Food and Drink Wales plan for green growth in food manufacturing available now

Food and Drink Wales plan for Green Growth in food and drink manufacturing has been published this week following a launch by Jane Hutt at the recent Taste Wales conference.

'Doing Better Business - Opportunities for Welsh Food and Drink Manufacturers in Responsible and Green Growth' is written by Iain Cox of Ecostudio, with Welsh Government officials from Food and Drink Wales and with support from the industry.

This business-friendly publication sets out how the Welsh Governments intention for an environmentally and socially responsible food and drink sector is bringing commercial advantages to Welsh food manufacturers.

• it demonstrates how the Welsh food and drink industry is set benefit from the Welsh Government Food Action Plan and Future Generations legislation.
• it features best practice examples from Welsh food and drink manufacturers and trade buyers, including: Parsnipship, Ty Tanglwyst Dairy, Puffin Produce, Fruitapeel, Bangor Mussel Producers and NHS Wales.
• it describes the support available to Welsh food and drink manufacturers, including the Sustainable Business Review. A free online self-assessment that is helping 100s of small food companies to report their sustainable credentials to customers, and numerous trade buyers to meet CSR and legislation by assessing the sustainability of their suppliers.

Iain Cox the publication's author and Director of Ecostudio says:

"The UK marketplace for sustainably produced food and drink provides Welsh businesses with opportunities for growth. Driven by an increasing consumer appetite and new legislation, buyers from retail, wholesale and the public sector are actively seeking suppliers that can help them meet this growing market demand.

This was worth £8.64billion to the UK economy in 2014, up from £6.6billion in 2010*

Doing Better Business illustrates how the Welsh Governments plans for green growth are being put into practice by leading Welsh food and drink manufacturers and it gives a practical insight for how food and drink manufacturers  can take advantage of new opportunities for growth."

*according to UK Ethical Market Annual Report

Contact / further information:

Iain Cox

iain@ecostudio.org.uk

08452 696105

www.ecostudio.org.uk

This publication is available to download on Business Wales website by clicking here

Food businesses wanted for international publication

Sustainable food is worth £8.64billion to the UK economy. 

Driven by increasing consumer appetite and new legislation, buyers from retail, wholesale and the public sector are actively seeking suppliers that can help them meet this growing market demand.

Ecostudio is preparing a publication for the Welsh Government to promote how innovative food businesses profit through brands, products and services that benefit the environment and local communities.

We are seeking up to 10 food businesses from Wales to be included in this publication.

This is a free promotional opportunity. Please get in touch before 5pm Friday 17^th February 2017

Contact:

Iain Cox

m: 07827 815876
e: iain@ecostudio.org.uk

New report available: How Community Food Co-ops make a positive contribution to future generations.

Since 2004 the RRU Community Food Co-ops programme in Wales has provided healthy and affordable food to those that most need it – whilst providing much needed access to market, and a straightforward distribution for an increasing number of regional growers and local produce. 

Run as a social enterprise and volunteer led there were over 300 co-ops active across Wales in 2016. 

The programme was established with Welsh Government funding to deliver multiple policy objectives on health, poverty and rural development. It is closely aligned with the goals of the Well being for Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. They strive to ensure their operational activities and strategic decision making is environmentally sound and socially responsible. 

Ecostudio has worked closely with the team to develop an award winning 10 point sustainability plan. This has enabled them to monitor, evaluate and improve their performance whilst demonstrating a return on investment that adds value to the community benefits that they are established to deliver.

Our report provides a summary of this work to date. It can be downloaded here.

Sustainable business toolkit for food SMEs launched at Royal Welsh Show

The Sustainable Business Review is a new self assessment for food companies led by Ecostudio as part of a 5 year partnership programme funded through the EU and Welsh Government.

Flyers designed for the Show

Susie, Lucy and Iain were at the Royal Welsh Show to promote the toolkit to exhibitors in a busy food hall. Around 50 food businesses are now signed up and we're looking forward to helping them to take advantage of the opportunities that the growing marketplace for sustainable food provides.

Bottles of award winning Welsh bubbly are also up for grabs for businesses that register for the Review by 7 August 2015 (not to mention the free sustainable business report they receive when its complete!).

We'll be announcing the winning companies very soon....pls check back.

We have an immediate requirement for a sustainable food researcher.

You'll be working with us on the Sustainable Supply Chains initiative a Welsh Government funded project that we've been running in partnership with f3 since 2009.

Your role will be to help us develop the Sustainable Business Review - a new self assessment toolkit for food and farming businesses that we are launching to the industry throughout Wales.

This is a 3 month fixed term post until the end of July 2015.

For further information and to apply for the role here.

Abergavenny Food Conference - a talk by Iain Cox with Debbie Handley of the RRU Community Food Co-ops

We were delighted to deliver a talk at the Abergavenny Food Conference last month alongside some inspirational speakers covering a broad range of topics about innovation in local food.

Hosted by Miller Research and now in it's 8th year the Conference is an integral part of the the annual, award winning, Abergavenny Food Festival.

Click here to watch us on YouTube.

Here's the blurb:

How doing business sustainably helps small food enterprises gain commercial advantage

Many food enterprises play a positive role in local communities and the environment. All too often however these efforts go unnoticed and growth opportunities are missed.

