Despite tougher sustainability demands from both retail buyers and consumers, more than a quarter (27%) of Scottish food and drink businesses still have no Net Zero goals, according to new data from the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s Net Zero Commitment.
The independent research also found that almost a third (31.7%) of food and drink businesses had received no Net Zero support. A major barrier to developing and implementing Net Zero initiatives within businesses was the availability of financial support, with 73% of food and drink businesses identifying it as either ‘challenging’ or ‘very challenging’.
The vast majority of respondents to the survey (88.9%) also said that unlocking more funding support would help their businesses to advance towards Net Zero.
Despite these challenges, Scottish food and drink businesses are embracing change and realising the commercial benefits of operating more sustainably. 92% have either already made energy efficiency savings already or plan to do so this year, while three quarters (73%) of businesses have also either already improved their local sourcing or plan to do so this year.
Iain Clunie, Director of the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s Net Zero Commitment, said: “The findings of our business support survey demonstrate the scale of the task at hand to support Scotland’s food and drink industry to reach Net Zero by 2045. While there are still too many businesses that don’t yet have a codified Net Zero strategy, they are still making material changes to their business operations to operate more sustainably – whether that’s moving to renewable energy, creating efficiencies or reducing waste.
“The identification of funding as a fundamental barrier to businesses achieving Net Zero is unsurprising. Currently, funding windows are often too short, which SME’s find challenging due to available time. We would like to see longer funding windows and more diverse funding options for SME food producers. SMEs make up more than 97% of all food and drink businesses in Scotland, so supporting them is critical to achieving our shared Net Zero goals.
“Our national 2045 target is important and we clearly all need to accelerate the pace of change to achieve it, but for individual businesses, the key targets are those of their customers. Over the last 12 months, we have engaged with all of the major retail and foodservice providers in the UK to understand their commitments and the support that they can offer to producers. We published a guide earlier this year to help food and drink businesses understand those targets and what steps they need to make to maintain existing suppliers and to grow their businesses.
“The imperative to future-proof our businesses, operate sustainably, and reduce our emissions are not only commercial. This spring was the hottest on record. January was the dryest on record. Climate change is real, and it is happening before our eyes.
“If we want Scotland to continue to be renowned globally for its incredible food and drink, we have to protect the environment that enables us to grow, farm and process our world-famous products.”
The research was conducted independently by Data Understood and commissioned by the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s Net Zero Commitment.
To read the Navigating Net Zero Guide to Customer Expectations, please visit: https://publuu.com/flip-book/580572/1821274
For more information about the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s Net Zero Commitment, please visit: https://foodanddrink.scot/helping-business/services/net-zero-and-the-environment/
