Steep Rise in Private Sector Support 'Vital' to Food Sustainability, Urges WBCSD

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STOCKHOLM, June 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

A significant increase in support from the private sector is vital to address challenges around world nutrition and sustainable food production, delegates at the EAT conference in Stockholm will hear today.

Progress is being made, and many global companies have embraced food sustainability programs, but much more is needed, Alison Cairns, Managing Director, Food Solutions, at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) will tell the conference.

"Almost all the world's food comes from private sources, including many very small companies and producers. We all need to do much more to address the big issues to accelerate sustainably produced food," Ms Cairns said. "This requires a positive spirit of cross-sector collaboration, and a readiness for all parties in the sector to work together."

"The past focus on food productivity alone is giving way to concerns over better nutrition, diet and health for people around the world, and also to more sustainable ways of producing food which truly values our natural resources," Ms Cairns added. "Another priority is reducing waste. If food waste were a country, it would emit more CO2 than anywhere else outside the US and China."

"Our role at WBCSD is to make it easier for business to act, by working with the science community to provide a bed-rock of science based targets, and to develop methodologies, programs on the ground for impact and relationships with the wider global community of food activists."

WBCSD partners EAT on an initiative for Food Reform for Sustainability and Health' (FReSH) launched in January. It has 35 members - including three companies in Scandinavia and ten new members announced today.

Note to editors   

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a global, CEO-led organization of over 200 leading businesses working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world. With the contribution of non-business partners, WBCSD helps make its member companies more successful and sustainable by focusing on the maximum positive impact for shareholders, the environment and societies. http://www.wbcsd.org/

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SOURCE World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)