Climate and Health Coalition Food Cluster: Enabling Private Sector Action and Collaboration Around Climate, Health and Food Recognising the critical role that food systems play in enabling health outcomes and responding to our climate crisis, Forum for the Future is expanding the existing work of the Climate & Health Coalition to launch the Climate & Health Coalition Food Cluster. With leading Climate & Health Food Cluster partners Britvic, SIG and Waitrose, we are working to enable private sector players from across the food and drink industry to accelerate the transformation of our food and agricultural systems towards outcomes that deliver positive health and climate outcomes for both people and planet. Climate and Health Coalition's Food Cluster Food and drink businesses—with their supply chains rooted in agricultural production, their strong relationships with farmers and producers and their brands which influence millions of consumers—are key to developing and delivering positive, integrated solutions for climate and health across food and drink systems. The launch of our Food Cluster recognises that health outcomes are not simply a function of access to healthcare, but also a function of the health of all the systems we rely on, from the food and drinks we consume to where and how we live. As a first step, we are building a toolkit for food and drink system businesses that will: Highlight current activity at the intersection of climate, health and food, and generate case studies to inspire and accelerate action for others. Provide guidance on key topics and opportunities for action, including starting or accelerating business action on climate, health and food. Interested in receiving updates about the launch of the Climate & Health Food Toolkit, available November 2024, or learning more about joining the Climate & Health Food Collective? Register your interest "From plant-powered juices to vitamin-fortified squash, Britvic Soft Drinks understands the intrinsic links between agriculture, climate and consumer nutrition. By working across industry to take a fresh look at how food is grown and drinks are made – and how we can do this in the most sustainable way – we believe we can help deliver something that is better for people and better for the planet.” - Sarah Webster, Director of Sustainable Business at Britvic The challenge We need urgent engagement at the intersection of climate, health and food to ensure the health of people and planet – and businesses have a key role to play Climate change, human and environmental health, and our food and drink systems are inextricably linked. While our food system accounts for 30% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is also linked to extensive soil degradation and biodiversity loss, water and air pollution, and the rise of antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases. These factors all have serious implications for both human and planetary health. Our food systems are, in turn, affected by the consequences of climate change. Rising temperatures and increased carbon dioxide in our atmosphere have led to extreme weather events, altered growing seasons, reduced the availability of freshwater, and contributed to reduced yields and nutrient-density of crops, threatening global public health and food security. Farmer livelihoods are increasingly at risk—particularly in the Global South where impacts of climate change are more intense — and consumers around the world are faced with more expensive, less nutrient-dense foods. These trends are further exacerbated along socio-economic lines: those already facing poverty are more susceptible to food security risks. We are also facing a global public health crisis, evidenced by high rates of diet-related conditions and various forms of malnutrition. Almost 10% of the world’s population experience hunger, with three billion people unable to afford healthy diets and an estimated one-third of people suffering from at least one form of micronutrient deficiency. Simultaneously, more than 1 billion people in the world are obese. This aligns with an increase in the production and global consumption of industrialised foods over the last half century, and has negative consequences for both human and planetary health, linked to a rise in diet-related diseases as well as climate change and nature degradation caused by packaging production and waste. While the challenges we face in our global food system are daunting, breaking through silos and engaging with the interconnections and interdependencies of climate, health, nature, food and nutrition offers big opportunities for integrated, positive solutions. "As a leading food packaging solution provider, we at SIG believe in the transformative power of business to create a healthier, more sustainable future. We are committed to innovating our products and processes to reduce environmental impact, promote ethical sourcing, and support the well-being of both consumers and our planet. In the Climate & Health Coalition Food Cluster we work collaboratively with industry peers, driving positive change and ensuring that food packaging plays a vital role in building a resilient and equitable food system for generations to come." - Dr. Christian Bauer, Head of Environmental Sustainability, SIG Group The role of business The private sector has a critical and unique role to play in creating a world in which more than nine billion people have access to healthy diets and live well, within planetary boundaries. Through both its own actions, and its influence on supply chains, consumers, and policymakers, the private sector has the resources, leverage, and creativity to drive positive change – at the scale and speed needed. The opportunities for the private sector to play to their strengths and address climate, nature, food, biodiversity, nutrition and health in an integrated way are immense, including: Innovating products and services and pivoting to new models quickly to respond to emerging pressures and opportunities as well as shocks, often moving faster than policymakers are able; Employing their reach across value chains, often internationally, as well as their in-depth understanding of the different places in which they operate and the people who live there; Leveraging finance in various ways to direct it towards solutions; Engaging consumers and the public to influence and shape behaviours and expectations; and Increasing engagement in pre-competitive collaborations with peers and other partners to tackle sector-wide challenges and opportunities together. There are also risks inherent in inaction for the private sector, in ways that are often not being fulling integrated into business strategies, decisions or accounting. The scale, urgency and interconnectedness of climate, food and health challenges means ‘business as usual’ will not work for much longer. Forward-thinking food and drink businesses are seeing this play out already, including in the challenges of the availability, quality and cost of food ingredients, the wellbeing of food workers, and the changing expectations of consumers. Tackling these challenges in isolation has proven to be ineffective, not to mention expensive. The route to greater resilience for human and planetary health and our food systems is to identify and advance the solutions that tackle the challenges together, create positive feedback loops, and actively reduce the overall risk carried by the whole food system. Thankfully, many of the solutions are already here and sit squarely within the private sector’s remit (whether as individual businesses or in collaboration with industry peers or policy makers) - from scaling the farming practices that take the fossil fuels out of agriculture and restore nature, to ensuring farmers and food workers earn enough to eat well, to helping everyone access, afford and desire healthier and more sustainable diets. "At Waitrose, we recognise the deep connection between how we produce food, the health of our planet, and the well-being of our customers. We are delighted to announce that we are joining the Climate & Health Food Cluster as we are a supermarket passionate about sharing our learnings in driving healthier, more sustainable diets and affecting meaningful change." - Marija Rompani, Director of Ethics & Sustainability, John Lewis Partnership Learn more about how your business can begin to tackle some of these challenges today by collaborating with the Climate & Health Food Cluster. Register your interest Find out more about the Climate and Health Coalition A private sector Coalition aimed at mobilising and equiping the private sector to accelerate the integrated transformation of our health and climate systems, towards outcomes that deliver benefits for both people and planet. Manage Cookie Preferences