Sustainable Foods Summit Tackles Ingredients and Packaging Developments

The Sustainable Foods Summit will discuss approaches to reduce the environmental impact of food and beverages by using novel ingredients and green packaging. The European edition of this executive summit will be hosted in Amsterdam on 4-5 June. The Food Ingredients for Sustainability session covers developments in sustainable sourcing and product innovations. Robert Madge from FoodReg will show how advances in modern software tools are increasing transparency in ingredient supply chains. By using vanilla and cocoa as case studies, an update will be given on sustainable sourcing projects in developing countries. Faitrtrade International and a food company will highlight the importance of addressing social impacts when sourcing agricultural commodities.

Picture: Amarjit Sahoto, organizer of the summit, during a keynote last year.

Superfood ingredients are making headway in food and beverage applications. The Africa-inspired health and social company Aduna Foods will show how moringa, baobab and similar ingredients are inspiring creativity. Another paper explores the novel possibilities offered by sea vegetables (seaweeds). The challenges associated with using such novel ingredients in food and beverage applications will also be discussed.

With the United Nations declaring 2015 as the international year of soils, the opening keynote is on soil fertility. Details will be given on how soil health contributes to food security, poverty reduction, as well as protecting and preserving ecosystems. Tobias Bandel from Soil & More further discusses the role of soil in mitigating climate change. Another speaker looks at the implications of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on sustainable foods. What risks does the TTIP bring to sustainable food producers and consumers in Europe?

Picture: Aduna Foods at the BioFach Fair in February

Sustainable Packaging is a focal theme

Sustainable Packaging is a focal theme since food and beverage companies are under growing pressure to reduce their packaging impacts. The session begins with latest research on the packaging footprint of food and beverages; proceeding seminars cover advances in eco-design, and biopolymers & sustainable materials. Carrefour will share some of its sustainable packaging initiatives, whilst a multinational will state the challenges faced by companies looking to replace plastic packaging. Packaging has high environmental impact since it comprises up to a third of household waste; TerraCycle will show how its innovative collection schemes are creating new products from waste.

Another session on Green Marketing features advances in marketing and distribution of sustainable foods. Craig Sams, founder and president of Green & Black’s, opens the session with a keynote on green brand values. Sams will also share his experiences in building international distribution for the iconic ethical chocolate brand. In another case study, Coop Denmark will state how its Anglamark private label has grown to represent about a half of organic food sales in the country. Tereza Havrlandova, founder of Lifefood, discusses the growing demand for raw food, while other papers cover green marketing communications and green consumer behaviour.

Taking place in Amsterdam for the seventh consecutive year, the European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit seeks to encourage food and beverage companies to use sustainable ingredients, adopt green packaging solutions and overcome green marketing challenges.

About the Sustainable Foods Summit
Organised by Organic Monitor, the aim of the Sustainable Foods Summit is to explore new horizons for eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry by discussing key industry issues in a high level forum. The 7th European edition will be hosted at the Mövenpick hotel in Amsterdam on 4-5th June 2015.

More information is available from www.sustainablefoodssummit.com

Registration here

About Organic Monitor

Organic Monitor is a specialist research, consulting & training company that focuses on the global organic & related product industries. Since 2001, we have been providing a range of business services to operators in high-growth ethical & sustainable industries. Our services include market research publications, business & technical consulting, seminars & workshops, and sustainability summits.