7th Annual Sustainable Business Forum 2017

Fixing food:

How disruption will save the system

8th November 2017

The system's broken. Now let's fix it.

We all know that we consume too much, we don't produce enough and, by destroying the environment, we are effectively biting the hand that feeds us. From production to consumption, the food system is creaking but fixing just one part of it will not suffice. A holistic approach is needed. And it's happening. From blockchain to alternative meat sources; from agroforestry to urban farms, bold new innovation is taking place all around us and it will radically change the way we grow, consume and, more importantly, think about food.

Join Salterbaxter and a collection of the world’s leading companies from across the food system, academics, NGOs, policymakers and disruptors at the 7th Sustainable Business Forum to explore and debate the fundamental challenges facing the system and learn about the solutions which will facilitate and accelerate vital transformation across the entire food chain.

RSVP

Name
Dr Juan Gonzalez-Valero
Title
Head of Public Policy and Sustainability
Brand
Syngenta
Biography
Juan Gonzalez Valero has worked at Syngenta since 2000, and is currently the Head of Public Policy and Sustainability. He leads all operations related to integrating sustainability aspects into core business practices, including the company’s “Good Growth Plan”. Alongside his current position, he is lecturing at the University of St. Gallen.
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Name
Claes Johansson
Title
Head of Sustainable Development
Brand
Lantmännen
Biography
Claes Johansson has almost 20 years of corporate sustainability experiences from different positions mainly within energy, public sector, agriculture and food industry. For the last 10 years he has been responsible for Lantmännen's strategic sustainability agenda and holds the position Director of Sustainable Development.
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Name
Mario Abreu
Title
Vice President Environment, Product Management and Commercial Operations (PMCO)
Brand
Tetra Pak
Biography
Mario has been a member of Tetra Pak’s Environment management team since 2003. He leads functional teams which are currently responsible for Tetra Pak’s strategic priority to Drive Environment Excellence, one of the 4 Group Priorities approved by the Board for the period 2010-2020. Key activities include driving global recycling of post-consumer beverage cartons; reducing the environment footprint of the company’s product portfolio including value-chain climate emission reduction; and sourcing policies and planning concerning renewable and credibly sourced materials.
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Name
Daniel Vennard
Title
Global Program Director
Brand
World Resources Institute
Biography
Daniel is Director of the Better Buying Lab within the World Resources Institute. He works with food companies and experts in behaviour change and marketing to develop, test and scale new ideas that can help shift diets to more sustainable options.
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Name
Anne Babkine
Title
Brand, CSR & Corporate Communications Director
Brand
Elior Group
Biography
Anne Babkine has worked for Elior Group, one the worldwide leaders in contract and concession catering, for the past 24 years. Before she became Brand Director in 2012, she was Marketing Director for the Education and Healthcare markets. As Group Brand, Corporate Communication and CSR Director, she currently handles several key matters, including the Elior Group Positive Foodprint Plan. Launched in 2016, this Group CSR strategy aims at generating a positive foodprint from farm to fork, working with suppliers, clients, guest and employees.
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Name
Nigel Topping
Title
CEO
Brand
We Mean Business
Biography
Nigel serves as the CEO of the We Mean Business coalition. He was a founding member of the WMB board while working for CDP and joined as CEO in January 2016.
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Name
Patrick McKenna
Title
Partnerships Manager
Brand
World Food Programme
Biography
Patrick has worked as a senior partnerships officer in the World Food Programme’s London Office for the past six years. Patrick manages WFP’s relationships with private sector companies based in the UK and Ireland, including Unilever, Mastercard UK/I, Kerry and Tilda.
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Name
Professor Tim Lang
Title
Professor of Food Policy
Brand
City, University of London
Biography
Tim Lang is Professor of Food Policy at City, University of London’s Centre for Food Policy. He was a hill farmer in Lancashire UK in the 1970s which confirmed his interest food as a link for health, environment, culture and political economy. This became his work from 1980 first academically, then in the public sector and civil society, and for the last quarter century back in academia. He was food advisor to the EU Environment Commissioner (1988), food commissioner on the UK Sustainable Development Commission (2006-11), and a member of UK Council of Food Policy Advisors (2008-10) and the London Food Board advising the Mayor of London (since 2009, reappointed 2017). He is author or co-author of numerous journal articles and ten books. His latest book is Sustainable Diets (with Pamela Mason), published in March 2017. He is a member of the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems (reporting Spring 2018). He is advisor to the European Economic & Social Council’s current inquiry into a comprehensive food policy.
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Name
Simon Hampel
Title
Co-Managing Partner
Brand
Leaders' Quest
Biography
Simon is a Managing Partner of Leaders’ Quest based in London. He works with global companies and institutions to help catalyse the transformational change required to meet today’s challenges. Inside Leaders’ Quest, Simon leads business development and partnerships, and oversees finance. Simon spent 1993-2001 as a serial entrepreneur, building companies in Europe, the US and Canada in the fields of financial services, leisure, consultancy and technology.
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Name
Lee Howell
Title
Member, Managing Board & Head of Global Programming
Brand
World Economic Forum
Biography
William (Lee) Howell has been a Member of the Managing Board at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland since 2011. As Head of Global Programming, Lee is responsible for the design and development of the Forum’s flagship events which include its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland; Annual Meeting of New Champions in China (“Summer Davos”); and Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils in the United Arab Emirates among others. He also oversees the Forum’s collaboration in the areas of scientific research and international security. At the Forum, Lee has also served as Editor-in-chief of the Global Risks Report (2012 & 2013 editions) and as Senior Director for Asia (2004-2009). Lee is a member of the Board of Directors of the EAT Foundation in Oslo, Norway; Board of Governors of the Pacific Forum/CSIS in Honolulu, Hawaii; and the Editorial Board of Global Asia in Seoul, South Korea. He is also affiliated with the International Center for Corporate Governance at the University of St. Gallen where he completed his PhD and where he also teaches a course on the Fourth Industrial Revolution for their CEMS program.
