2010 project development updates

This page gives project development updates for Sustainable Fish City in 2010. Keep in touch with news from the Sustainable Fish City campaign by signing up to our newsletter at: http://www.sustainweb.org/sustainablefishcity/signup/ or email: fish@sustainweb.org

Winter 2010

London public procurement
Twenty-two institutions including hospitals, universities and local authorities received Good Food on the Public Plate awards on 30 November at City Hall. Around 100 people attended. Several of the institutions’ caterers remarked on how much they appreciated the recognition and how it inspired them to continue with their good work.
 
At the Mayor’s Responsible Procurement Awards in December, the GLA announced that its GLA Group has made a commitment to ensuring that all its members purchase sustainable food, modelled on the London 2012 Food Vision, and including a commitment to 100% demonstrably sustainable seafood. Sustain and GFPP have helped with the work needed to enable this to happen. The Group consists of the Metropolitan Police Service, London Fire Brigade, Transport for London and the London Development Agency – as well as City Hall. The commitment will therefore be put into practice in approximately 150 sites across the London.

London Food Link
The third Working Party topic of 2010, held on 1 December, was about Sustain’s new campaign Sustainable Fish City. A lively discussion elicited a host of ideas for promoting this exciting new campaign in 2011.

Universities
The University of Greenwich has formally approved a sustainable food policy. The policy, developed with GFPP, embeds the commitment shown by the University’s Facilities Management team and provides a target-based sustainable food policy including Fairtrade products, free-range eggs, organic dairy and fully sustainable fish.

Food for London 2012
Kath Dalmeny and Jon Walker continue to attend meetings of the London 2012 Food Advisory Group, which may now evolve into a Food Legacy Group, to influence the wider catering sector with the inspiration of the London 2012 Food Vision catering standards, previously billed as an ‘Olympic Food Charter’. We are arguing for a robust process that would challenge the catering sector to show how they are making tangible commitments and progress towards Food Vision targets (such as demonstrably sustainable fish, seasonal menus, environmental standards for food production and Fairtrade products), to qualify for a London 2012 Inspire Mark. This suggestion is enthusiastically supported by the Sustainable Restaurant Association, which has recently been invited to join the London 2012 Food Advisory Group. However, it is not yet clear how this process will develop.

It also remains unclear how sustainable suppliers and smaller suppliers can take up Olympic opportunites. We understand that 'meet the buyer' events may be organised in 2011. Meanwhile, Kath and Jon are pursuing contacts with the major caterers that we think may win Olympic contracts, to encourage connections between them and sustainable suppliers, with some useful (although not yet large-scale) results. We will also champion this approach through the Sustainable Fish City campaign.

Autumn 2010

The National Trust has agreed to adopt Sustainable Fish City principles in its catering; and Rosie Boycott and the Mayor’s food team – with the support of the London Food Board – are in the process of persuading the GLA Group (Metropolitan Police, Transport for London, Fire Brigade and GLA) to adopt sustainable food into their core sustainable procurement standards, which includes a commitment to 100% “demonstrably sustainable” seafood. This commitment has not yet been announced. Together with the institutions that have agreed sustainable fish standards through the Good Food on the Public Plate project, we think we have enough high-profile ‘wins’ to be able to launch shortly and we are now discussing how best to capitalise on this initial – but as yet unpublicised – momentum.

The Sustainable Fish City campaign working group has continued to meet, with increasing enthusiasm for a high-profile campaign to declare London a Sustainable Fish City by 2012, in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The lively working group involves Sustain, the Marine Stewardship Council, Marine Conservation Society, Seafood Choices Alliance (coordinators of Good Catch), Good Food on the Public Plate, the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Pisces Responsible Fish Restaurants, Fish4Ever and others. The group has been offered ‘affiliate’ status with the London Food Board, to give it influence and credibility as part of the implementation of the London Food Strategy. We are also keeping Greenpeace briefed on this development, although they are unlikely to join the campaign.

