Hall Forum on Sustainability: Scrutinising every link in the chain

Hall Forum on Sustainability: Scrutinising every link in the chain

Everyone is talking about sustainability. But what does this mean for players at different levels of the fresh produce industry? The Hall Forum "Sustainability – value for the long term", moderated by Kaasten Reh (Fruchthandel Magazine, Dusseldorf) and attended by a large audience, sought to answer these questions. Introductory presentations were held by Theo de Groot, Managing Director, M.P.S. Sustainable Quality; Ben Horsbrugh, Quality Assurance, The Univeg Deutschland Group, and Dr. Ludger Breloh from the Rewe Group. Sustainability, said de Groot, could be defined quite simply as a balance between human beings, the planet and profit. He called for this endeavour to be presented transparently to everyone involved. Horsbrugh concentrated mainly on the development of a corporate strategy to address sustainability. He said that it was important to analyse the situation precisely, to formulate realistic objectives and key tasks, and to create a solid database for all of this. For example, aspects including healthy nutrition, social responsibility, energy efficiency, water and wastewater management all had to be thoroughly examined. Breloh showed how a commercial enterprise could take up the challenge of sustainability using his own company and its "Pro Planet" project as an example. He said that the main factor is a precise analysis of the key problems.