Scottish food and drink companies have gathered to debate the sustainability agenda as part of Scotland Food & Drink and Marks & Spencer’s innovative Going for Gold initiative.
Date:
Thu, 20 Oct 2011
Source:
Scotland Food & Drink
It is the first milestone following the programme’s launch by Richard Lochhead MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, at the Royal Highland Show in June.
The event, which took place at Perth Racecourse, was opened by the new chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, James Withers.
Louise Nicholls, head of responsible sourcing and Carmel McQuaid, climate change manager at Marks & Spencer provided an update on the progress with Plan A and the frameworks which form a platform for companies to achieve. Other speakers included WRAP, Vion and Matthew Algie.
The Going for Gold initiative is a partnership between industry leadership organisation Scotland Food & Drink, Marks & Spencer, Scottish Enterprise, SAOS, Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service, SAC, Zero Waste Scotland, Quality Meat Scotland, Prince’s Mayday Network, Scottish Business in the Community and the Scottish Food and Drink Federation.
It provides co-ordinated support to M&S’s Scottish suppliers, in line with the retailer’s Plan A initiative which aims to establish M&S as the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015.
The project represents the first time that the various organisations which offer support in developing sustainable operations have collaborated in this way and the initial results will be presented at the Marks & Spencer supplier sustainability conference in 2012.
The company participants will have the opportunity to be coached through an accelerated supplier development process by dedicated contacts with a focus on ethical, environmental and lean objectives.
James Withers believes that the project with Marks & Spencer will act as a benchmark for Scottish food and drink companies: "As an industry we recognise the vital role sustainability plays in supporting growth and driving the development, both in the environmental and economic sense," he said.
"The Going for Gold programme is an industry-leading example of how retailers and suppliers can work together to deliver the mutual benefits of more sustainable operations.
"It takes a real hands-on approach with dedicated contacts providing participants with practical guidance and support.
"The event today is an invaluable opportunity for food and drink companies to share their experiences and best practice. Even those from diverse product sectors will face similar challenges in improving sustainability within their organisations, and a core aim of the pilot programme is to enable its learnings to be disseminated throughout the industry."
Paul Willgoss, head of food technology at Marks & Spencer, said: "The Going for Gold project has already shown how the industry can come together and work effectively to support processors and producers in Scotland.
"The event today is what this project is all about – coming together to establish and share best practice.
"It is encouraging to see that the enthusiasm for Going for Gold remains strong and that suppliers are already benefiting from the support that the pilot scheme provides."
Find out more about Marks & Spencer's Plan A initiative.
More retail news from Scotland.