October 2020
Starting from:
£99 + VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
***Full-scale policy conference taking place online***
This conference will discuss latest thinking and next steps for reducing food packaging and waste - including single use plastic - and strategies for encouraging positive consumer and supply chain behaviour.
Areas for discussion include:
- policy priorities for reducing food packaging and waste
- food surplus distribution schemes - their role and how they and supply chain partners have been impacted by COVID-19
- reducing household and business waste - looking at priorities, with discussion expected on:
- standardised and consistent collection policies
- expansion of the opportunities to recycle
- the impact of the pandemic on household behaviour, and the temporary closures of recycling plants and changes to waste collection procedures
- reducing waste in agriculture - and mitigating the effect of changes in climate, and the pandemic, on agricultural waste
- single use plastics in the food and drink industry - progress and next steps for its reduction, including:
- the impact of industry initiatives
- innovation in packaging
- what more needs to be done across the retail and hospitality sectors
Why this is particularly relevant now - the context:
- The Environment Bill progressing through Parliament, which aims to establish a new set of policies and provisions for protecting the natural environment and requires the Government to set at least one long-term target in each of the four priority areas (air quality, biodiversity, water, and resource efficiency and waste reduction)
- The ongoing National Food Strategy and its review of the UK food system - with the recent publication of the interim report and its identification of key areas of focus, including:
- agricultural production
- supply chains
- relationships between businesses and consumers
- The UK Plastics Pact initiating a collaborative approach across the sector to reduce plastic use across food, and for all plastic packaging to be 100% recyclable and reusable by 2025
- Government plans to introduce a tax on plastic packaging which does not consist of at least 30% recycled materials from April 2022
- Government plans to roll out a Deposit Return Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for household items like plastic bottles, with potential scope for aluminium cans and glass bottles
- The recent report by the Committee on Climate Change calling for policies to encourage consumers to reduce food waste, and target-setting across public and private sectors to reduce food waste, as well as for mandatory business food waste reporting
- Allocation of funding in the Industrial Strategy’s Transforming Food Production Challenge Fund for sustainable agriculture projects including those aimed at reducing waste
- Latest Defra research finding an almost 60% drop in plastic bag sales in the last year and a 95% drop since the 5p charge was introduced in 2015
- Funding from the Government aimed at encouraging innovative solutions in areas such as behavioural change and repurposing food waste
The discussion in detail:
The policy landscape
Assessing developments in food waste reduction in the UK, including:
- The upcoming second stage of consultation on the flagship Resources and Waste Strategy set to take place in early 2021 in order to meet the Government’s target of eliminating avoidable waste of all kinds by 2050, and latest progress on achieving key objectives, including:
- the setting of legal powers for food waste targets
- building up food redistribution systems
- working more effectively with waste management groups to further reduce the waste being sent to landfill, and increase redistribution and repurposing where possible
- improvements to labelling and consumer information, and the opportunities this can present for reducing waste and encouraging positive behaviour change
- progress on developing effective and compulsory UK-wide waste separation systems, and steps for reducing livestock and feedstock wastage on agriculture land
- The Environment Bill - examining its measures for improving resource and waste efficiency, such as:
- the suggested ban on plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries, and assessing its potential effectiveness in reducing the carbon lifespan of plastic products
- providing environmental enforcers with enhanced powers to tackle waste crime and violators
- accelerating the implementation Extended Producer Responsibility, and its potential impact on ensuring products are recycled or disposed of sustainably
Industry issues and initiatives
Food redistribution and collection systems, and developing waste efficiency across food and industry supply chains - including assessing resilience during the COVID-19 disruption:
- the challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis for waste collection, redistribution, and recycling, how the sector adapted, and what can be learned going forward, with discussion expect on:
- the government funding for food redistribution organisations in England, and what it meant for operational resilience
- recent government investment in manufacturing capacities for the food and drink sector to cut costs and reduce food waste across supply chains
- work across the food and retail industry to prevent wastage and deliver food to the vulnerable
- setting clear guidance for waste collection across local authorities and effectively continuing waste management services, including in waste separation where still possible
- communicating developments to residents - following guidance on priorities during the pandemic provided by the Government
- ensuring that supply chains work effectively, and encourage behaviour change and resource efficiency, and the roles of stakeholders across the food system, looking at:
- latest thinking on innovative solutions for tackling food waste - looking at developing new materials, repurposing waste created by supply chains, and communication with consumers
- the impact of voluntary agreements such as the Courtauld Commitment 2025 on delivering change across businesses, improving resource efficiency, encouraging collaboration, and expanding food waste collection sites
Innovation
Single use plastic packaging for food and delivering innovative and recyclable plastic materials, looking at:
- developing strategies for reducing plastic packaging across food products, and accelerating the shift away from single use items and to sustainable and recyclable alternatives
- policy options for accelerating the shift away from non-recyclable packaging for food and drink - such as:
- the anticipated Plastic Packaging Tax aimed at products made with less than 30% recycled plastic
- the ban on single use plastics, including straws and drink stirrers used across retail and hospitality now set to come into place in October 2021
- encouraging innovation in plastic materials and design, such as the £60m UKRI Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging challenge for development of a more sustainable plastic packaging value chain and the creation of recyclable products
- best practice for implementing a Deposit Return Scheme, and latest thinking around policy, regulation, and scrutiny - including around producer accountability, the role of retailers and local authorities, and how the scheme will be costed and financed
The agenda:
- Assessing the landscape for food waste in the UK and priorities for addressing challenges across the system
- Supporting food redistribution during COVID-19 disruption - funding, maintaining resilience, and working with supply chain partners
- Food waste reduction measures across households and industry - improving local collection scope and management, reuse and recycling opportunities, and encouraging behaviour change
- Reducing waste in agriculture - low-carbon land use policy, supporting sustainable farming practices, and opportunities for repurposing agriculture waste
- Delivering a circular economy for food and drink packaging
- International case study: reducing the supply of single use plastic items
- Innovation in food and drink packaging and the shift away from single use items - developing new materials, improving recycling methods, and funding and incentives
- Policy priorities for plastic packaging reduction - EPR and accountability, deposit return schemes, and the roles of businesses and local government
Policy officials attending:
Our forums are known for attracting strong interest from policymakers and stakeholders.
This conference looks no different. Places have been reserved by parliamentary pass-holders from the House of Commons Library, and officials from Defra; BEIS; the Food Standards Agency; the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, NI; the Department for International Trade; the Office of Science and Technology and the Welsh Government.
This is a full-scale conference taking place online***
- full, four-hour programme including comfort breaks - you’ll also get a full recording to refer back to
- information-rich discussion involving key policymakers and stakeholders
- conference materials provided in advance, including speaker biographies
- speakers presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides if they wish, using the Cisco WebEx professional online conference platform (easy for delegates - we’ll provide full details)
- opportunities for live delegate questions and comments with all speakers
- a recording of the addresses, all slides cleared by speakers, and further materials, is made available to all delegates afterwards as a permanent record of the proceedings
- delegates are able to add their own written comments and articles following the conference, to be distributed to all attendees and more widely
- networking too - there will be opportunities for delegates to e-meet and interact - we’ll tell you how!
Full information and guidance on how to take part will be sent to delegates before the conference
