The UK’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and environmental advisory consultancy SLR have published a report that sets out how the food and drink industry can achieve the ambitious target of a net-zero carbon footprint by 2050 and the support it will require from the government. “As the UK government seeks to power the economic recovery through clean growth and investment in low carbon technologies, the needs of the UKs largest manufacturing sector, food and drink, must be at its heart,” the industry representatives concur.

“As the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, the food and drink industry is absolutely committed to a green recovery post COVID-19 and achieving the governments net-zero carbon target by 2050. In producing this report, we have identified a clear pathway to net zero and the challenges we will need to overcome in order to meet that target,” says Emma Piercy, Head of Energy and Climate Change at FDF.

“But we can’t do it alone. Businesses will need clear direction and support to make that transition,” she stresses.

The report, entitled Decarbonization of Heat Across the Food and Drink Manufacturing Sector, examines what industry, its partners and government can do to support the crucial transition to carbon neutrality. Key recommendations include:

Industry should establish a food and drink industry taskforce to include appliance manufacturers to facilitate knowledge sharing across the sector on technology innovations and implementation.

Local Enterprise Partnerships to bring together key stakeholders to address local area planning challenges in electricity and gas networks.

UK government should implement a third phase of Climate Change Agreements post 2025, which builds on previous successes and shift focus to carbon reductions

UK government should establish a new collaborative approach with industry to design a financial support scheme for industrial decarbonization.

Last June, the UK government put into legislation its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 80 percent to net zero by 2050. While the F&B industry is committed to meeting that target, the government has not updated the 2015 Food and Drink sector roadmap, outlining how a transition could be achieved for the sector. “As the industry responsible for feeding the nation and providing good manufacturing jobs in every community, it is crucial it is at the heart of government thinking,” the FDF stresses.

Collaboration “vital”
The report outlines that industry will only be able to reduce emissions from heat by 64 percent by 2050 when compared to 2012 without further interventions, thereby missing the net zero target. The FDF says that ensuring further collaboration between industry and government is vital to achieving these targets.

It also suggests more work will be needed to ensure stakeholders have a shared vision around the future use of biomass. An alignment of objectives on how to utilise limited sources such as food waste biomass, will be key to ensuring optimal green growth and deployment across the supply chain.

In 2007, the FDF launched its “Five-Fold Environmental Ambition,” which committed to making a significant contribution to improving the environment by targeting specific areas. The FDF and its member companies have led the way in reducing their environmental footprints, reducing CO2 emissions by 53 percent in manufacturing operations, compared to the 1990 baseline.

“There are reasons to be optimistic because deep decarbonization of heat used by the F&B sector is technically possible. However, the changes required to manufacturing processes and energy supply systems to achieve it are so significant that the sector cannot do this alone,” says Julie Gartside, European Operations Manager for Advisory Services at SLR Consulting.

“Collaboration between the food and drink sector, government, equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders will be needed to realise the opportunity before us,” she concludes.

“The Sustain Domain” trend continues to drive industry to a critical tipping point. Consumers increasingly expect companies to invest in sustainability. Innova Market Insights research has indicated that on average 85 percent of US and UK consumers expect companies to invest in sustainability in 2019, up from 64 percent in 2018. 

Corporations and action groups have adjunctly been entering into open dialogue with governments to underscore the overt impact of plant-based diets on stemming climate change. Last month, ProVeg decried policymakers within the European Commission for largely “ignoring” the environmental impact of animal farming.