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Name
Nick Molho
Title
Executive Director
Brand
Aldersgate Group
Biography
Nick is responsible for the overall management of the Aldersgate Group, including the development of its work programme, its relationships with key political and business stakeholders and its robust representation of member views to government ministers and parliamentarians. He has played a key role in broadening the Group's impact and membership and bringing its influence to bear on areas that are core to the Group’s interest.
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Name
Gavin Milligan
Title
Director of Sustainability
Brand
William Jackson Food Group
Biography
Dr Gavin Milligan holds a PhD from the University of London and worked for 9 years in the chemical industry before moving to the food sector. He has worked for a number of businesses ranging from SMEs to blue chip corporates in supply chain, operations and commercial roles and is currently Group Sustainability Director for the William Jackson Food Group where he is responsible for the company’s social and environmental programmes. He is a member director of Sedex, chairs the Management Committee of FoodWasteNet and the Agri-food Member Interest Group at Campden BRI, is a member of the Food Sector KTN, a committee member of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s agriculture sector group, and sits on the Industrial Advisory Boards at Sheffield Hallam University’s centre for excellence in food engineering and Lincoln University’s MSc programme in agri-food technology. He is also a former member of the FDF’s sustainability steering group and WRAP’s Product Sustainability Forum and runs his own business, Green Knight Sustainability Consulting, specialising in social and environmental strategies for the agri-food system.
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Name
Anthony Pralle
Title
Senior Partner & Managing Director
Brand
Boston Consulting Group
Biography
Anthony Pralle joined The Boston Consulting Group in 1981 in the firm’s London office. He is a core member of the Consumer, Operations, and Marketing, Sales & Pricing practices. Anthony has accumulated experience in various countries, including the UK, the US, France, Australia, Spain, and Portugal. In 1997 he was elected senior vice president. He was managing partner of BCG’s Iberia office from 1998 to 2005.
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Name
Marc Zornes
Title
Founder and CEO
Brand
Winnow Solutions
Biography
Marc Zornes holds an MBA with Distinction from INSEAD and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. He is a former Manager at McKinsey & Company where he was a leader in the Sustainability and Consumer practices. While at McKinsey, Marc co-authored the McKinsey Global Institute report, Resource Revolution: Meeting the World's Energy, Materials, Food and Water Needs. In developing this report, his team highlighted food waste as one of the biggest issues globally and yet very little was being done about it.
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Name
Jessica Alsford
Title
Managing Director, Head of Sustainability Research
Brand
Morgan Stanley
Biography
Jessica Alsford is a Managing Director and Head of Morgan Stanley's Sustainable + Responsible Investment Research Team. Jessica joined the firm in 2005 and spent five years co-heading the Business Services team within Equity Research. In 2010, the team was ranked second in the Institutional Investor and Extel surveys. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Jessica was an equity research analyst at Cazenove. She holds an M.A. in social and political sciences from the University of Cambridge and is a CFA charter holder.
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Name
Ilana Taub
Title
Founder
Brand
Snact
Biography
Ilana graduated with an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London before working at ICAEW lobbying for finance to play a bigger role in sustainable development. She was part of the team that launched The Food Assembly in the UK and was selected as a London Leader by the GLA & the Mayor of London. In 2016 she was voted as one of the top 10 female entrepreneurs to watch in the UK and Snact was part of the Ellen McArthur Foundation Circular Economy 100 SME programme.
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Name
Kate Hofman
Title
CEO and Co-Founder
Brand
GrowUp, Urban Farms
Biography
Kate always wanted to work for a business that improved the world. Prior to starting GrowUp Urban Farms, Kate worked as a change management consultant for IBM, working on large-scale business and IT transformation programmes. Whilst on a sabbatical year studying at Imperial College London, Kate fell in love with the idea of aquaponics as a sustainable way of commercially growing food for London, the city she grew up in and has lived in all her life. Kate founded GrowUp at the start of 2013, London’s first commercial aquaponics urban farming business. She thinks that innovation and sustainability are at the core of the best businesses. She’s passionate about proving that vertical farming can make a meaningful contribution to the way we feed people in cities, at the same time as creating skilled training and job opportunities.
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Name
Mathilda Nathan
Title
Head of Global Sales Strategy
Brand
Deliveroo
Biography
Mathilda is the Head of Global Sales Strategy, covering 12 countries across Europe, Asia and Australia. She has experience in driving the growth phase of start-ups, from the early days at Groupon, and currently at Deliveroo.
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Name
Kirsty Redfearn
Title
Head of Consumer Marketing UK/Ireland
Brand
Mastercard
Biography
Kirsty Redfearn is head of consumer and digital marketing for the UK and Ireland at Mastercard. In this role, she delivers a wide range of consumer campaigns across channels, including creating and delivering campaigns for Mastercard’s sponsorships, such as The BRIT Awards and UEFA Champions League. Kirsty has taken a lead role in Mastercard’s 100 Million Meals initiative for the World Food Programme, leading UK cause marketing campaigns that engage consumers in the fight against hunger. Kirsty has experience across both agency and client roles, from small nimble agencies to global corporations, and is passionate about delivering tangible results for the business.
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Disruption is the key

