
The Food and Drink Federation publishes Ambition 2025 Progress and Mid-Term Review reports
Food and drink companies beat CO2 reduction targets five years early, leading to new sustainability commitments in far reaching report.
Global demand for water is increasing putting pressure on freshwater supplies and ecosystems. Several areas of the UK are already water stressed, with concerns for water quality also an issue. Reliable and sufficient freshwater is important for the long-term sustainability of the food and drink industry; water is required for raw materials, processing needs and as an ingredient.
Water is a key pillar of FDF's Ambition 2025. We aim to deliver continuous improvement in water use across the supply chain and to ensure sustainable water management and stewardship. We also aim to contribute to an industry-wide target to reduce water use by 20% by 2020 compared to 2007.
The FDF is working collaboratively across the supply chain on initiatives addressing quality and availability of water, as well as water efficiency, including the Courtauld 2025 Water Ambition and Water for Food Group.
The FDF is also working with stakeholders to influence future policy, notable in relation to water abstraction.
Following the Environment Agency’s Water Resources charge scheme consultation between August – November 2021, (EA summary response document available here; FDF response to the consultation available here), the new scheme is now live.
From 1 April 2022, new application and annual charges apply. The new Environment Agency (Environmental Permitting Regulations and Abstraction Licencing) (England) Charging Scheme 2022 and the supporting Water resources charging guidance are available on GOV.UK.
Due to ongoing work to move licences into the new charging scheme, customers will receive their annual bill later than usual. The Environment Agency anticipate that bills will come out in Summer 2022. In the meantime, customers can use their online Water Resources charge indicator tool to calculate charges. Members can contact the Environment Agency directly with any questions via SRoC.WR@environment-agency.gov.uk
On 24 November, WRAP, in partnership with WWF, The Rivers Trust and many other supporting organisations, launched the Roadmap towards Water Security for the Food & Drink Supply to protect vital water resources for the benefit of nature, local communities and the food and drink sector.
The Water Roadmap will be delivered by a coalition of water stewardship expert bodies, on-the-ground delivery agencies and UK food and drink organisations. The Water Roadmap builds on the success of the Courtauld Commitment Water Ambition to deliver even more ambitious changes across the food system in support of the new Courtauld Commitment 2030 target and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The new Water Roadmap directly addresses the climate risk and food security issues surrounding water stewardship whilst highlighting the need for urgent adaptation and action.
It includes:
A total of 65 supporters, including 50 leading food & drink organisations such as Asda, Co-op, Coca Cola GB, M&S, Nestle UK & Ireland, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, are already supporting the Water Roadmap, and WRAP is calling for more to join this growing movement of companies, who are committed to taking action on water.
On 29 September, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) launched their consultation on moving abstraction and impounding licensing in England into the Environmental Permitting Regulations regime. The consultation will run for 12 weeks and close on 22 December.
The aims of integrating the regulation of abstraction and impounding licensing into the Environmental Permitting Regulations are:
This change was originally proposed in the Water Abstraction Plan 2017 as part of governments ambition to modernise abstraction and impounding management and streamline the environmental regulatory framework; it will take effect in 2023.
Today WRAP have announced that they have extended their Courtauld commitment to 2030, with renewed targets on food waste, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water.
You can find a summary of progress to date in the Courtauld Commitment Annual Report.
At the same time, and to enable smaller businesses to engage with Courtauld Commitment 2030, WRAP has introduced an Associate Membership model.
It has been confirmed that the Environment Bill will return to Parliament on 26 May to finish Commons Report stages, before proceeding to the Lords.
Food and drink companies beat CO2 reduction targets five years early, leading to new sustainability commitments in far reaching report.
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A wealth of content provided by both our Professional Affiliates and our dedicated in-house teams. From current legislative updates to the future of the industry, we’re certain there is something for all those working in food and drink today.
Ambition 2025 sets out the FDF's vision for a thriving, responsible and sustainable UK food and drink industry.
Our members have continued to significantly reduce carbon emissions and water consumption, as part of their commitment to reduce our environmental impact.
Natural capital represents nature's physical and biological resources that the UK food and drink industry both relies on and impacts.
'Essential water need' is a concept that Government has introduced, as part of its abstraction reform proposals, to describe situations where legal provisions that restrict access to water during low flows can be over-ridden.
Read more13 October 2016
The FDF's 'Ambition 2025 - Shaping Sustainable Value Chains' builds on the success of our Five-Fold Environmental Ambition and is the next step on our journey to help deliver a more sustainable food system.
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