Biodiversity, ethical sourcing and sustainable food ingredients are set to be among the key themes at the 17th European edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit, which takes place in Amsterdam on 18–19 June.
The two-day event, which is organised by Ecovia Intelligence, will bring together food industry executives, sustainability specialists and researchers to examine environmental impacts, regenerative agriculture, biodiversity protection and supply chain resilience.
Thought leadership
Among the highlights will be a keynote presentation from award-winning ecological filmmaker John D. Liu, who will explore the ‘paradigm shift required for sustainability’.
Mike Barry, co-founder of Planeatry Alliance, will also deliver a keynote presentation at the summit, discussing ecosystem restoration and the growing role of regenerative agriculture in improving soil health and biodiversity.
Sustainability impacts
Elsewhere, a session on ‘sustainability impacts’ will explore the various ways that food firms can address their sustainability impacts in specific areas.
During this session, Johan Oost from Water Footprint Implementation will provide insights into water footprints; Anne-To Vervelde from Wageningen University will provide an update on environmental impact labelling schemes; and two panel discussions will focus on the difficulties involved in prioritising environmental impacts and the economic dimension of sustainability.
Participants on the first panel will include representatives from Unilever, ETG, and Asahi Group Holdings, while the second panel will feature representatives from Sodexo, Quorn Foods, B Lab, and the World Benchmarking Alliance.
Biodiversity and ethical sourcing
Elsewhere, a biodiversity and ethical sourcing programme will explore how the food industry can support international biodiversity targets established at COP16.
Rik Kutsch Lojenga will discuss biodiversity-related business and consumer trends; Preferred by Nature will provide updates on emerging EU regulations, including the EU Deforestation Regulation and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive; and Lea Riffard, corporate sustainability manager at Ecotone, will share the company’s experience in marketing biodiversity-friendly products.
A panel discussion as part of this segment will examine approaches to quantifying how human activities affect
ecosystems, species, and habitats, with panelists including representatives from Proforest, WBCSD, Naturland, and Royal Canin (Mars).
Food ingredients
Food ingredient innovation will form another major focus area, featuring discussions on precision fermentation, sustainable ingredient sourcing and AI-driven supply chain management.
Speakers in this segment will include Hille van der Kaa, CEO & founder of Vegan Cowboys, ProTerra Foundation’s Emese van Maanen, ISCC’s Anneke Voss, Tristan Fletcher, CEO and co-founder of ChAI, and Belgian retail market leader Colruyt.
Marketing
Finally, sustainable food marketing and its effect on consumer behaviour will also feature in a dedicated segment, featuring presentations from Helen Breewood, Good Food Institute Europe; Heather Terry, GoodSAM Foods; David Sack, AKA Foods; Esme Brewin, Globescan; and a panel discussion on consumer behaviour, featuring representatives from Whole Foods Market, Dr. Oetker, and Cupffee.
The summit will take place at the Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Centre on 18 and 19 June. More information can be found here.