We all know the challenges facing our global food supply and the strain the system is under. We could discuss the problems in depth but it’s been done before and let’s face it we need answers and we need them soon.

We want to embrace the change that is necessary and the change that is already on its way. We want to talk about this and talk to some of the companies, innovators, NGOs and policymakers disrupting the system and shaping the future of the food: the global changemakers who are leading the way across every stage of the supply chain. Some of the issues and topics we’ll explore will include:

The caviar of the future

Our meat-based diet is not only costly but taking its toll on the planet. The livestock sector uses a third of the Earth’s croplands to grow feed, a third of all fish landed from the seas whilst generating close to a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to cut meat consumption by 50% over the next 40 years we’ll need to turn to alternative protein sources from insect farmers such as Edible Bug Farm to plant-based technologies from companies such as the US-based Ocean Hugger Foods which has created plant-based versions of tuna, eggplant-based eel and carrot-based salmon. Will these interventions radically transform how we perceive and consume proteins?

Innovate or die

A sustainable increase in food production, especially proteins, is needed to maintain global development in line with the SDGs and seafood undoubtedly has some of the greatest potential in terms of protein sources. But fisheries are under stress so aquaculture might have its time. To transport seafood, companies such as SEAtrue have developed smart 'robot containers' using sophisticated cooling techniques to extend shelf life. Can technology disrupt the supply chain to deliver sustainable solutions?

