FoodDrinkEurope responds to European Industry Strategy and Circular Economy Plan

The EU has launched the European Industrial Strategy, which is said to lay the foundation of Europe’s green industrial transition. Accompanying the Industrial Strategy is also the launch of the EU’s strategy for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), which will support SMEs throughout the economy.

FoodDrinkEurope has released a statement in response to the launches:

“The industrial strategy provides a singular and holistic approach to industrial policy that touches upon many areas vital to ensuring a competitive, innovative and sustainable EU industry in the decades to come. As a sector comprised of 99 percent SMEs, with over 290,000 enterprises, it is particularly welcome that the strategy recognises the unique situation of SMEs and commits to supporting them in the uptake of digital technologies and in transitioning to a greener, more sustainable industry.

“As Europe’s largest industry, providing 4.7 million jobs and generating €1.2 trillion in turnover, the food and drink industry looks forward to working with all stakeholders to deliver the green industrial transition and in ensuring a healthy and sustainable future for all, while preserving Europe’s status as world leader in food safety. Already, the European food and drink industry is working hard on halving edible food waste by 2030, attaining net-zero emissions by 2050, and increasing value-added by 2.5-3.5 percent per year up to 2025, to name just a few areas where our industry is delivering on the goals of the European Green Deal and supporting Europe’s industrial future.”

In 2017, FoodDrinkEurope joined the Industry4Europe coalition as a founding member to advocate for a European industrial strategy. Comprised of 154 industrial trade associations, Industry4Europe has been advocating for a holistic and ambitious EU industrial strategy, with adequate progress indicators and an inclusive and high-level governance structure.

FoodDrinkEurope has also released a statement in response to the European Circular Economy Plan, which sets out 54 ways to ‘close the loop’ of product lifecycles. It puts a major emphasis on finding new, innovative means to move away from a ‘take-make-dispose’ culture, such as by recycling and re-using products for longer:

• As part of the Circular Plastics Alliance, FoodDrinkEurope and its members are working together with the plastics value chain to ensure 10 million tonnes of recycled plastic make their way into new products by 2025, as foreseen in the EU 2018 Plastics Strategy
• FoodDrinkEurope members have made a series of individual commitments and pledges towards a more sustainable and circular use of packaging, in particular packaging made of plastics
• Many FoodDrinkEurope members are using the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology – an approach developed by the European Commission and supported by industry for evaluating the environmental footprint of a product and providing product information to consumers
• FoodDrinkEurope is actively working to help meet the EU target to halve food waste by 2030.