How this European bakery organization is working to push sustainable strategies

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How this European bakery organization is working to push sustainable strategies

28 Oct 2021

Liz Goodwin

Liz Goodwin is a Texas-born journalist and photographer. Although a Southerner at heart, she fell in love with the Midwest at the University of Missouri where she earned her bachelor's of journalism. When she’s not writing or behind a camera, she loves to cook, find new restaurants, and spend time outside. Her favorite baked goods include croissants and crackers, especially when topped with fig jam and brie.

MUNICH — As climate change intensifies and businesses around the world step up to create a sustainable future, the baking industry is no exception. And companies are uniting to make their voices heard.

Fedima, a European federation of more than 200 manufacturers and ingredient suppliers for the bakery, confectionary and patisserie industries, is leading the charge of sustainable policy implementation in the European Union. Its mission is to ensure an innovative bakery sector that keeps the health of the environment in mind. Johan Sanders, the president of the organization, shared his insights during a presentation at the iba.CONNECTING EXPERTS virtual conference held Oct. 25-28, and highlighted the importance of the food sector working together toward a more sustainable future.

Sanders said that the association strives to create actionable steps that relate to the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy through its sustainability committee. The committee has members from organizations around the world that are active in sustainability initiatives.

“We are very pleased with the commitment and have definitely seen the benefits of having a wide variety of committee members,” Sanders said. “They definitely have the insight to drive sustainability on our level.”

The six core building blocks of the initiatives include sustainable packaging, food waste and circularity, responsible sourcing, energy emissions, nutrition and health, and people and communities. All the areas aim to improve the environmental health of local communities and beyond, with Sanders advocating business owners and executives to remember that they are part of something bigger.

“As an industry, we are part of a wider group of people, and we need to give back to our communities,” he said. “These building blocks that we started four years ago have had some key achievements so far.”

The highlights include position papers on front-of-pack nutritional labeling and sustainability, aligning the European bakery industry behind one vision and allowing it to engage directly with decision makers in other areas to achieve these goals. Fedima also hosts webinars on packaging and human rights issues as they relate to sustainability.

“These things are long term, but we as an association can have an impact on the short-term,” Sanders said. “As individual companies, it’s hard to make yourself heard, but as Fedima, it’s easier to have issues acted upon.”

Sanders said he was proud of the impact the organization has made on sustainability efforts around the continent, both internally and externally. Through data collection and education, the group has engaged its stakeholders to take these initiatives to heart and work on their own plans to preserve the health of the earth.

“We are engaging people, but this is not a quick agenda and we realize that at Fedima,” Sanders said. “Sustainability is here to stay, and we are committed to drive it further in the coming years.”

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