The BBPA has today signed the Waste & Resources Action Plan (WRAP) Courtauld Commitment 2025, a world-leading voluntary agreement that brings together organisations across the food system – from producer to consumer – to make food and drink production and consumption more sustainable. The BBPA has supported each of the earlier phases of the Courtauld Commitment.
Alongside 89 other signatories, from major supermarkets to local authorities, and organisations such as the British Hospitality Association and the British Retail Consortium, the BBPA has agreed to support the delivery of the three following commitments:
- A 20% reduction in food and drink waste arising in the UK
- A 20% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity of food and drink consumed in the UK
- A reduction in impact associated with water use in the supply chain
As part of this commitment the BBPA will be sharing best practice amongst its membership and working with WRAP to ensure that its research is well targeted and communicated through the supply chain.
Brigid Simmonds, BBPA Chief Executive, comments:
“In the UK today, for every two tonnes of food consumed, one tonne is wasted, and with projections for two billion more mouths to feed across the globe by 2050, it’s easy to see why the commitments agreed to in Courtauld 2025 are so important.
“Working with WRAP to identify new actions and opportunities to save resources, as the BBPA and all other signatories will do, can help to put the UK on track to reduce food waste by half, in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.”
The work carried out to deliver on the commitments will provide £20 billion pounds worth of savings to the UK economy, with £4 billion of this enjoyed by businesses.
Dr Richard Swannell, Director of sustainable food systems at WRAP, comments:
“The pressures of resource scarcity, population growth and our changing climate will have profound effects on our food supply in the coming years, and business efficiency. To safeguard UK food we need a step-change to increase sustainable food and drink production and consumption, conserve resources and combat climate change. Courtauld 2025 will do this.”
Committing to Courtauld 2025 is further evidence that the brewing and pub industry takes its efforts to tackle climate change and other environmental challenges seriously, and will build on the successes already achieved throughout the industry as outlined in the BBPA’s Brewing Green 2015 publication.
2014 saw brewers’ efficiency rise by 1.2 per cent, an overall improvement of 11.6 per cent from 2008, whilst carbon emissions fell by 1.2 per cent and water efficiency rose 6 per cent; a 39 per cent increase in efficiency since 1990.
Through initiatives such as ESOS, a new scheme designed to reduce the costs associated with the Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme, and Sustain, a partnership which is cutting the cost of members’ packaging waste, the BBPA believes it is well placed to work with WRAP, support the Courtauld Commitment 2025, and further embed the principles of sustainability and resource efficiency across the brewing industry.