Transparency in the food chain

Improving traceability of the global food supply chain forms part of the Tyson Foods Inc strategy for sustainable growth; traceability forms an important part of this and it has joined a group of other leading companies across the global food supply chain in a major 'blockchain' collaboration that includes IBM, Dole, Driscoll’s, Golden State Foods, Kroger, McCormick & Company, McLane Company, Nestlé, Unilever and Walmart. Together they are working to make blockchain strengthen consumer confidence in the global food system. In trials in China and the US, IBM and Walmart recently demonstrated that blockchain can be used to track a product from the farm through every stage of the supply chain, right to the retail shelf, in seconds instead of days or weeks. Are we about to see a new era of end-to-end transparency in the global food system, delivering more effective traceability and food safety, and will it promote responsible actions and behaviours?

Regional collaboration

The Bonn Challenge aims to restore 150 million hectares of the world’s degraded and deforested lands by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030. It is a vehicle for addressing national priorities such as water and food security and rural development while contributing to the achievement of international climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation commitments. It builds on previous initiatives, is overseen by 20 institutions and has commitments across regions in excess of two-thirds of the 2020 goal.

The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel, adopted by the African Union is a regional strategy to create a mosaic of green and productive landscapes across North Africa, the Sahel, and the Horn. Farmers will manage the natural regeneration of forests, croplands, and grasslands. The Wall will cross arid and semi-arid zones to the north and south of the Sahara: a 15km wide belt of 7,775km from Dakar to Djibouti, with a core area of 780 million hectares, supporting 232 million people. Around 10 million hectares will need to be restored each year.

Are these regional collaborations and disruptive approaches going to fix the system?

Turning policy into practice

In 2014, India became the first nation in the world to adopt a national agroforestry policy, which promotes the practice of integrating trees, crops, and livestock on the same plot of land. Agroforestry has the potential to achieve sustainability in agriculture while optimizing its productivity. The policy also talks about security of land tenure, promoting research and capacity building, felicitating participation of industries dealing with agroforestry produce and offering incentives to farmers. Can policy interventions deliver the necessary disruption and innovation?

We want to facilitate conversation around this urgent issue, share ideas and hopefully uncover solutions across the entire food system, so please join us in London to learn from a wide variety of experts on the subject and make your voice heard.

Programme

From
09:00
To
09:10
Introduction by Nigel Salter, CEO, Salterbaxter
From
09:10
To
09:25
Professor Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, Centre for Food Policy, City, University of London
From
09:25
To
09:40
Nigel Topping, CEO, We Mean Business
Session 1: The Business Response to the Challenge
From
09:40
To
10:00
Dr Juan Gonzalez-Valero, Head of Public Policy and Sustainability, Syngenta
From
10:00
To
10:15
Claes Johansson, Head of Sustainable Development, Lantmännen
From
10:15
To
10:25
Anne Babkine, Brand, CSR & Corporate Communications Director, Elior Group
From
10.25
To
10.45
In conversation: Patrick McKenna, Partnership Manager, World Food ProgammeKirsty Redfearn, Head of Consumer Marketing UK/Ireland, Mastercard
Moderated by Nigel Salter, CEO, Salterbaxter
From
10:45
To
11:15
Panel discussion, moderated by Nigel Salter, CEO, Salterbaxter
Claes Johansson, Head of Sustainable Development, Lantmännen
Anne Babkine, Brand, CSR & Corporate Communications Director, Elior Group
Dr Juan Gonzalez-Valero, Head of Public Policy & Sustainability, Syngenta
Simon Hampel,CEO, Leaders Quest
From
11:15
To
11:30
COFFEE
Session 2: Policy & Collaboration Context
From
11:30
To
11:50
Lee Howell, Member, Managing Board & Head of Global Programming, World Economic Forum
From
11:50
To
12:30
Panel discussion
Nick Molho, Executive Director, Aldersgate Group
Gavin Milligan, Director of Sustainability, William Jackson Food Group
Dr Lee Howell, Member, Managing Board & Head of Global Programming, World Economic Forum
From
12:30
To
13:30
LUNCH
From
12:45
To
13:15
Breakout session hosted by Kathleen Enright, Director of Consultancy and Communications, Salterbaxter
Anthony Pralle, Senior Partner & Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group
Session 3: Challenging the Industry: Disruption through innovation and action
From
13:30
To
14:00
Mario Abreu, VP Environment, Product Management and Commercial Operations, Tetra Pak
From
14:00
To
14:20
Mathilda Nathan, Head of Global Sales Strategy, Deliveroo
From
14:20
To
14:40
Marc Zornes, Founder and CEO, Winnow Solutions
From
14:40
To
14:50
Jessica Alsford, Managing Director, Head of Sustainability Research, Morgan Stanley
From
14:50
To
15:15
Panel discussion, moderated by Nigel Salter, CEO, Salterbaxter
Mario Abreu, VP Environment, Tetra Pak
Jessica Alsford, Managing Director, Head of Sustainability Research, Morgan Stanley
Marc Zornes, Founder and CEO, Winnow Solutions
From
15:15
To
15:30
COFFEE
Session 4: What does it mean for the consumer?
From
15:30
To
15:55
Daniel Vennard, Director, Better Buying Lab, World Resources Institute
From
15:55
To
16:05
Ilana Taub, Founder, Snact
From
16:05
To
16:15
Kate Hofman, Ceo and Co-Founder, Grow-Up Urban Farms
From
16:15
To
16:40
Panel discussion, moderate by Kathleen Enright, Director of Consultancy and Communications, Salterbaxter
Ilana Taub, Founder, Snact
Daniel Vennard, Director Better Buying Lab, World Resources Institute
Kate Hofman, CEO and Co-Founder, GrowUp, Urban Farms
From
16:40
To
16:45
Conclusion by Nigel Salter, CEO, Salterbaxter

