1. SOCIAL DIALOGUE PLATFORM
An EU Industrial Policy for the Food and Drink Sector
27February 2014

2. FoodDrinkEurope believes that an Industrial Policy for food and drink should focus on enhancing the sector’s innovation and export performances, in particular by (I):
Ensuring a well-functioning EU Single Market for food and drink through the removal of barriers to trade, effective enforcement, smart regulation and improved B2B relations;
Fostering a transition towards more sustainable food systems and empowering consumer choice
Contributing to sustainable employment with a specific focus on skills so as to increase labour productivity

3. FoodDrinkEurope believes that an Industrial Policy for food and drink should focus on enhancing the sector’s innovation and export performances, in particular by (II):
Delivering on a real European Innovation Union both by promoting a science-based approach to new technologies and by overcoming bottlenecks to bring new products to the market; and,
Promoting and supporting SMEs, in particular by improving access to finance
Increasing and consistently facilitating trade opportunities

4. The food and drink sector welcomes EU’s efforts to promote industrial competitiveness and calls on the EU institutions to:
Support an industrial policy which will enhance both the internal and the external competitiveness of Europe’s food and drink companies;
Develop an EU industrial policy that will help the food and drink industry tackle new challenges while facilitating both sustainable growth and employment; and,
Acknowledge the need to tailor such a food and drink policy hand in hand with the sector through the establishment of a permanent High Level Forum for the competitiveness of the food supply chain.
WG1 Envifood Protocol:
The Protocol’s first public draft is expected to be ready by early July, which would make it possible to launch a call for companies willing to volunteer. The call will be public any companies willing to test the Protocol on any of their products can apply. The testing phase will last 6 months, most likely from September 2012 to March Once the testing is done, the necessary changes will be made based on the experiences. FoodDrinkEurope members are strongly encouraged to participate in the testing.
WG2 Guidance on the voluntary use of communication tools:
It is foreseen that the testing of communication tools will be done jointly with the testing of the methodology. A call will be launched in July. The testing of the tools will most likely take place in the first half of Here, the companies will be allowed to use any kind of communication tool to see which is the most effective to convey environmental information to consumers.
WG3 Continuous environmental improvement:
The Report on continuous environmental improvement is very close to being finished, only a a few outstanding issues remain. At the same time the Task Force on Food Wastage can start its work in June. The final aim there is to provide guidance to all stakeholders on what they can do to reduce food waste