We hear the word ‘Sustainability’ almost constantly today in every walk of business life. Whether this is on packaging, supply chains or indeed raw materials, so it was good to hear at first hand from a major wholesaler what it means for them.

We were joined at the BFFF Business Conference by Hugo Mahoney (CEO of Brakes) who walked us through Brakes’ CRS Strategy.

Key themes were Food Poverty in the UK, the Rise of Obesity Worldwide, Food waste and the challenges we face in Reducing Packaging combined with keeping it out of our oceans. However, if was also clear that sustainability touches so many other areas and requires significant investment in expertise. Hugo fully understood the need to support smaller suppliers who lack the knowledge and resources to manage the variety of complex areas.

Even closer to home we have issues of things like Modern Slavery – something that was recently highlighted on a training seminar the BFFF ran in conjunction with Primary Authority and another BFFF member.

He also highlighted the massive amount of food waste created especially in 2020 with the various lockdowns and sometimes with short notice.

Hugo also recognised that frozen food products had played a key role in ensuring food service outlets could provide a menu for trade that was variable and uncertain.

A key ‘take out’ on the Sustainability Road Map is collaboration. So, if you are interested to join the recently launched BFFF Special Interest Group (SIG) on Sustainability then please contact Siobhan.

The presentation from this year’s Frozen Food Business Conference will be made available to all attendees.  If you were not able to purchase a ticket, please contact Siobhan O’Callaghan.