What could be better than organic food?
Author
Luna Atamian, Consultant, North America
Date
2017-11-06
The Future of Sustainable Businesses in Post-EU Britain
Author
Laurence Cox, Junior Consultant
Date
2017-10-16
Blockchain Technologies Driving Transparency in Food Value Chains
Author
Nicolas Heath
Date
2017-09-27
Small changes big outcomes? Can nudging promote sustainable behaviour?
Author
Christabel Sadgrove
Date
2017-09-11
Can ‘grown in store’ inspire retailers to get their mojo back?
Author
Laurence Cox
Date
2017-09-11

What to expect

The day will be divided into four distinct Sessions following an introduction:

Introduction: we’ve got a problem

Big picture assessment of key challenges and issues at a global level.

Session 1: The business response to the challenge

How are the largest food producers and retailers responding to the challenges in the system.

Session 2. Policy and collaboration context

What is the role of policy in addressing system change? How do you effectively influence policy for system transformation?

Session 3. Challenging the industry: disruption through innovation and action

How to turn consumers into changemakers.

Session 4. What does system change mean to the consumer

What is the role of consumers within the context of system change, and how can we effectively influence consumer behaviour to develop more sustainable habits?

Haymarket Hotel

1 Suffolk Place, London SW1Y 4HX

Show in Google maps

Haymarket Hotel is situated in the heart of London's theatre district next door to the famous Haymarket Theatre Royal. It is surrounded by some of London's best restaurants and bars and just moments from the new Dover Street Market on Haymarket. The hotel is also within easy reach of the city's financial centre.

The Salterbaxter Sustainable Business Forum is for sustainability, communications, brand and marketing professionals from leading corporations.

Attendance is free of charge but by invitation only. If you have any questions regarding the event please contact Samuel Griffin-Flynn.

The system's broken. Now let's fix it.

Disruption is the key

We all know the challenges facing our global food supply and the strain the system is under. We could discuss the problems in depth but it’s been done before and let’s face it we need answers and we need them soon.

Programme

Session 1: The Business Response to the Challenge

Session 2: Policy & Collaboration Context

Session 3: Challenging the Industry: Disruption through innovation and action

Session 4: What does it mean for the consumer?

What could be better than organic food?

The Future of Sustainable Businesses in Post-EU Britain

Blockchain Technologies Driving Transparency in Food Value Chains

Small changes big outcomes? Can nudging promote sustainable behaviour?

Can ‘grown in store’ inspire retailers to get their mojo back?