Sustainability and Chilled Prepared Foods

In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development developed a definition of sustainability, which became known as the Brundtland Report. This stated that:

Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Over 95 per cent of chilled prepared foods are sold under retailers’ own labels. Producers therefore have to meet all of their retail customers’ legislative and non-legislative requirements including sustainable sourcing, one example being for sustainable palm oil.

Our members deliver retailers’ commitments and aspirations and are, in fact, ahead of the curve.

How we are involved

CFA plays an active and often leading role in environmental issues including waste and climate change-related matters. For more than two decades we have been closely involved in numerous sustainability activities and initiatives including:

• £1.3m Sustainable Shelf Life Extension (SUSSLE) research programme
• Government review of the energy taxation landscape
• WRAP review of storage instructions including date marking and freezing
• WRAP review of domestic refrigerator performance and design improvements (lower temperatures reduce waste, with CO2e benefit)
• WRAP projects on packaging minimisation and recyclability
• WRAP projects on the usage of waste in agriculture – CFA’s aim is to ensure that appropriate technical standards are in place to prevent the safety of crops being compromised
• Research at Sheffield Hallam University comparing energy usage and waste arising from domestic vs industrial production of lasagne
• Defra-funded projects at the Open University investigating attitudes towards organic waste-derived materials, and at Cranfield/IGD on the impact of trade relationships on waste
• Zero emissions food cold chain-stakeholder in this project led by London South Bank University

We are also engaged with:

• Courtauld 2030 (C2030)– signatory
• UK Plastics Pact– signatory
• WRAP Water Roadmap – supporter
• Anti-deforestation initiatives:
  • UK Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil– member
  • UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya– signatory

We are proud of our industry’s record in sustainability and continue to provide leadership in the field. Our Sustainability Aims, which relate to energy, water and waste encourage the industry to minimise its carbon footprint and also incorporate ethics including on sourcing.

Some of our members hold Environment Permit issued by the Environment Agency and employ stipulated best available techniques to improve resource efficiency and avoid pollution

The maintenance of the highest standards is fundamental to everything we do. Our members already have many systems in place for food safety, sustainability, quality, CSR, and will add any further deforestation requirements to their audit portfolios when effective due diligence legislation is developed.