In a world with rising health awareness among consumers and the growing importance of environmental protection and social and governance ethics, business leaders find themselves facing customers who want to know that the companies they support are operating with environmental, social and governance (ESG) at the top-of-mind. Questions about ethical spending, operations aligned towards addressing ESG  issues and how they are engaging in an ethical supply-chain, provides potential for brands to innovate and become a front-runner as a sustainable food and beverage (F&B) business.

Given this context, PwC Sri Lanka with the aim of supporting the Food & Beverage industry in the country adopt their business operations and practices to align towards a sustainable future, has partnered with the Export Development Board to hold a webinar tilted “ESG towards a responsible future in the Food and Beverage Industry” on the 24^th of August from 3- 4.30 pm.

Covering salient topics that include in outlining what is ESG in the food and beverage industry, challenges and opportunities for consumer markets and examples related to the industry, the webinar will focus on giving guidance to leaders in the food and beverage industry on global ESG trends in the F&B industry and how manufacturers could establish company level ESG strategies. This will be backed by a Panel Discussion on Sustainability in the F&B Industry in Sri Lanka.

The eminent panel of speakers lined up for the webinar include Suresh de Mel, Chairman & Chief Executive EDB who will deliver the keynote address, followed by Sebastiaan Nijhuis- Advisory Leader Finance Sustainability- PwC Netherlands, Sandeep Kumar Mohanty-Partner - ESG Strategy, Net-zero/ Carbon Neutrality, and Sustainable Finance PwC – India.  Anil Cooke-Chairman Ceylon Tea Roadmap 2030, and Dhammika Gunasekara, Past President Sri Lanka Food Processors' Association and Managing Director Tropical Life (Pvt) Ltd. The panel discussion will be moderated by Zahra Cader, ESG leader and Director PwC Sri Lanka.

Zahra Cader, ESG Leader and Director for PwC Sri Lanka stated that a sustainability strategy and an actionable roadmap to achieve a more sustainable future is what will drive value creation for the food and beverage industry in the future. She further explained that the challenges and opportunities posed in ESG for the sector will include sourcing, manufacturing, transporting and waste management of products sold, along with human capital management with diversity, health and safety being critical aspects to consider with increasing consumer and investor demand on accountability and compliance to a set of internationally-recognised standards.

From developing a strategy and roadmap, having resilient value chains, to reducing resource consumption, the webinar will overall assist the food and beverage industry better understand ESG best practices and provide valuable insights on operating more competitively.