Delivering environmental and commercial benefits across the meat and fish sector
The amount of meat and fish and its associated packaging ending up as waste in the UK retail supply chain is to be identified for the first time – and the team behind the research will also identify how to reduce it in order to realise cost savings and environmental benefits for the businesses participating.
The new research, led by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) and Envirowise, will develop detailed ‘resource maps’ to identify the amount of food and packaging waste generated and where it occurs. Data will be collected for four types of meat (poultry, beef, lamb and pork) and twenty fish types from haddock to cockles at all points along the wholesale and retail supply chain within the UK.
The project will also detail the amount of water consumed and disposed of during processing. The carbon impact of waste – and its economic value – will be identified too.
WRAP and Envirowise are encouraging companies to take part in the research to provide accurate and up-to-date information about waste produced across all parts of the supply chain. The results will benefit participating businesses and the wider industry by identifying key areas where resources can be used more efficiently and waste can be prevented. This will include making recommendations to tackle the ‘hot spots’ and the development of good practice case studies.
Charlotte Henderson, Retail Supply Chain Programme Manager at WRAP, said: “Meat and fish are priority food items for resource mapping because of their high embodied carbon[1] and short shelf-life.
“Identifying where and when the waste is generated – and the reasons why – will help us develop solutions to use resources more efficiently. These solutions will be shared and be good news for companies within the supply chains because the benefits identified will be commercial as well as environmental”.
She also said that the problem of meat and fish waste, alongside water use, is complex, requiring a multi-disciplinary approach.
With this in mind, food and grocery supply chain expert IGD is undertaking the research on meat in partnership with MLCSL Consulting (a commercial subsidiary of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board), the British Poultry Council and Cranfield University. The work will link in to the English Beef & Lamb Executive (EBLEX) and Defra Meat Roadmap work currently being undertaken.
Christine Walsh, Senior Consultant at MLCSL Consulting said “The meat processing - encompassing abattoirs, cutting plants, wholesale and retail packing plants and retail sector - are always working to reduce their waste. This project will give the whole industry an up-to-date benchmark as to where they are and will also signpost them to further opportunities for improvement along the supply chain for the next decade”.
David Gordon, IGD's Director of Industry Development, commented: "IGD is delighted to lead this essential research for WRAP. Our project will follow cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry from the abattoir to the retail check-out and will examine how each part of the animal is used in order to understand where opportunities arise to reduce waste. Producing meat is a resource intensive process and finding ways to eliminate waste from the supply chain will undoubtedly bring economic and environmental benefits."
C-Tech Innovation, the Chester based innovation management and technology development company, is undertaking the work on fish in partnership with the Sea Fish Industry Authority (SEAFISH) and Harris Interactive.
"This project represents a very positive step forward for the seafood industry building on waste management work already undertaken by Seafish, the authority on seafood,” said Michaela Archer, Project Manager at Seafish.
“This is a big issue for the industry so benchmarking the amount of waste product generated throughout the seafood supply chain is crucial if we are to provide a basis for managing waste better in the future. For the first time we will be contacting companies throughout the whole seafood supply chain, covering all major fish and shellfish species of significance to the UK market, to discuss the type and quantity of waste produced and how it is disposed of. With escalating disposal costs and more stringent legislation on disposal methods it is increasingly important that the seafood industry is in a position to minimise the amount of waste produced and look ahead to identify alternative waste treatments and promote good practice,"
The project team will be contacting companies across the supply chain, representing over 80% of the meat and fish species consumed in the UK, to participate in the project and provide data. Aggregated results of the survey will be shared with the industry and benchmarking reports will be developed.
Businesses interested in being involved should email resourcemaps@wrap.org.uk
[1] Embodied carbon is a shorthand term; referring to total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, quantified in carbon dioxide equivalent, associated with a specified material. GHG emissions relating to the production of meat particularly (producing the feed etc.) is significant.
Editor's notes
1 WRAP helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change.
2 Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
3 Working in seven key areas (Construction, Retail, Manufacturing, Organics, Business Growth, Behavioural Change, and Local Authority Support), WRAP’s work focuses on market development and support to drive forward recycling and materials resource efficiency within these sectors, as well as wider communications and awareness activities including the multi-media national Recycle Now campaign for England.
4 More information on all of WRAP's programmes can be found on www.wrap.org.uk
5 Envirowise is a Government-funded programme dedicated to putting the sustainable use of resources at the heart of UK business practice. Since 1994 Envirowise has helped UK businesses save over £1bn by enabling them to significantly reduce their environmental footprints. Envirowise offers businesses of all sizes and sectors a wide range of free, independent and practical advice designed to genuinely improve their processes, profitability and competitiveness. Services include:
· The Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585794;
· An encyclopaedic website (www.envirowise.gov.uk) of valuable and relevant information; and
· Over 200 events each year, from Product Design Workshops to major exhibitions.
6 C-Tech Innovation (www.ctechinnovation.com) is an internationally renowned, independent innovation management and technology development organisation with more than 40 years’ experience in providing innovation consultancy and technology research and development. Activities range from research to commercialisation of innovative new products and multi-disciplinary consultancy.
7 Seafish, the authority on seafood, was founded in 1981 by an act of parliament and supports the seafood industry for a sustainable, profitable future. Services range from research and development, economic consulting, market research and training through to account management and legislative advice for the seafood industry www.seafish.org
8 IGD provides information, insight and best practice to the food and grocery industry worldwide and this year, celebrates its centenary year.
9 MLCSL Consulting (previously part of MLC) is a commercial subsidiary of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB). They provide independent business and project consultancy services to the agriculture and food industries particularly in the meat processing and livestock sector.
10 Late last year, a steering group including EBLEX, NFU, BMPA, NSA, NBA, AIMS, BRC and Defra, came together to develop an environmental roadmap for beef and sheep producers in England. Led by EBLEX, the project is on the verge of publishing its first document, identifying cost effective ways for farmers to reduce the environmental impact of their production, namely reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Going forward, subsequent reports will look at similar ways of reducing GHG emissions and environmental impact in other areas of the production of beef and sheep in other parts of the supply chain.