Contact: Kristina Atkisson
On 14 September, WWF launched the Baltic Stewardship Initiative. This is an international network of actors in the food value chain who aim to increase circulation of plant nutrients and minimize ‘leakage’ through means that are both sustainable and profitable. The focus is on reducing eutrophication in regional watercourses, lakes and the Baltic Sea. WWF, Lantmännen and Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund are leading on the Initiative, with funding support from the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
A new report, Potential for Circularity in the Agri-food system, maps the nutrient flows and the largest sources of emissions in the Baltic Sea region. Released in conjunction with the launch of the Initiative, the report demonstrates how the food value chain in the Baltic Sea region is too linear and “leaky”. Efficiency varies across countries, but overall a large proportion of the plant nutrients that go into the food system is not used optimally and lost at multiple points in the production process.
New report maps opportunities to innovate the food value chain in the Baltic sea region.
“Today’s food industry contributes greatly to the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea,” says Håkan Wirtén, General Secretary of WWF. “With the Baltic Stewardship Initiative we are working with farmers, food producers and trade to find solutions that are both environmentally sustainable and economically viable. In this way, the industry can be developed profitably while at the same time contributing to the goal of a living Baltic Sea.”
The engaged companies and organizations will integrate the Initiative’s focal issues in their own operations and take the lead together to establish a more environmentally friendly industry.
“We want to strengthen the sustainability work in the food chain all the way from farm to fork,” says Claes Johansson, Head of Sustainability at Lantmännen. “To achieve this, a more circular and economically competitive model for supplying crops with plant nutrients is key.”
As they take new approaches to their work, Initiative members will invest in spreading successful solutions. With the entire food chain involved, the hope is to create new business opportunities and means of collaborating across the industry. Twenty stakeholders representing different parts of the food chain have thus far joined the Initiative, including Coop and Ågårds Lantbruk.
This article is part of the WWF Baltic Newsletter – December 2020
