Helping create the EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices
The EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices launched by the European Commission in July 2021 is one of the first deliverables of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy. It aims to encourage sustainable practices across the entire EU food supply chain to help accelerate the transition to a more sustainable food system in Europe.
UNESDA welcomed the drawing up of an EU Code of Conduct from the start and provided some initial recommendations. UNESDA also continued to engage constructively in all the stakeholder discussions about the Code.
UNESDA commits to the EU Code of Conduct
UNESDA is proud to be among the first signatories of the EU Code of Conduct and is actively cooperating with its members to improve the sustainability of Europe’s food system. UNESDA submitted its commitments to the EU Code of Conduct, which cover two main areas: health and nutrition, and sustainability.
UNESDA’s health and nutrition commitments include:
- an additional 10% reduction in average added sugars in soft drinks by 2025 in the EU-27 and the UK;
- responsible advertising and marketing practices to children under 13 across all media;
- intensified actions to act responsibly in EU primary and secondary schools to achieve full compliance;
- transparent and easy-to-understand front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FOPNL) to help consumers make informed dietary choices.
On the sustainability side, UNESDA has pledged to achieve full circularity for beverage packaging by 2030. UNESDA’s Circular Packaging Vision 2030 includes the following commitments:
By 2025:
- all beverage packaging to be 100% recyclable
- all PET bottles to contain 50% recycled content
By 2030:
- PET bottles to be made from 100% recycled and/or renewable material
- >90% collection for all beverage packaging
- increased use of refillable packaging
Making progress on our EU Code of Conduct commitments
UNESDA is committed to contributing to the European Commission’s goal of building more sustainable and healthier food systems in Europe through its commitments to the EU Code of Conduct. Like all the signatories of this Code, UNESDA is required to monitor the progress it has made and present a progress report every year.
Want to know more? Check out the progress reports below.
Our members’ individual pledges
An addition to signing up to UNESDA’s commitments, UNESDA’s members submitted individual pledges to the EU Code of Conduct in the areas of healthy, balanced and sustainable diets, food loss and waste, climate neutrality, and circular and resource-efficient food chain. Learn more on some of their commitments below.
