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Process Industry News -
Process Industry News & Events
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Thursday, 12 February 2009 15:56 |
Food and drink manufacturers are being invited to join a second consultation to have their say on a new set of standards defining sustainable practices in the industry.
The National Occupational Standards (NOS) in Sustainability are being developed by food and drink sector skills council Improve in consultation with employers in a bid to define the skills and knowledge all workers in the industry will need to drive the sustainability agenda. Once finalised, the standards will be used to develop and adapt qualifications and training programmes.
The project took a major step forward following two employer workshop events in January hosted by Improve and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF). Patrick McDaniel of RI Training, who is leading the project on behalf of Improve, said the events had brought a clearer consensus as to the key issues surrounding sustainability in the food and drink industry. As a result, the range of standards has now been expanded to reflect a wider vision of what sustainability means to businesses.
“What was clear from both workshops is that food and drink companies do not see sustainability in narrow, purely environmental terms,” said Patrick. “The industry is looking at sustainability in social and economic terms also, as something which covers all issues affecting the long-term viability of a business, be it improving efficiency in energy and waste, the sourcing of materials or responding to consumer trends.
“We now have a clearer sense of the different skills and knowledge food and drink companies need at different levels in the workforce in order to adopt a robust, long-term sustainable approach across the whole business. On the one hand there is a recognised role for people with specialist knowledge at a strategic or upper management level who can identify, plan for and champion sustainable practices in a specific operational area. On the other hand, there is a need for all employees to have a broad understanding of sustainable practices across the whole business so that strategies can be put into practice in a coherent and joined-up way.”
Food and Drink Federation HR Director Angela Coleshill said: “FDF members are supportive of the work Improve is doing in this area, and welcome the opportunity to participate in building the framework for the standards. Our members are particularly encouraged by the scope of this piece of work and the recognition that sustainability needs to include social and economic considerations alongside environmental priorities - issues that ensure the long term viability of their businesses are a high priority for the sector.”
Consultation on the standards is open until March 6. The draft standards can be viewed on the Improve website at www.improve-skills.co.uk/qualifications/ongoing-developments/details/11/sustainable-food-production.
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