Sustainable packaging and ingredients to take centre-stage at Singapore summit
The summit, on September 4 and 5, opens with a discussion of some of the pressing sustainability issues facing the Asian food industry.
Urban migration has given the continent nine of the 10 most populated cities in the world. Food security is a growing concern, with many sections of the population having limited access to nutritious food. The role of sustainable agriculture in addressing food security & poverty will be discussed. Dato’ Joel Low, CEO of Agrivo International, will explore the solutions provided by urban farming.
Mitchell Leow from Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) will show how one of the largest breweries in Asia is addressing its water impacts. Its ‘Brewing A Better World’ initiative aims to reduce water consumption by a quarter, carbon emissions by 40%, and source raw materials from sustainable sources. The Swiss multinational Nestle will also give details on how it is implementing sustainable sourcing projects for coffee.
Massimo Reverberi, founder of Bugsolutely, will kick off the food ingredients session with a seminar on novel proteins. His company is developing insect-based food products for the Asian market. Made from silkworm, Bella Pupa chip style snacks have been launched in the Chinese market. The company also markets Bugsolutely pasta made from cricket flour. The benefits provided by blockchain technology to ingredient supply chains will be explored. Other speakers will cover food ingredients from side streams, biodiversity impacts, and innovating with sustainable ingredients.
Shi Yan, widely regarded as the founder of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Asia, will introduce the concept and its benefits. She has set up Little Donkey Farm and Shared Harvest Farm in China; the latter is one of the first Chinese organic farms to adopt the CSA model. Almost 1,000 farms in China now belong to the CSA Alliance, providing freshly grown local produce directly to consumers.
Plant potential
David Yeung, founder of Green Monday and Green Common, will show how Asian food companies can capitalise on the vegan trend. An environmental advocate, David is the founder of the Green Monday movement which has spread to 30 countries. David will highlight the opportunities for plant-based foods, sharing experiences from the Green Common retail network.
Sodexo, the international foodservice company, will give its perspectives on sustainable foods in the Asian region.
Packaging waste has become a major concern in Asia, with recent news of a whale suffocating off the shore of Southern Thailand after swallowing 80 plastic bags. The sustainable packaging session discusses practical approaches to reduce the packaging impact of food and beverages. WWF Singapore will highlight the ecological issues associated with product packaging. Another speaker will explain how environmental footprints of packaging can be measured and lowered.
David Christian, co-founder of Evoware, will present the company’s sustainable alternative to plastic packaging. The Indonesian firm has developed seaweed-based packaging that is edible and biodegradable. Details will be given of applications of the new packaging material for food and beverage products.
Indonesia is the world’s second largest contributor to plastic pollution. Since the country is also the world’s leading seaweed producer, Evoware aims to create positive social impacts (by creating employment for seaweed farmers) whilst reducing plastic pollution.
Amarjit Sahota, founder of event organiser Ecovia Intelligence, said: “Many of the sustainability issues facing the planet, such as ocean plastic, biodiversity loss, climate change, and water scarcity are not restricted by geographical boundaries. By highlighting such issues in this edition, we want to ensure Asia is part of the solution to these pressing issues.”
The second Asia-Pacific edition will take place in Singapore on September 4-5. More information is available here.
