Workshop 3

• AM Session : DATA [moderated by Richard Saunders , Probe RTS]

  • December 2, 2015
    • 9:40 am - 9:55 amMarco Cinelli - PhD Researcher at Warwick Manufacturing GroupPresentation Title: SuBoot Project – Bootstrapping Sustainability of Food and Beverage Presentation Synopsis: With the global population rising, the current consumption of resources raises serious concerns about satisfying even a basic need such as the supply of food in the decades to come. This awareness caused an increasing demand from businesses as well as consumers for valid, credible and easy to grasp sustainability information about food and beverage products. Such information can then be used by consumers to identify food options with low impacts, and by producers to identify more sustainable process options and supply chains. Furthermore on the level of policy making, models of green and circular economy have been advocated extensively but also need sound and reliable information for implementation and assessment. SuBoot project provides solutions to these challenges by developing a system to identify sustainable products through integration of sound decision support and sustainability assessment methods. This will be achieved by: Using peer-to-peer bootstrapping techniques to collect relevant sustainability information along the supply chain; Developing a comprehensive “flexible response” sustainability description, including information about environmental, economic and social impacts over the entire life cycle; Integrating bottom-up user feedback which will be used to customize results and enrich and complete the sustainability information. In order to achieve the ambitious target of providing reliable and easy to understand sustainability information of food and beverage products, SuBoot relies on state-of-the-art sustainability assessment methods and decision support techniques, products tracking through barcodes and advanced data modules to collect information from heterogeneous sources that are used to create valid life cycle data sets. The SuBoot system will be integrated in a smart and smooth software system, available as (i) a business-to-business (B2B) application and (ii) an App for end consumers. The benefits for the businesses that join SuBoot are: Possibility of becoming part of a virtuous consortium of sustainability-oriented experts; Identification of sustainability excellence of product, leading to increase in business attractiveness; Potential expansion in market share as well as benefit from price premiums on tested products; Identification of customers’ needs to improve product performance and attractiveness. Identification of product sustainability hotspots, allowing the company to act early on them to boost its performance, reduce inefficiencies and improve marketability;
    • 9:55 am - 10:10 amRichard Hilson - Associate Director, Cloud SustainabilityPresentation Title: What would Santa’s Environmental Compliance Obligations Look like?
    • 10:10 am - 10:25 amTBC

  AM Session : SUSTAINABLE FACTORIES [moderated by Richard Saunders , Probe RTS]

  • December 2, 2015
    • 10:25 am - 10:55 amBreak
    • 10:55 am - 11:10 amLloyd Fernando - Group Director at Expo Industries UK ltd & Doctoral Researcher at University Of Cambridge (IFM)Presentation Title: Competencies for transformation to next-generation sustainable factories & industrial systems. Presentation Synopsis: This presentation explores the possible role of industry in a sustainable future. Four key competencies needed for a sustainable industry will be presented: efficiency, internalisation, collaboration & co-ordination and whole system design. What do these mean, and how these are manifesting themselves in early experiments today at factories and industrial systems will be explored through examples. The presentation will also share how these are being adopted and integrated at ‘Expo Brand Packs’ a creative packaging & print eco-factory that serves a growing European market.
    • 11:10 am - 11:25 amArthur Stone - CEO at OEE SystemsPresentation Title: Using OEE as a key business metric to eliminate waste and improve competitiveness in a Food and Beverage Manufacturing Operation. Presentation Synopsis: Arthur will share his knowledge, experience and passion for helping progressive, global manufacturing companies to deliver challenging manufacturing and sustainable K.P.I.’s using OEE and OEE Software as key performance management tools.
    • 11:25 am - 11:40 amRichard Saunders – Business Development Manager at ProbePresentation Title: Operational Excellence through Lean Implementation. Presentation Synopsis: The concept of Operational Excellence effectively started in the manufacturing industry with concepts like Lean and Six Sigma and the Toyota Production System (and even before that with Henry Ford!) It’s about adding value in-line with your customers’ expectations, taking out waste and reducing the labour content so that there are dual benefits to the bottom line, this in turn creates capacity to allow for more sales with the same overhead which further compound the savings! As Lean Implementation Specialists, Probe have a proven track record of cost down programmes across multiple sectors and we have identified the Food Industry as having huge potential to implement Business Excellence across all areas of the organisation and its Supply Chains.
    • 11:40 am - 11:55 amNatalia Sieti - PhD researcher in Sustainable Industrial Systems at Manchester UniversityPresentation Title: Life cycle environmental sustainability of ready-made baby food. Presentation Synopsis: Collaboration between The University of Manchester and University of Birmingham (within the Centre for Sustainable Energy Use in Food Chains (CSEF)) has applied life cycle assessment (LCA) to baby food products. The objective is to address the sustainability implications of the rapidly growing UK baby food sector and identify relations along the supply chain. This presentation aims to reveal how product design affects climate change and other environmental impacts in a cereal based ready-made baby food case study.
    • 11:55 am - 12:10 pmEmmanuel Ibhanesebhor - Director at Eibhor Pharma Consultants LtdPresentation Title: Manufacturing sustainability using the PX2 ® Photometer for Real-Time Process Monitoring Presentation Synopsis: The PX2 ® Photometer is a compact and portable LED array-based fluorescence sensor for rapid real-time monitoring for process manufacturing and field (environmental) applications. The intensity-based sensing scheme is equipped with an array of LEDs to exploit the optical power “fluorescence advantage”, the analyser can also be configured to address cases of fluorescence limitations, in which case Absorbance measurements are deployed.

