With much recent news focused on rocketing prices for food and commodities, there are tough times ahead for initiatives such as the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) sustainable food procurement commitment. Part of its ‘Good Food on the Public Plate’ campaign, the plan aims to encourage catering managers in key public sector departments such as Transport for London, the Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police to source all its food in a sustainable way – and to ensure that all food bought is traceable to its production source.
This programmebuilds on an earlier stage of the initiative that targeted key NHS hospitals in partnership with the campaigning NGO group Sustain. Central to the cause is that “more sustainable” does not mean more expensive – indeed, sustainably sourced food can be, and should be, either cost neutral, or cost-saving. There will be trade-offs, but this is a sensible approach.
Having dived into a little of the detail behind the scenes, I’ve been impressed with the advice and 5 step guides developed by Sustain and regional bodies such as the South East Food Group to give buyers a steer on how to get started. It’s not often we look to government for leadership on sustainability, but there is something here for businesses with their own catering needs to learn from! It would be interesting to see if the GLA intend to go further and share this best practice with businesses in the capital.
Meanwhile, while we may be seeing fewer policemen on the streets of London as a result of cutbacks, rest assured that their boiled eggs will be free range and their fish sustainably sourced. And before those of you affected by the next tube strike vent your anger, take comfort from the fact that while the trains may not be running, train drivers will be doing their bit for the planet by ordering a veggie burger and chips for lunch.
Liza Lort Phillips is an associate director at Corporate Citizenship.
Tragic incidents in Bangladesh during December constituted a “damning indictment of workers’ conditions” according to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). A fire in a Bangladesh garment factory on 14 December claimed the lives of 25 people and injured over 100. The factory, owned by large local garment exporter the Hameen Group, supplies companies including Gap Inc, a member of the ETI. A further incident saw three people die and more than 50 injured after violent unrest over low wages in the country. The ETI stated that “the endemic and widespread violations of workers’ rights in the sector are simply unsustainable”. With the livelihoods of around 20 million people in Bangladesh relying on the garment sector, recent events highlight the need for improved working conditions along the supply chain.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) will ensure all its catering contracts include sustainability standards by 2012 as part of its new Sustainability Food Procurement Commitment, launched 6 December. The commitment includes a requirement that food be traceable to its production source, as well as specifying that tea coffee, bananas and sugar are to be Fairtrade certified. The Red Tractor Assured Food Standard scheme is to be used as a minimum for farm produce and livestock and eggs are to be sourced from accredited suppliers. The new commitment is part of the London authorities’ wider responsible procurement programme.
Mars Inc has been awarded the US Secretary of State’s 2010 Award for Corporate Excellence in recognition of its work towards the sustainability and economic improvement of cocoa-growing areas in the Republic of Ghana. The Awards celebrate good corporate citizenship abroad. Mars has pledged to use 100% certified sustainable cocoa in all of its products worldwide by 2020 and, alongside IBM and the US Department of Agriculture, released the cacao genome sequence earlier in the year to improve cocoa breeding programmes and bolster production. The sustainability of cocoa supply chains faces numerous challenges, including crops often fraught with pests and diseases, rural to urban migration and large, dispersed supplier bases, with 6.5 million farmers globally depending on cocoa for their livelihoods.
In a new move to reduce shipping emissions, a free internet database has been launched detailing the energy efficiency of almost every ocean-going ship in the world. Set up by Sir Richard Branson’s non-profit Carbon War Rooms, the scheme uses publically available data on engine size and CO2 emissions to rate nearly 60,000 ships on their energy efficiency. Exporters and importers, including supermarkets, retailers, manufacturers and oil and mining companies will be able to use the database to choose between dirty and clean ships. The aim is to encourage the shipping industry to address carbon emissions by increasing the possibility of pressure and incentives from along the supply chain.
Water pollution risk in China’s electronics supply chain
Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) has released a new report regarding water pollution risks in electronics supply chains in China. According to the report, rapid growth of electronics manufacturing in China has led to negative environmental impacts particularly on water quality, with around 5% of electronics suppliers committing environmental violations regarding water pollution.
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