MU May / June 2015

10 MACHINERY UPDATE MAY/JUNE 2015 www.machineryupdate.co.uk
News
What will a sustainable
factory be like in 2050?
Code Adjudicator Christine Tacon
GCA hopes
relationship
is changing
Industry experts gathered at CCE’s Milton Keynes factory for the roundtable event hosted by CCE and Cranfield Uni
Coca-Cola Enterprises
(CCE) launched a new
industry research
partnership with Cranfield
University entitled Sustainable
Manufacturing for the
Future during a roundtable
event attended by invited
industry experts including
a representative from the
Processing and Packaging
Machinery Association (PPMA).
Richard Little, vice
chairman of the PPMA and
managing director of Jenton
International took part in
the discussions held at CCE’s
Milton Keynes factory, hosted
by representatives from both
CCE and Cranfield University.
He joined a number of
leading academics and
industry experts to debate
the key topics impacting the
sustainability landscape
today, and those anticipated
in the years to come.
The study will take place
over the next six months with
researchers set to deliver their
findings this autumn.
CCE’s partnership with
Cranfield University, chosen
for its strong credentials
and dedicated sustainable
manufacturing team, is
part of CCE’s commitment
to advance its business
and the broader food and
drink industry in all areas
of operational efficiency.
The study will investigate
the current sustainability
landscape across the supply
chain, investigating topics
such as resource security, the
circular economy, sustainable
technologies and waste
management.
It will also look to the
future, forming a vision of
what a sustainable factory
will look like in 2050.
The project was announced at
the same time as CCE unveiled
its plans to invest £66m into its
operations this year, surpassing
the £1m a week it injected
in 2014 and bringing total
investment by the business to
nearly £300m over the last five
years. CCE’s latest investment
will go towards a range of
efficiency and operational
upgrades across all of the
company’s GB sites this year,
in areas such as automation
and water treatment.
“We are excited to be
embarking on this journey
with Cranfield, as we look
to the future of sustainable
manufacturing in our
industry,” says Steve Adams,
group director of supply chain
operations at CCE. “At CCE we
take our responsibilities in
this area very seriously and
we are constantly looking for
new ways to progress
and improve, which is why
we have again pledged to
invest significantly across
our operations this year.
“We view the research
project as a collaborative
effort, and will look to involve
our industry peers as we
assess the findings from
Cranfield, starting with
the knowledge-sharing
session held at our Milton
Keynes facility.”
Groceries Code Adjudicator
(GCA) Christine Tacon believes
the very existence of the Groceries
Supply Code of Practice, and her
powers to police it, are making
a difference to relationships
between suppliers and retailers
despite current trading conditions
being fiercely competitive.
Tacon told a Westminster
Food & Nutrition Forum that
“if you think about the hugely
competitive situation we’ve got
in retailing at the moment, you
would expect things would be
getting worse.
“Well I’m actually being told
that things are getting better,”
she said.
She did call on direct suppliers
to supermarkets to make sure
they use her office, and asked
for them to give her evidence
so she knows exactly what is
going on. It is also worth noting
that the Adjudicator can receive
information from anyone, not
only direct suppliers. However,
the issue raised must be about
the direct supply agreement
with the retailer.
“Suppliers are saying to me
you’re very existence is making a
difference,” she said, but Tacon
wants suppliers to get better
trained and raise actual breaches
of the Code, rather than just
allude to it.
She once again called on trade
associations to be a conduit for
information in this area.