News | Industry Updates


"Sustainability First" campaign launched with release of ground-breaking palm oil report


A landmark report on The Role of Sustainable Palm Oil in Global Food Security and Deforestation Efforts has been published by The Centre for Sustainable Palm Oil Studies (CSPO) for World Earth Day.


The report also heralds the launch of the


"Sustainability First" campaign, an effort by CSPO to raise awareness of the vital role sustainably sourced palm oil plays in supporting deforestation efforts globally – and ensuring those arguments reach consumer audiences worldwide. Notably, the report critiques the EU's


current black-and-white approach towards palm oil, stating: "in the rush to tackle deforestation, the European Union banned importation of palm oil for biofuels, while placing no such restriction on other forest


risk commodities such as beef, widely associated with deforestation." The report states that ironically, such a ban


would increase deforestation because "demand would switch to less efficient alternatives," like rapeseed, soy or sunflower, which require up to nine times more land than palm fruit to produce the same volume of oil. Worse - these alternatives require "more fertiliser


and pesticides and have lower productivity and shorter lifespan compared to oil palm." The report, however, also acknowledges a


slow shift in EU policy, "yet it remains critical for the Union to learn from the failure of the palm oil ban" and secure a trade deal with producer countries like Malaysia, which as "the world's second largest palm oil producer, has experienced year-on-year decreases in deforestation, attributable to the successful adoption of a nationally mandated sustainability scheme, Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO)." After comprehensive analysis, the report concludes by calling for stronger collaboration


between regional blocs, stating the EU must "become familiarised with MSPO, and see the benefit of the EU, Malaysia, and civil society working collaboratively." By encouraging and supporting developing countries like Malaysia to continue to improve the cultivation and production of sustainable palm oil, the EU can meet goals that emphasise positive environmental objectives, like building transparent supply chains, slowing deforestation, and stopping climate change. The report is supported by the CSPO's


Sustainability First campaign, which aims to bridge the information gap on palm oil that exists between the policy and consumer worlds. Sustainability First acknowledges that consumer behaviour is often the driver behind policymaking decisions – and that neither audience can be engaged in isolation.


Locker solution boosts self-service experience


Amtek, a specialist in the vending field, has designed a variety of dedicated solutions to satisfy changing consumption habits during the COVID-19 era. By enriching its vending solutions with


a Locker module, Amtek aims to improve the self-service experience, and at the same time meet the current needs of the retail market and the regulations required by the pandemic. Safety, remote purchasing and shopping


experience in this prolonged period of pandemic are the three pillars of the "new normal" scenario, where solutions that combine digital (remote purchasing) and physical retail find their place. The purpose is to provide business


continuity, respond to the needs of end consumers and better support retailers who, affected by new regulations and purchasing habits, had to radically change their business model. COVID-19 has changed consumption


habits forever, accelerating the adoption of technological tools on a large scale. One fact is emblematic: during the months of lockdown, 75% of online


purchases were made by people who had never shopped in digital marketplaces before. In addition, according to a research by GFK, when visiting stores nowadays, 73% of people look for safety and hygiene measures, and 35% prefer the staff not to touch the goods on sale. Taking a focus in the pharmacy


world, the post-covid sales scenario is depicted by some ongoing trends: online pharmacy sales grew 64% (source: Pharmacyscanner), while "contactless" sales in the traditional sales channel increased by 200% and, contextually, purchases in multi-product vending machines grew by 23.5.% In the last period, Amtek has recorded


an interest in solutions that make life easier for end customers, both in the retail and pharmaceutical sectors. There has been an average increase of 700% in the demand for lockers in the pharmaceutical world too. In light of the trends, Amtek has


developed a new locker range which aims to help retailers and at the same


time provide safety to both operators and buyers, thereby facilitating the purchasing process. How? Using contactless purchase methods, that avoid contact with the surfaces within stores and with the operators. Lockers can be considered as a sort of


warehouse outside the traditional point of sale. They consist of heated or refrigerated compartments for product display and are fully equipped with payment systems (directly on site or remotely from home or office). This solution can be used in the pharmaceutical sector as well as in a broader spectrum of retail outlets.


6 | vendinginternational-online.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28