Fundraising update
Fundraising continues. Avenues being explored include:

• Defra 2012 Inspiring Sustainable Living Fund – a decision was due in September, but we did not find out until mid-October that we had been turned down
• Waterloo Foundation – who have generously agreed to fund an iPhone App and online marketing in support of the campaign
• European Fishery Funds for marketing support for fishery products
• Several other funds that have a biodiversity focus

Summer 2010

Kath Dalmeny and Jon Walker have continued developing plans for a new campaign to promote sustainable fish, to be modelled on the success of Fairtrade Towns. Funding applications have been submitted to the Defra Inspiring Sustainable Living Fund and two charitable foundations with an interest in promoting biodiversity. Kath also spoke about market opportunities for sustainable fish at a conference, and standards for public and private sector catering, held in June at the impressive Fishmongers Hall on London Bridge.

Government and sustainable fish
Meanwhile, we continue to lobby Defra and the Office of Government Commerce to improve their standards for procurement of only demonstrably sustainable fish, and the prominence and urgency of implementing these standards. We have expert support in this endeavour from other members of the Good Catch group – the Marine Stewardship Council, Marine Conservation Society and Seafood Choices. Responses by Defra and the fisheries minister to several of our Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests have so far been highly unsatisfactory.

We have requested a meeting with the new Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon to discuss opportunities to support sustainable seafood at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and in public sector catering. Before the general election, he had expressed an interest in getting involved in such work, but since then he has not yet responded to our letter.

Public procurement in London
A separate Sustain project, Good Food on the Public Plate (GFPP). is supported by the Greater London Authority and London Food Board. This works with London-based public sector institutions to improve the ethical and environmental impact of the food they buy.

A collective milk tender for the London Cluster is progressing well, with the London Boroughs of Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Enfield, Hounslow and the unitary authority of Thurrock committed. A tender should be issued imminently by Havering. We also hope to have a collective meat tender issued in the near future. We also met with Roger Pownall and John Whitlow from Imperial College with a view to them leading on a collective sustainable fish tender on behalf of the Chelsea Cluster.

Spring 2010

Sustainable Fish City
Kath Dalmeny and Jon Walker have been developing plans for a new campaign to promote sustainable fish, to be modelled on the success of Fairtrade Towns. We would like to win high-level political support, to declare the ambition for London to become the first ever Sustainable Fish City, with a target of achieving targets by 2012, to celebrate the arrival of the London 2012 Olympics, complete with its own London 2012 Food Vision containing sustainable seafood policy!

On 31 March, we convened a meeting at the King’s Cross Hub with the leading fish organisations – members of Good Catch and Sustain’s informal Taking Stock network. The meeting featured a lively and inspiring presentation by Hannah Reed from Fairtrade Towns, who shared her considerable expertise and creativity on how to inspire action at a local and institutional level for adoption of sustainable seafood policies. We are now exploring with the group the possibility of launching the campaign, winning the vocal support of Rosie Boycott and the London Mayor's food team, and seeking funding for a campaigner to run the coalition. The coalition would avoid duplicating the considerable good work already in place to promote sustainable seafood, and would serve as a vehicle to promote advisory and certification services such as Good Catch, the MCS fish lists, the Sustainable Restaurant Association, the Olympic Food Charter and MSC Chain of Custody. 

Restaurants and sustainable fish
Work with restaurants continues apace, supported by Sustain's Ethical Eats project. Events coming up over the next few months, which will be promoted to members of the Sustainable Restaurant Association and Ethical Eats, include a talk on sustainable fish in March, a workshop on energy and water saving measures in April, and a trip to an organic livestock farm in Suffolk in May. 

Billingsgate market
After a period of uncertainty about the project’s funding – largely due to the transfer of the project from the LDA to the GLA, it seems increasingly likely that the GLA will fund further work with the wholesale markets, as part of its implementation of the London Food Strategy. This will now include a new Business Development Manager at Billingsgate Market, with a clear remit to help promote sustainable fish. Sustain's policy director Kath Dalmeny sits on the London Food Board and commented extensively on the criteria and remit for this new development to ensure that sustainability was placed at the heart of the work.

