Food industry pledges fewer food miles

Some 40 food and drink companies have today pledged to make fewer and friendlier food transport miles, signing up to the Food and Drink Federation’s (FDF) Environmental Checklist and Clause for Greener Food Transport.

This is the latest step by the food and drink manufacturing industry towards making a real difference to the environment as set out in FDF's Five-fold Environmental Ambition.

The signatories, including some of the biggest household brands in the world, have committed to using the ten point checklist.

Iain Ferguson, FDF President said: "Transporting food and drink, like all other goods, has environmental and social impacts. Today FDF members are making a significant commitment to reducing these impacts, and are once again showing leadership on an important environmental agenda. The companies who have signed up to the Checklist and Clause today are the first of what we hope will be many more signatories to this commitment to achieving fewer and friendlier food transport miles."

United Biscuits is avoiding 2.7m road miles per year compared to 2005 by improving the design of its transport network, vehicle use, driver training and by using satellite tracking. The company will cumulatively save about 4,700 tonnes of CO2 up to the end of 2008.

Similarly Tate & Lyle expects to avoid 2.1m road miles per year by the end of 2008 by shifting its bulk sugar distribution between its refinery in Silvertown East London and Glasgow from road to rail freight.

Signatories include: Anotelli, apetito, Associated British Foods plc, Birds Eye, Britvic, Burton's Foods, Cadbury, Daniel's Sweet Herring, Danone Waters UK, Dawnfresh Seafoods Ltd, Elizabeth Shaw Ltd, General Mills UK Ltd, GlaxoSmithKline, Kellogg's, Kraft Foods, Macsween of Edinburgh, Mars UK, McCain Foods.

Words: Clare Riley

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