Sustainable procurement charter

Last year, VECO, The Shift, Fairtrade Belgium, FEVIA and Boerenbond brought together 300 professionals from the retail and food industry in Brussels to present a charter with 9 action points for increasing the sustainability of sourcing policies. As well as protecting the environment, viable prices for farmers are also a key focus. It is the first time for Belgium that such a coalition has been formed on this topic involving the entire food industry. The English version of this charter is now ready available.

“Our food system is under unsustainable pressure”, says Gert Engelen from VECO. “This is due to re-source scarcity, climate change, population growth, changing consumption patterns, the pressure of low prices and so on. The demand for a more social, ecological and economic sustainable food sys-tem is becoming increasingly urgent.”

Sourcing policies as leverage potential

Changing the sourcing policies of companies in the food industry, food services and retail is the most important area of leverage if we want to achieve this ambition. “The criteria that companies use to source resources and products have an impact throughout the entire chain. Purchasers have the power to change the whole agriculture and food system.”

To implement sustainable sourcing, the aforementioned organisations have developed a charter with nine action points. This charter is the fruit of several multi-stakeholder sessions with supermarkets and food companies.

Measureable action points

Companies who have signed the charter commit to putting the following action points into practice: a clear commitment from top management, the establishment of a supplier code of conduct, a dignified price for all actors in the chain, reciprocal, sustainable long-term relationships with suppliers, and transparency about who produces, how products are made and what the sustainability performance scores are for the different links in the chain.

“There are ways in which companies and farmers can divide risks between them: they could introduce a compensation rule if the demand in the market falls temporarily or harvest insurance when a harvest fails due to bad weather conditions”, explains Gert Engelen. “The continuity and the robustness of the relationship becomes more important, as well as performance scores in the field of sustainability, instead of on focusing solely on low prices.”

To achieve these action points, supermarkets, food companies and farmers need to work together more closely to exchange information. “But it also offers the opportunity to develop new products and to look for new markets and business models together. In the end, farmers, food companies and supermarkets need each other in order to exist.”