency. Case studies were given of companies adopting such schemes.
A leading expert highlighted the approaches to measuring the environmental impact of food products. Other papers looked at the government role in sustainability initiatives, building an ethical retailing network and sustainability projects in developing countries. The morning session ended with a panel discussion titled, 'Sustainability: regulation-led or consumer-driven?'
This session was devoted to fair trade, the fastest growing sector of the eco-labelled food industry. Key papers in this session enabled food & ingredient companies to make informed decisions about adopting fair trade practices, assess the benefits of fair trade and gauge the future growth potential.
The session opened by giving details of the leading fair trade labelling schemes: FLO International, Fair For Life, etc. The latest facts and figures on the global market for fair trade foods were given, along with future growth projections. Other papers looked at the complexity of fair trade pricing, building ethical partnerships and measuring the impact on marginalised producers. A leading food company showed 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 focused on marketing best-practices. Case studies were given of companies who have successfully and legitimately met the marketing challenges.
The session started with an opening key note from Craig Sams, founder and president of Green & Black's, on corporate ethics and sustainability. Proceeding papers looked at the advent of Organic Plus strategies, communication of sustainability values, expanding brand distribution, as well as the future of ethical retailing. The potential of social media marketing was explored, and insights were given into consumer behaviour towards sustainable food products. The panel discussion looked at how food companies could strengthen marketing communications with consumers.
The session started by looking at the potential of soya as a sustainable ingredient, especially as a meat protein substitute. Other papers looked at the some of the major issues associated with sustainable sourcing, including managing risks of commodity sourcing, the role of sourcing roundtables, and building transparent supply chains.
The second part of this session looked at innovations in sustainable packaging. Details were given of the various packaging types and their applications on certified ethical food products.
The conference proceedings of the June 2010 summit are available for a small professional fee. Click here for further details.
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