The new government has lots of choices to make. And pushing it this way and that will be armies of lobbyists and NGOs. So it’s hugely important the industry presents a united front if it possibly can, to avoid the wasted time and money we’ve seen in crucial policy development.
A united front is certainly the intention of the IGD’s New Food System Transition Plan on net zero, a sensible collaboration involving all manner of stakeholders.
But there are so many squares to circle. How can net zero carbon emissions in agriculture be squared with meeting food security concerns about falling production?
The pursuit of net zero is also putting the industry into conflict with those using paper and glass in the war on plastic. As we’ve seen with Asda’s decision to pull the plug on its plastic refill trial stores this week, and earlier decisions by Tesco, M&S, Morrisons and others turning their backs on refills, plastic is a hard habit for the industry and consumers to break.
Of course, some retailers are making refills work. Even online. Abel & Cole, for example, has shown through its award-winning refillable Club Zero packaging, including its new plastic milk bottles, that plastic can be a more sustainable solution and viable too. And as Catherine Conway argues, further trials must be conducted to make progress.
But as members of the UK Plastics Pact met this week they faced a whole series of challenges. There are huge hoops to jump through for the industry to create a circular economy for hard to recycle plastics. An expected surge towards scrapping plastic on loose fruit & veg has failed to materialise, sparking calls for regulation. And scrutiny of green gains has never been higher, amid increased regulation on green claims.
With plans for extended producer responsibility and the deposit return scheme up in the air, and the plastic tax misfiring badly, the UK urgently needs new impetus and leadership. But as the cessation of the Asda trial has again shown, we cannot rely on consumers to make the changes necessary. It will need to come from either ministers or industry. Or, better still, both.
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