  PM Session : CSR & ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP [moderated by Liam Dowd, Ethical Corporation]

  • December 2, 2015
    • 12:15 pm - 1:15 pmLunch
    • 1:15 pm - 1:30 pmMarta Salva - QC Supervisor at Abel & Cole Presentation Title: Measuring Environmental Performance in the Food Industry Presentation Synopsis: In this presentation I will introduce an audit toolkit, developed in its first instance during my MSc in Food Science at the London Metropolitan University. The aim was to enable companies in the food sector to straightforwardly and comparably benchmark their suppliers in terms of environmental management. Additionally, to help stay abreast of their environmental practices and performances metrics in the food value chain. I will present some best practices, common practices and areas for improvements identified among the suppliers engaged with during my MSc dissertation research. Six suppliers were evaluated from one of the largest catering-supply retailers in London. The presentation will look at the results and discuss the usability of the tool and its possible applications among other companies, and how it has already proved beneficial for the collaborating partner.
    • 1:30 pm - 1:45 pmLiam Dowd - Managing Director at Ethical Corporation. Presentation Title: Create a successful and engaging communications strategy Presentation Synopsis: Creating a sustainable and responsible brand is only half of the job, communicating it is the final half. A few stats from 2015 Ethical Corp State of Sustainability report, that highlights responses from 1,400 top-level CSR execs from around the globe: Communicating success of sustainable projects 3rd most important issue for orgs in 2015, 2nd most important when focussing on EU respondents Most important issue for org in 5 years – sustainability as a source of competitive advantage Many stated there’s two issues – internal and then external. Internal is embedding throughout the culture and dept processes. External is engaging and communicating the new products and achievements
    • 1:45 pm - 2:00 pmMark Varney - Director of Food at FareSharePresentation Title: FareShare, creating social, environmental and economic value with surplus food Presentation Synopsis: This session will highlight the opportunities for all food businesses to create social, environmental and economic value with surplus food in collaboration with FareShare and more than 2 000 charities and community groups across the country. The innovative FareShare Food Efficiency Framework which was launched earlier this year will be introduced. This tool enables all food your business to increase resource efficiency, reduce food waste and take proactive steps to support those experiencing food poverty.
    • 2:00 pm - 2:15 pmRobert Stevens - Director of Partnerships at ClimateCarePresentation Title: The Power of Three: How taking a holistic approach to Environment, Community and your Business can deliver value for all three. Presentation Synopsis Rob Stevens, ClimateCare’s Head of Partnerships – shares case studies that are both delivering measurable social and environmental impacts and creating real business value for organisations in the food and drink supply chain. Using real life example he will explain how integrating activity to deliver environmental, community and business objective leads to greater efficiency, increased impact and a business relevant programme that is easier for employees and stakeholders to understand and engage with. Hear about how ClimateCare has helped the Co-operative go beyond fair trade in their tea supply chain, Finlays improve lives for agricultural workers in the UK supply chain, and Kenya’s Sugar Industry use bi-products to fuel a clean cooking revolution. Delegates will hear about some of the latest innovations in funding, options to manage risk and gain an insight into ways to measure and communicate outcomes.
    • 2:15 pm - 2:30 pmGiulia Danielis & Joe Jones - Social Media & Marketing Coordinator / Principal Sustainability Consultant, Sustain IT Solutions LtdPresentation Title: MODERN SLAVERY ACT 2015: WHAT`S NEXT? Presentation Synopsis: With almost 20,000 people working under slavery and forced labour conditions within just the UK, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is a major move to increase transparency in slavery and human trafficking related issues across Europe. Affecting all UK large-sized companies and businesses that supply goods or services, the Modern Slavery Act requires companies to produce an annual slavery and human traffic statement that will ensure companies tackle abuses and malpractices. What does it mean for your business? What are the questions you need to ask your suppliers? And how can you be sure that you're taking the necessary steps to tackle slavery in the supply chain? SustainIt can help. With nearly a decade of experience helping some of the world’s largest companies access and use their sustainability data, SustainIt know about complicated questions and have worked to capture usable data from throughout global supply chains.
    • 2:35 pm - 3:05 pmBreak
    • 3:05 pm - 3:20 pmGemma Cranston - Senior Programme Manager in the Natural Capital Leaders Platform at University of CambridgePresentation Title: Doing Business with Nature Presentation Synopsis: The relationship between business activity and loss of natural capital is understood by progressive companies. However, the challenges associated with key elements such as water, biodiversity and soil need to be better explained and explored with business. This can help to create the needed evidence of the commercial benefits that enhancing natural capital can provide. This talk will exemplify some of the natural capital issues facing business and their responses to create effective solutions.