This talk draws on Ecostudio's work supporting small businesses to demonstrate their contribution to sustainable development.

It includes a working example of the RRU Community Food Co-ops 10 point sustainability plan.

RRU Community Food Co-ops wins national horticulture award for environmental practices!

We're delighted that the RRU Community Food Co-ops have been recognised for their leadership and commitment in sustainable development by receiving the Environmental Excellence Award from Horticulture Wales - an official organisation established to support Welsh horticulture business.

The Community Food Co-ops are long established to provide healthy and affordable food to those that most need it – whilst providing much needed access to market, and a straightforward distribution for an increasing number of regional growers and local produce.

Run as a social enterprise and volunteer led there are currently over 300 co-ops active across Wales. 

Ecostudio have been working with the RRU social enterprise since 2009.

A 10 point sustainability plan has enabled them to measure, evaluate and improve their performance whilst demonstrating an environmental and economic return on investment that adds value to the community benefits that they are established to deliver.

We'll write more about this here soon. In the meantime feel free to get in touch if you'd like to find out more.

Sustainably speaking at the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development and Cynnal Cymru

It’s not every day we’re invited to share the floor with representatives Coca Cola, Arriva Trains Wales and the Energy Savings Trust.

Yesterday’s Wales launch of the UKBCSD initiative is about encouraging a shift towards more sustainable behaviour in business, and the Sustainable Development Charter, seems to us like a fantastic opportunity to exchange knowledge with industry from across all sectors.

Our (soon to be launched) self assessment toolkit for food businesses to identify,improve and communicate their sustainability credentials demonstrates how Ecostudio can support the UKBCSD and Cynnal Cymru in enabling sustainable behaviour in business.

With flooding, snow and high winds disrupting travel links and perhaps serving as a (not so) gentle reminder of the role the climate has in our lives. Delegates that braved the elements to get to Cardiff learned about a variety of ways that large organisations and SMEs are winning new business through taking environmentally and people friendly approaches. 

Ways to save energy through using less water, improving safety and increasing customer satisfaction through better signage, using new (plant based) materials that prevent packaging waste and increase brand value were just some of the practical business activities described by an excellent and diverse group of speakers.

Drawing on Ecostudio work and using practical examples. Iain Cox explained the importance of developing sustainable approaches to business, the market drivers and challenges facing micro and SMEs, particularly those in the Welsh food sector.

More about the event including the presentations can be viewed here.

Free sustainable business coaching for Welsh food companies!

Ecostudio are offering an opportunity for up to 6 food companies to receive up to 2 half-day sustainable business coaching sessions. We're providing this free of charge subject to eligibility.

There are numerous benefits that food companies can gain from doing this. For example, food businesses that demonstrate good practices can take advantage of new opportunities in areas such as supplying the public sector, selling to retail and hospitality, or selling direct to consumers.

Ecostudio in collaboration with f3 have been awarded Welsh Government funding to develop the Welsh food supply chain.

Further information can be found on the project website. Click here.

If you’re interested in this opportunity email us asap we’ll call you to discuss in more detail.

Packaging for Horticulture – a practical guide for small enterprises

A new packaging guide has been published by Horticulture Wales.

Packaging for Horticulture – a practical guide for small enterprises is written by Iain Cox of Ecostudio with support from Susie Gardner and designed by Kate Hamer Design.

Using research and knowledge gained from the horticulture and packaging industries. This free online guide is designed to help small companies overcome the commercial challenges they face when considering their packaging options, it provides technical know-how and explains how good environmental choices can win new business.

For further information and to register with Horticulture Wales to download the guide, click here.

To view the guide directly on ISSUU click here.

Phase 2 of the Sustainable Supply Chains initiative underway!

Building on the success of our work with f3 local food consultants in 2009-2011 the next stage of the Sustainable Supply Chains initiative will focus on 2 things:

1. to develop a self assessment sustainable business toolkit, and:
2. to support 3 social enterprises to expand their marketplace.

Ecostudio are busy with the research and development for the sustainable business toolkit that'll aim to provide the means for any food business to plan for the future.

We'll add regular updates here so please check back or contact us.

UK ethical products market worth £36bn!

A soon to be published report by the Co-operative Bank will show that the UK market for ethical products is valued at a cool £36bn. It also shows that the average household spending on ethical food and drink has increased from £81 to £244 over the last decade.

This is significant because as more consumers continue to recognise the benefits of purchasing environmentally sustainable and socially responsible goods it mean that smarter businesses will adapt their practices to meet this demand.

It's not all about Fair Trade. Large companies such as Tesco are also responding to meet this demand. This means that their suppliers will need to conform to new sustainability standards if they want to maintain this business.

Can your business afford to ignore this? If you have the will we have the way to help your business achieve sales in the ethical marketplace. What's more our sustainable business programmes will help equip you to embrace the challenges that the future holds.
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What does Ecostudio do?

We're often asked this question and this will all be included in our new website launching later this month - here's a summary (feel free to contact us to find out more):

We work together with business and the public sector to apply environmentally innovative and socially responsible practice in the food and drink industry.

We combine our knowledge with our client's experience of their marketplace. We work with them to ensure their business objectives are met in the most sustainable way. Our experience shows that it's better to help people make their own decisions.

Our approach is different and our results are more sustainable.

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