UK to take lead role in international AD revolution

The move towards sustainable food retailing shows no sign of slowing down, with consumers becoming more aware of environmental issues than ever before, according to research by Globescan.

It has revealed that 92% of shoppers think that food companies should focus their efforts on securing the future sustainability of food, with two thirds believing that farmers should be paid more for their produce. As more food retailers start to reap the benefits of marketing lower carbon products, there is discussion whether they will now support the supply chain in developing new anaerobic digestion (AD) infrastructure.

“The vast majority of the UK’s 200 on farm AD plants have been built with Feed-in Tariff support,” says Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA). “With that incentive heavily reduced and constrained, we are now looking at how we build the next 200. As many retailers enjoy the ‘green halo’ that comes from marketing low carbon products, is it now time for incentive cuts to be compensated by the support of supermarkets and large food retailers?”