  PM Session : MATERIALS & INGREDIENTS [moderated by Mark Varney, FareShare]

  • December 2, 2015
    • 3:20 pm - 3:35 pmDr. Elena Piletska - Lecturer in Bioanalytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at University of LeicesterPresentation Title: High performance-polymeric adsorbents for biorefinery and biopharmaceutical applications. Presentation Synopsis: There is an increased demand for sourcing synthetic and natural bioactive compounds from sustainable natural stocks which include side products of pulp, paper, biofuel and agricultural industries. The side and waste streams could be considered as new sources of the high value chemicals. Due to complexity and diversity of these renewable resources, the availability of efficient and inexpensive adsorbents for extraction of the particular compounds of interest is paramount. The Leicester Biotechnology Group (Department of Chemistry, University of Leicester) is working on the design and development of tailor-made adsorbents enabling the efficient extraction, recovery and enrichment of high value products. Examples include the purification of tylosine, abacavir, artemisinin, opiates, kukoamines and various mycotoxins. The strategies developed by the Leicester Biotechnology group can easily be adapted for extraction of other high added-value active products from plant materials, food waste and agricultural by-products.
    • 3:35 pm - 3:50 pmProfessor Saphwan Al-Assaf - Professor at Hydrocolloids Research Centre, University of ChesterPresentation Title: Food Hydrocolloids: Opportunities and Challenges in the Food Industry Presentation synopsis: Food hydrocolloids are natural materials extracted from plant, animal sources and sometimes from certain types of bacteria (or fungi). They have been exploited for a number of years in food systems as thickeners, gelling agents, stabiliser, bulking agents, and emulsifiers. They are used in a wide variety of foods such as beverages (emulsifiers), confectionery (coating agents, texturizing), dairy based products (stabilisers, thickeners), and bakery (bulking agents). The hydrocolloids business worldwide is a billion pound industry and growing steadily due to demands for convenience, functional or low fat foods. A key challenge to the food industry is the natural built-in variations associated with these natural materials. Additionally, supply issues can be affected, for example due to poor harvest or increase in energy cost. To overcome these challenges several solutions have been proposed such as chemical, enzymatic or genetic modification. However, consumers still favour natural ingredients in their food. The talk will focus on highlighting an example of collaboration between academia, supplier and end user on acacia gums. Acacia gums (Gum Arabic) is a natural exudate obtained from acacia trees and used heavily in the beverage industry to emulsify oil in water emulsion. Its quality and performance can be affected by location, soil type and age of tree along with collection time, drying, storage and subsequent processing. Our objective has been to find a way to control these variations and develop new formulations by utilising accurate and reliable measurements of the structural characteristics associated with good emulsifiers. Furthermore, our work has been extended to include developing the capacity at the origin (Sudan) and contribute to issues affecting sustainability and food security of these important natural ingredient.
    • 3:50 pm - 4:05 pmTBC