Climate Change Action

Food Transport & Product Lifecycle

A New Approach to Food Transport

Chris Brown, Head of Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing, ASDA

Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development

The 2006 Defra commissioned report, co-authored by Paul Watkiss, underlined the impacts of food transport, but also highlighted the wider trade-offs and ambiguity in the food miles debate. It also suggested some potential policies to address the environmental impact of food transport. In this presentation Paul will summarise the report findings, thereaction and subsequent work in this area,and how policy initiatives and industry thinking has moved on as a result. Paul will also discuss why, despite the findings, the term food miles continues to be widely used?

Paul Watkiss, Director, Paul Watkiss Associates

Conclusions and Recommendations from Food Industry Sustainability Study Champion Groups on Food Transport and Energy and Climate Change

Andrew Dunn, Head of Food Industry Sustainability Strategy Team, Food Chain Program, Defra

New Zealand Producers Response

The food producers of New Zealand are actively interested in environmental trends within the UK food industry. In response to the growing awareness of the impact of climate change New Zealand food producers are developing accurate lifecycle assessments for the production and transportation of their produce. In this presentation, live from Auckland, a New Zealand Producer will outline their response to this challenge.

Dave Pearce, Chief Winemaker, The New Zealand Wine Company (makers of Grove Mill and Sanctuary wines)

Food and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: What are the Impacts and What would a Less Greenhouse Gas Intensive Food Chain Look Like

Tara Garnett, Director, Food Climate Research Network

Product Life Cycle Case Study

Henry King, Senior Environmental Manager, Unilever UK

A Life Cycle Approach to Cider

Richard Heathcote, Sustainable Development Manager, Bulmers

The Food Miles Debate – Dump or Adopt?

While it is clearly insufficient to simplifying the environmental impact of food production, retail and consumption to a unit of length, the term food miles does have growing resonance.
Should the industry adopt a flawed but communicable term rather than confuse consumers with the complexities of the issue?

How else can the industry calculate and communicate climate impact of individual products?
Can the industry cater for the increasingly sophisticated consumer with growing demands for diverse, year-round products, grown organically and produced locally? Can they have their organic cake and eat it?

Chair: Tara Garnett, Director, Food Climate Research Network
Gundula Azeez, Policy Manager, The Soil Association
Julian Gairdner, Food Miles Campaign Director, Group Arable Editor, Farmers Weekly
Ellen Gladbers, Climate Change Project Manager, Tesco
Guy Watson, Founder and Owner, Riverford Organic Vegetables
Sarah McLaren, Senior Adviser, Landcare Research, New Zealand

Operational Response

Chair: Chris Brook-Carter, Director of Publishing, Just-Food, Aroq Ltd

Case Study: Greening the Grocer – The World's Most Environmentally Friendly Store

James Dorling, Development Manager - Non Food, Environmental and .Com, Tesco Stores

Case Study: Maintaining an Environmental Ethos across 189 Stores in Numerous Countries

Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market is now the world's leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with 189 stores mostly in North America. Their company ethos is based on a commitment to sustainable agriculture.

Part of their mission statement reads – “We believe in a virtuous circle entwining the food chain, human beings and Mother Earth: each is reliant upon the others through a beautiful and delicate symbiosis”. In 2007 Whole Foods will open London’s largest food retail space. In this presentation Kathy Loftus will outline how Whole Foods Markets can maintain this ethos on a large and international scale.

Kathy Loftus, National Energy Manager, Whole Foods Market, USA

Discussion with Expert Panel

Bill Wright, Corporate Energy and Environment Manager, John Lewis & Waitrose
James Dorling, Development Manager - Non Food, Environmental and .Com, Tesco Stores
Kathy Loftus, National Energy Manager, Whole Foods Market, USA

Labeling and Marketing

Food retailers now recognize the brand value is tied to climate change action and are coming up with innovative ways to market their credentials to consumers. From labels on air freighted food to compostable packaging and biodegradable carrier bags, supermarkets are now catering to consumers who want to buy ethically. The next big challenge, of course, is carbon labelling which could take years to sort out as experts begin to try and measure the ‘embodied energy’ of individual products. In this session, we will look at how the race to be green is manifesting in new labelling and marketing techniques.

Chair: Caroline Drummond, Chief Executive, LEAF

Case Study: Looking Beyond the Label

Mike Barry, Head of CSR, Marks & Spencer

Carbon Labeling – Work in Progress

Anne-Marie Warris, Global Product Manager - Climate Change, LRQA

The Next Step - Carbon Labelling Debate

Is it possible to label individual products’ carbon footprints? How do you begin? After all the effort, will consumers really buy based on carbon calories?