{"id":33467,"date":"2025-07-02T16:59:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.argonandco.com\/?post_type=event&p=33467"},"modified":"2025-07-31T15:05:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:05:12","slug":"conference-eco-foods-2025-london","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.argonandco.com\/en\/news-insights\/events\/conference-eco-foods-2025-london\/","title":{"rendered":"Conference: Eco Foods 2025, London"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week our UK Food and drink and Sustainability teams attended Eco Foods 2025. The conference was hosted by Arena International, bringing together leaders from across the food and beverage industry to explore how businesses can drive sustainable transformation while remaining competitive.<\/p>\n

The conference focused on some of the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing the food sector today, including plastic reduction, decarbonisation, crop diversity, and the critical role of data in driving sustainability initiatives.<\/p>\n

Here are our key takeaways from the conference:<\/p>\n

Time to act on ultra-processed foods and plastic:<\/strong> A thought-provoking discussion highlighted that 50% of the UK\u2019s calories now come from ultra-processed foods. Shockingly, research also shows that, on average, every adult has the equivalent of a plastic spoon in their brain, underlining the urgency to act on reducing both plastic consumption and ultra-processed food reliance<\/p>\n

The importance of crop diversity:<\/strong> Today, 50% of UK caloric intake comes from just three crops, posing risks to food security and ecosystem resilience. The event emphasised the importance of diversifying and discussed benefits of vertical farming<\/p>\n

Decarbonising operations while remaining competitive:<\/strong> There were detailed discussions about how businesses can reduce emissions across their value chains\u2014both upstream and downstream. Examples include: transitioning to renewable energy sources, selecting the right refrigerants, and embedding decarbonisation into operational strategy without compromising competitiveness<\/p>\n

Data as an enabler for sustainability:<\/strong> Reliable data is becoming fundamental in understanding product-level carbon footprints and the wider environmental impact. Businesses are increasingly investing in tools and systems to improve visibility and accuracy in reporting<\/p>\n

Our UK Partner and Food and drink specialist, James Watson, hosted an interactive roundtable discussion focused on practical steps to reduce food waste within supply chains. Participants explored Argon & Co\u2019s food waste reduction framework, which is structured around three key steps: 1) Identify, 2) Prioritise, 3) Act.<\/p>\n

The participants shared the common challenges businesses face when implementing food waste reduction initiatives, including:<\/p>\n