Platform for the food and beverage industry
Nov. 29, Fevia, the federation of the Belgian food industry, launched a new sustainability roadmap, built around 4 pillars and 15 themes. Based on the question "What will we eat tomorrow?", the industry wants to take the lead in the coming years to work together with consumers, chain partners and other stakeholders on a sustainable food system. The online sustainability roadmap contains an action plan with which Belgian food companies and their more than 95,000 food heroes want to realize no fewer than 32 concrete ambitions in the coming years.
At Fevia's online annual meeting, Anthony Botelberge, CEO of Frigilunch, takes over as Fevia chairman from Jan Vander Stichele (Lotus Bakeries). He does so at a time when the Belgian food industry is sailing through turbulent waters.
"We are in the midst of a stormy period. Our businesses have seen a succession of waves in recent years. Just think of the Brexit, the various waves in the Covid crisis, the explosion of our costs, the floods, the labor shortage and the millions in economic damage from ethylene oxide. But we can be proud that as an industry we have not gone head over heels and that our companies are showing resilience!" says Anthony Botelberge.
Still, the new Fevia president warns, "The fourth corona wave threatens to undo the much-needed recovery. Our businesses absolutely must be able to stay open. But the explosion of our costs is the big headache for many food companies today, especially when they cannot pass them on. As an industry, we want to contribute to a sustainable food system with quality and innovative food and beverages. This is only possible if consumers pay the right price at the end of the day, taking into account the costs and investments made by all players in the food chain."
The chart below illustrates the explosion of costs for food companies over the past year:
Despite the turbulent period, the food industry continues to point its compass toward the future. During the covid crisis, Fevia polled consumers and other stakeholders about their expectations on how the sector can contribute to a sustainable food system. A unique survey showed that more and more Belgian consumers are becoming more sensitive to sustainability when buying food. Together with its members, Fevia worked out the sector's answers in a new sustainability roadmap for the Belgian food industry, towards 2025 and beyond. It launches this today with a campaign around the question "What will we eat tomorrow?".
"It's a question we all ask ourselves every day, but it's also a multi-layered question for us. How do we ensure delicious, diverse, innovative, affordable and sustainable food and beverages both today and in the future? As a food industry we recognize our pioneering role to create a sustainable food system together with the other chain partners and stakeholders and with this roadmap we show that we mean business," said Bart Buysse, CEO of Fevia.
Ann Nachtergaele, Sustainability Coordinator at Fevia, explains the sustainability roadmap: "The sustainability roadmap goes much further than a simple sustainability report. It outlines a path, with a roadmap around 4 pillars, 15 themes and an action plan to realize 32 concrete ambitions towards 2025 and beyond. This will be the compass with which our food companies, including many SMEs, can develop their own sustainability strategy, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. From Fevia, we are ready to assist them with this."
