MHA
U-turns in green legislation and how they aff ect the food and beverage sector
Mark Lumsdon- Taylor Executive Lead for Development and Sustainability MHA
T ere was a time when the EU declared its intention to lead the world in green legislation and initiatives. Although the intent might remain, a number of high-profi le green U-turns appear to have tainted the vision. T e importance of food security throughout the globe should not be understated, as climate change and weather extremes place increasing pressure on land and crops. A number of recent reports place 2024 at the head of
a year of record-breaking extreme weather, temperature and rainfall events, with a consequent impact on food production – from fl oods to wildfi res, drought to extreme high temperatures. T e food industry has almost certainly never before faced so many challenges from so many diff erent directions. Torn between rewilding, pressure on wildlife, rising input costs, uncertain returns and a plethora of environmental and climate change regulations, it is little wonder that recent months and years have seen the pushback in the EU food and beverage industry that is beginning to tarnish the EU’s green world- leadership ambitions.
In February this year we saw pressure on the EU to
scrap the double materiality requirement enshrined in the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. T is is a major concern: double materiality, which considers both the impact of climate risks on business and the impact of business on the planet is central to the European Green Deal, the foundation of EU climate legislation. Removed, the absence of double materiality clearly affects the importance with which green actions are considered with potential implications not only for the planet and climate change in general but also land use and food production. In July, the EU Commission confi rmed that the Green
Claims Directive has not been formally withdrawn. However, negotiations are set to continue based on key factors such as exempting microenterprises and receiving further clarity from member states. This is important in the fight against so-called
greenwashing (making environmental claims for products and services that are inaccurate or misleading) which aff ects all industries negatively, including the food and beverage sector, and which risks disaff ecting consumers, and turning them against necessary green actions. It is also important because the review of the directive came after months of successful eff orts by the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) to weaken EU environmental rules, including pesticide bans, deforestation laws and vehicle emission targets – all of which directly impact the food and beverage industry.
ALL THINGS BUSINESS | 10
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY
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