Producers urged to go green for growth
While growing the economy is one of the prime goals of Scotland Food & Drink’s Ambition 2030’ strategy, the organisation’s new Greening Your Business toolkit also aims to raise awareness of sustainability in the era of climate change. By Karen Peattie
AS one of the largest industry sectors in Scotland, food and drink has long been a leader across a raft of disciplines, from advances in new product innovation and packaging to marketing and establishing export markets. It's a dynamic industry, too, with a £15 billion turnover and more than 119,000 employees.
Despite the challenges of the global pandemic, the industry refuses to shy away from its vision for future growth, and industry leadership organisation Scotland Food & Drink is continuing efforts to work towards its Ambition 2030 vision, where the target is to double the size of the country's food and drink industry to £30 billion turnover by 2030.
Of course, size isn't everything and that vision also centres around creating a sustainable industry. And, like other key industry sectors, food and drink recognises its responsibilities when it comes to the climate emergency and the urgency of the task in hand as it strives towards net-zero emissions.
That's why Scotland Food & Drink has now launched its Greening Your Business toolkit to provide practical support for SMES in reducing the overall environmental impact of their business in a way that conserves the Earth's resources, but also makes their business more efficient and reduces costs.
The toolkit equips food and drink companies with everything they need to tackle the climate emergency in a way which is positive for businesses, and outlines the pivotal role Scotland's food and drink industry has to play in reducing carbon emissions and helping reach the Scottish Government's target of net zero by 2045.
Produced by Scotland Food & Drink with support from the Scottish Government and Zero Waste Scotland, the toolkit is designed to provide practical support to help food and drink businesses reduce their carbon footprint while still improving their bottom line.
Within the toolkit, business will find small changes to get started, long-term ideas for making processes more efficient, signposting for funding and one-to-one advice, along with key guidance on new legislation.
As John Davidson, Scotland Food & Drink's Strategy and External Relations Director explains: “The Greening Your Business toolkit is a fantastic aid for Scotland's food and drink businesses and something we are very excited about. By going greener, businesses have the ability to cut their bills, make their business more resilient, win new customers and contracts, tap into postpandemic consumer trends, and become an employer people want to work for.
“We have an opportunity to not only be leaders in sustainable and climatefriendly food and drink production, but also attract investment, financial support and future customers for the Scottish food and drink sector.
“The opportunities are there for Scottish food and drink businesses to become more sustainable and this toolkit can help businesses grasp them.”
The Greening Your Business toolkit offers timely guidance, publishing ahead of COP26, the UN climate change conference that takes place in Glasgow in November. This will be first time a COP summit has met in the UK and the event will be one of the largest Scotland has ever hosted.
So, why does climate change matter? James Withers, Chief Executive of Scotland Food & Drink, says: “Climate change matters to the world, to Scotland and the people you sell to, raise money from or employ. It also matters to your business.
“The good news about going greener is that it can help your bottom line. For most SMES, costs and return on investment are major concerns – especially now, after the Covid-19 pandemic. By tackling your food waste, energy use or water use, you could cut your bills. At the same time, you could make your business more resilient, win new customers and contracts, tap into post-pandemic consumer trends, or become an employer of choice.
“You could also help Scotland stage a green recovery, and meet its targets of reducing emissions by 75% by 2030, and reaching net zero by 2045. This guide will help you do all of that, with practical advice on everything from longer-term ideas for making your processes more efficient to post-covid guidance for the manufacturing sector. All this information could make a real difference – not just to your business, but to Scotland and future generations.
“However, while tackling the climate emergency is an imperative, it is important to recognise the opportunities that lie within that mission. Food and drink businesses in Scotland have much to gain from going greener. It means cutting costs as well growing our reputation as leaders in sustainable and climate-friendly food and drink production. It will aid us in attracting investment, financial support and future customers. It will ensure we are leaders in Scotland's green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The International Panel on Climate Change said we have just 12 years to get on a pathway to avoid breaching 1.5 degrees of warming. The businesses that step up to this task will see benefits many years sooner than that and can accelerate their own growth. The opportunities in going greener are there for businesses of all sizes.”
The Greening Your Business toolkit also includes information hear about the “circular economy” which centres around moving away from a throwaway culture and making things last longer – through product design, new business models and processes, or a change of mindset. So, while it's about reducing waste, it's also about creating new revenue streams.
Circular economy opportunities will differ from business to business, but in the food and drink industry these could involve leasing equipment rather than purchasing it, or involve turning waste or low-value by-products into a higher value revenue stream.
Examples within the toolkit include Breadshare, a community bakery based in Edinburgh that has created a new revenue stream by turning unsold sourdough bread into breadcrumb product for sale in its shops and through wholesalers.
In Aberdeen, start-up The Crafty
Pickle Co rescues unloved surplus produce and turns it into fermented food products. In its first three months, it saved around 50kg of produce.
In Orkney, Swannay Brewery was losing more than 5,000 litres of beer a year during the casking process, which involved filling casks manually by hose. Installing a cask racker has saved the brewery nearly £10,000 a year. When the casks are emptied, the last swills of beer are added as a nutritious extra to local cattle feed.
To access the toolkit, go online at foodanddrink.scot/resources/toolkits/ greening-your-business
Going greener can help your bottom line. By tackling your food waste, energy use or water use, you could cut your bills