Food inflation is back in the headlines and, as usual, the source is water. In 2007, the Australian wheat and rice crop was almost wiped out by drought, coinciding with low rainfall across Canada and Europe. Global wheat prices doubled and Sam’s Club in the USA began to ration rice. In 2010, Russia is set to lose a quarter of its wheat yield to drought. The floods in Pakistan will cause t...

More often than not, sustainability issues are closely related. Water and carbon are a good example. This article explores just how the two are inexorably and critically linked. Water and power generation + droughts = power shortage Water plays a vital role in the energy generation sector. In the UK, nearly 30% of water abstraction is undertaken in connection with generating electric...

Despite the recession, 2009 proved to be a challenging year for discounters in many European markets. So does this signal a pause or a full stop in the discounters’ growth story? Here, we look at the reasons behind this subdued performance and explore the growth prospects for the channel. Mixed success for discounters across Europe Last year seemed like the perfect storm for disc...

We can expect dramatic changes in the energy sector in the coming decades. This report encourages businesses, both in the energy sector and beyond, to look at how this will impact on their firms. The transition towards a low carbon economy and the interim volatility in traditional fossil fuel markets presents businesses with numerous risks but also opportunities. Download now Date: June ...

- Increasing population - The population is ageing - Ethnic diversity - Smaller households - Higher proportion of women working Increasing population The size of the UK's population is growing rapidly. In 2010 there were 62.3 million people living in the UK, which was 470,000 more than in the previous year and an increase of 3.1 million over 2001. By 2035, the UK's...

- Defining ethical shopping - Importance of ethical issues - Sales of ethical food and drink - The future of ethical shopping Defining ethical shopping Shoppers identify five key themes when they define what ethical shopping means to them. These are: higher animal welfare, fairly traded, environmentally friendly, organically produced and British/locally sourced. Many of the ...

- The Ageing Population - Provide accessible parking - Provide excellent customer service at the tills - Communicate the link between local food and the local economy - Continue to develop innovative and tasty healthier products - What next? The ageing population The UK's population is forecast to grow from 62.3 million in 2010 to 73 million in 2035. In part, this g...

Anyone who wonders why healthcare was the hottest topic in President’s Obama’s first year in office needs only to look at the figures. US healthcare spending broke through the $2.2 trillion barrier in 2007; that’s more than eight times the amount spent in 1980. It’s not just an American problem. Healthcare costs are spiralling around the world for a variety of reasons including the ageing p...

A free document outlining the key points made at IGD's Food & Grocery Industry Skills and Employment Summit 2010 Includes analysis on: Why Skills are so Important The Education System Attracting Recruits Giving Young People a Chance Developing Staff On 10th March 2010, IGD hosted an industry summit on the theme of skills & employment. With the industry increasingly conc...

Includes: An introduction to water as an issue The key aspects of water management A water resource navigation chart A directory of global organisations featuring names, activities and web links There is growing awareness of the importance of water along the whole of the food and grocery supply chain; from the farm through to the consumer, including manufacturing and retai...