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

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.