Plating Up Progress: Part 1

By:
Plating Up Progress
A Food Climate Research Network (University of Oxford) and the Food Foundation project
Date:
2019
Resource type:
Advocacy and policy

Plating Up Progress has released a new investor briefing, Plating Up Progress Part 1, which looks at the sustainability risks and opportunities for food retailers, caterers and restaurants to help lead the transition to a more sustainable food system. Part 1 focuses on these actors as key to influencing both production and consumption, and Part 2 will be released in September 2019 to assess risks, opportunities and gaps in the UK food retail and restaurant sectors.

In Plating Up Progress Part 1, the authors have identified eight key issues: Health and nutrition; Climate change; Biodiversity; Water; Food waste; Human rights; Animal welfare; and Antimicrobial resistance. They then consider four areas of risk and opportunity in the short, medium and long term for food businesses (see Figure 5). This assessment of changes in physical risks, policies, consumer demand and reputation highlight where companies should and can take action. The report recommends companies diversify "revenue dependence towards healthier and more sustainable products" and improve sustainability across the supply chain for their products, and concludes with a call to action for: 

  1. Businesses to set targets that relate to dietary shifts, as well as supply chain sustainability
  2. Businesses to regularly report on, and track, progress against these targets in a consistent and comparable way
  3. Investors to build these metrics into their risk assessments and engage with businesses on setting ambitious targets that accelerate change

More information and the full report is available here: Plating Up Progress: Part 1

 

Image source: Plating Up Progress, 2019.

This resource presents evidence or data but has not been peer reviewed