Food for London 2012
Sustain’s policy director Kath Dalmeny and Good Food on the Public Plate project officer Jon Walker continue to sit on the London 2012 Food Advisory Group, which met for the first time in four months in March. Since the publication of the London 2012 Food Vision in December 2009, to which Sustain contributed extensively, the catering team for Olympic Games organisers has been focusing on preparing Invitations to Negotiate for major catering contracts. We understand that these will be negotiated and let throughout 2010. There will be a focus on achieving baseline standards that incorporate seasonality, sustainable seafood, some Fairtrade certified food, and farm assured produce. It has yet to be seen how vigorously the Games organisers will pursue implementation of their ‘aspirational standards’ that encompass more stretching environmental, ethical and animal welfare ambitions, as signalled in the original bid.

A report on the Olympics and food was published at the beginning of April by the Commission for Sustainable London, which is monitoring the progress of London 2012 against bid targets. Sustain contributed to the consultation for this report. It concludes by congratulating London 2012 on publishing a Food Vision, but warns that the catering organisers will need to make best efforts to achieve the ‘aspirational standards’ if environmental ambitions, particularly on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, are to be met.

Government and sustainable fish
Sustain has taken a keen interest in pursuing government on the details (or lack of them) in seafood standards for government procurement. Following a Parliamentary Question instigated by Sustain’s Good Food for Our Money campaign and tabled by David Drew MP, in which the marine minister erroneously claimed that government departments are already purchasing all sustainable seafood, it has emerged that Defra’s supposedly ‘sustainable’ fish standards are as full of holes as a fish net! Kath is pursuing a complaint with Defra and the Marine Minister, as the poor standards form the basis of:

• The claimed ‘sustainable seafood’ element of the Healthier Food Mark
• Office of Government Commerce seafood standards for government procurement
• The development of Defra’s Sustainable Seafood Roadmap with the industry

Winter 2009 / Spring 2010

Government fish consumption advice
Sustain's coordinator Jeanette Longfield has continued to liaise with the Food Standards Agency over policy on fish – which remains to advise consumers to eat a least two portions a week. Discussions continue to be both disappointing and frustrating. Following our joint submission with a number of organisations last March to their consultation, and the publication of their – in essence – unchanged advice to consumers, in autumn, an even larger number of organisations wrote again to the FSA in November. This time we were seeking a meeting with FSA Chair, Lord Rooker, and proposing that the FSA Board revisit the issue. His reply in December said “no” to both proposals. It is not yet clear how best to respond (if at all), though we will continue to pursue the issue of sustainable fish via a range of other Sustain projects and campaigns. 

Sustain's policy director Kath Dalmeny was invited to give a presentation by the National Heart Forum to health policy specialists about the implications of UK dietary advice for fish sustainability. The meeting was very lively, with several health academics supporting the case for a more robust integration of dietary advice and sustainability considerations. This was linked to publication by the Food Standards Agency, on 17th September, of their limp response to such concerns, voiced over several years by Jeanette and others, which simply provides links to sustainability and government websites when discussing fish.

Government and sustainable fish
Jeanette also attended a Defra breakfast launch, in September, of the review of the Common Fisheries Policy reform, where she was able to raise with Hilary Benn MP the issue of sustainable fish in public procurement. We are currently awaiting a response from his office.

Restaurants and sustainable fish
Work to improve the sustainability of restaurants is continuing. Since the last report, the group of restaurants committed to sustainability has successfully trialled deliveries of sustainable fish from Cornish day boats and continue to work towards incorporating fresh produce and meat from local to London producers.

Sustain’s involvement in the Good Catch sustainable seafood initiative has continued. Most recently the partner organisations have been arranging exhibition space at Hotelympia to provide the initiative with a platform to connect with the thousands of industry professionals attending the event. Plans are at an early stage but it looks hopeful that there will be a Good Catch presence at the end of February.