BVE e.V. in regards to the Biodiversity Commitment for the 15th UN CBDCOP-15
The Federation of German Food and Drink Industries e.V. (BVE) is the leading economic policy association of the German food and drink industries. Since its founding in 1949, it has successfully represented the cross-sector interests of the industry vis-à-vis politicians, administrators, the media, the public and market partners. All the major sectors of the food industry – from non-alcoholic beverages to meat, confectionery and sugar – have joined forces in the BVE via trade associations and companies.
The prevention of biodiversity loss, together with tackling climate change and the supply of a growing world population, is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The BVE therefore welcomes the EU Commission’s goal of creating a holistic approach to biodiversity conservation within the framework of the EU Biodiversity Strategy by 2030 and contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The German food and drink industries, as the fourth-largest German industrial sector and an important purchaser of agricultural raw materials, has an important role to play in achieving the biodiversity goals. Therefore, the industry is committed to actively contributing to the implementation of the SDGs, including through engagement to combat biodiversity loss. In doing so, the industry aims to pursue intergenerational and sustainable food production in harmony with the interests of all key stakeholders.
Our aspiration is to raise awareness of the necessity of sustainable business practices and, above all, to demonstrate that it is indeed achievable. Furthermore, we realize the impact and influence of the food and drink sector to biodiversity and want to broaden our approach to tackle this important topic.
BVE e.V. is willing to commit to:
- Communicate biodiversity related topics continuously to our members and the entire network (via newsletter, website, annual report)
- Expansion of committee work on the topic of biodiversity in the BVE sustainability committee
- Realization of a seminar series on the topic of biodiversity
- Develop a good-practice guidance for food industry companies based on the content of the seminar
- Report transparently on progress made within the framework of the BVE annual report