Major stakeholders in the European food and drink supply chain have set up a roundtable to promote environmental sustainability. The Roundtable will constitute a major food sector-wide contribution to the EU’s ambitions in the field of Sustainable Consumption and Production, bringing together farmers and their suppliers, agricultural traders, food and drink producers, packaging suppliers, recovery organisations and civil society representatives, and will be supported by the UN Environment... ...Read more »

The economy is starting to cast a shadow over green living’s glow. According to new consumer research from Mintel, the number of Americans who claim to almost always or regularly buy green products remains unchanged since last year, at 36% – suggesting the “green” trend has begun to stagnate. This lack of growth comes after tripling the previous year (from 12% in 2007 to 36% in 2008, according to Mintel consumer survey data). Marcia Mogelonsky, Ph. D and senior research analyst... ...Read more »

Leaders of consumer goods companies are losing confidence in their ability to boost revenues in the current climate. The figures from PricewaterhouseCoopers Annual CEO Survey highlight a reduction in CEOs’ optimism – with 27% of consumer goods leaders ‘very confident’ about boosting their companies’ revenues over the next 12 months, compared with 50% of respondents to PwC’s survey last year. The survey of 130 consumer goods leaders indicates that the industry... ...Read more »

The salt reduction efforts of members of the food industry in the UK appear to be paying dividends, according to new data from leading market insight provider, TNS Worldpanel. Between September 2006 and September 2008, shoppers bought 3,794 tonnes less salt in five categories: bread (including morning goods such as waffles, pancakes and muffins), breakfast cereals, canned goods, crisps (potato chips), and savoury home cooking products (including table salt). The ongoing reduction is attributed to... ...Read more »

Coca-Cola will provide US$400,000 to MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to help establish a new Center for Packaging Innovation and Sustainability, designed to allow for food and beverage industry collaboration in the quest toward improved packaging sustainability. The planned facility will serve as a think tank for packaging innovation and sustainability and a research and education hub to measure and reduce packaging’s environmental impact. “The Coca-Cola Company... ...Read more »

Revised forecasts predict volume growth of between 1 and 2% for the global carbonates category despite the worsening economic climate. The deterioration in financial conditions has inevitably prompted Canadean to downgrade their earlier projections by around 1% and the global beverage experts now expect the market to reach 208 billion litres by the end of this year, a figure that equates to 31 litres per year for every global consumer. 2009 will see a similar growth rate to 2008, before the green... ...Read more »

Recently released research by KPMG International and CIES reveals that, far from regarding corporate responsibility as a cost, many leading retailers and manufacturers see sustainability as: • a driver of innovation that can help build growth and profitability • integrated into the core business • driven by business need rather than formal requirements • having a neutral or positive impact on the bottom line • playing a crucial role in recruitment and retention The report, ‘KPMG/CIES... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council, Australia’s peak food and grocery manufacturing representative body, has welcomed recognition from the nation’s Environment Ministers that the National Packaging Covenant has played a significant role in increasing consumer packaging recycling rates by 16 per cent over the past three years. AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said it was pleasing to see last week’s meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council acknowledge the success... ...Read more »

Around the world, people have been shaken into uncertainty by the economic crisis, but there have been reasons for optimism and hope in recent weeks. Looking ahead to 2009, market and consumer intelligence firm Mintel believes consumers will adapt and make the best of the coming year in five major ways. As a backlash against the fast pace of the modern world, people will try to take greater control of their lives and find pleasure in the simple things. Faced with financial insecurity, shoppers will... ...Read more »

Kellogg Company, the world’s largest cereal manufacturer, has reported third-quarter 2008 sales growing 9% to US$3.3b – driven by price increases and the trend toward more people eating at home. “The Kellogg business model and strategy continue to give us the ability to offset inflationary headwinds while hitting our targets and delivering sustainable, dependable performance in these very volatile times,” said David Mackay, Kellogg’s chief executive officer. Mr Mackay... ...Read more »