Springboard events and Think Partnership are proud to announce a partnership to create the 2025 Sustainability Zone at Scotland's Trade Fair Spring and Speciality Food and Drink show at the SEC in Glasgow, from 19th to 21st January 2025.
Read the story of the Sustainability Zone sign here
2025 will see the launch of a new Sustainability Zone and Sustainability discussion panel sharing the sustainability journeys of manufacturers from the food and drink industry. It will showcase some of the actions and solutions they have implemented increasing efficiency, quality and environmental responsibility. We have invited like-minded organisations to join us at the show to share and demonstrate their sustainability pathways. There are 6 organisations featured in the sustainability zone including Secret Garden Distillery, Taste of Arran, Earthself - Emiels Food Forest, Powering Futures and Dumfries and Galloway College. Smurfit Westrock have kindly sponsored the zone.
How Sustainability is Shaping the future of supply chains
We're also pleased to be hosting a debate and Q&A on how Sustainability is shaping the future of Supply Chains. Larger organisations are now required to provide transparency of the carbon emissions in their own supply chains which is having a direct effect on suppliers of all sizes across all sectors. Legislation and tenders are increasingly requesting evidence of carbon management with along with credible plans to reduce emissions. The panel discussion will cover the barriers and opportunities that businesses are faced with, but more importantly the numerous opportunities that early adopters are able to leverage when embracing Net Zero.
Gavin Tweedie at Think Partnership said, “The business community has long embraced sustainability because it makes solid business sense, though many may not realise their efforts already drive sustainable growth and contribute to a better future for all. We’re thrilled to partner with Springboard Events to host the Sustainability Zone, showcasing a diverse range of food and drink companies, educators, and the next generation as they share their progress and insights for the benefit of everyone at the show.”
Mark Saunders, Director with Springboard events said “We’re proud to introduce the Sustainability Zone and discussion panel, showcasing businesses and initiatives that highlight practices and solutions that will future-proof the industry.”
Taste of Arran's Alastair Dobson said “I’m delighted to represent the Arran food and drink community in the Sustainability Zone at the 2025 Food and Drink Speciality Show. On an island, sustainability is especially vital, as sourcing ingredients, materials, and replacements can be more challenging. For us, sustainable practices are part of everyday life—they’re essential to the resilience of our community and the high-quality products we proudly deliver to our customers.”
Imogen Armstrong, Secret Garden Distillery commented "I’m really pleased to have the opportunity to showcase our sustainability journey in the Sustainability Zone at the Scotland Specialty Food and Drink event in January 2025 at the SEC. We look forward to sharing our efforts to minimise our footprint and operate as environmentally consciously as possible. Come along and see what we do, how we do it and sample our amazing products."
Hamed Ahmed, Smurfit Westrock said "It's a pleasure to be supporting this event. We've always had a focus on collaborating with our customers to develop sustainable packaging solutions which are planet friendly as well as compatible with our customers specific operations and supply chains. We're delighted to take part in the Sustainability Zone and looking forward to exchanging sustainability ideas and solutions with those attending the show".
Colin Shaw, Dumfries & Galloway College said "We’re proud to support the Sustainability Zone at Scotland’s Trade Fair Spring, which highlights the vital role of sustainable practices in shaping the future of business. Sustainability is central to our mission, reflected in initiatives like our Net Zero Skills Centre and our collaboration with Think Partnership on the Sustainable Business Growth and Leadership Programme, equipping future leaders to drive positive change across Scotland".
Tabitha Jayne, EarthSelf said "We are excited to have Emiel's Food Forest feature in Scotland's Food and Drink Trade Fair Spring led by one of our Nature Positive business partners, Think Partnership. We will be demonstrating the important role the forest has as one of Scotland’s first community food forests. By weaving ecological restoration with sustainable food production it will create a thriving ecosystem that fosters biodiversity, strengthens community connections, and inspires a student-led food forest movement across Scotland, helping to create a Nature Positive Scotland".
The Sustainability Zone is for everyone
The zone is a place where people can come and share their sustainability stories and products. This is an inclusive zone, for all organisations at the show. A website has also been created to signpost companies at the show who want to highlight their own sustainability efforts to others.
Register for the Sustainability Zone online directory
If you want to feature in the online zone and have a sustainability story to share, please register here and we'll add you to the site and look forward to seeing you at the Sustainability Zone.
The story of the Sustainability Zone sign
When we were planning the Sustainability Zone, we thought that the sign itself had to be symbolic of sustainable thinking. So rather than buying new signage from scratch, we decided to make something from existing materials. For this, we turned to the expert, Amy Britton who had some materials in her workshop we were able to repurpose and reuse for the show.
Using some damaged packaging kindly donated by Crisp Malt. We rethought how they can be reused and recovered, Crisp Malt refused to send them to landfill, so we have repurposed them, low impact reuse to demonstrate circular thinking. Everything including the 20 year old paint has been repurposed.
We had fun with this and a bowl of hot soup to keep us going on a bitterly cold day with a lot of outdoor work. Of course it wasn't all plain sailing but we were very satisfied with the outcome!
We look forward to seeing you at the show and sharing some of the sustainability stories that emerge during the three days.
Please reach out to Ray@thinkpartnership.co.uk if you would like more information on the Sustainability Zone and taking part.
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