Strategic Operations for Business Development - Case Study Example

Strategic Operations for Business Development Introduction The food retail and service is a huge and quickly growing market with the united kingdom and has become one of the most wasteful and energy consuming sectors in the economy. With growing concerns around the globe on waste production and energy consumption, there is an increasing need for the industry to begin focusing efforts towards sustainability in the operations (Baldwin 2009). Overconsumptions and wasteful consumption are not only financially unfavourable elements to the organisations within the industry, but they are also financially unfavourable. The processes involved within the food retail and service industry are complex and the amount of waste produced presents a sustainability challenge because of the environmental impact which is has. There is need for the operators within the industry to adopt sustainable operations in order to meet the existing regulatory and sustainability objectives. The sustainability challenge in the UK food industry The sustainability of operations within the food retail and services industry in the UK has been increasingly becoming necessary as the industry continues to grow and expand. The diminishing resources like energy have necessitated the adoption of sustainable sources of energy within the industry in order to cope with the every growing demand. With the introduction of technological processes within the industry, the consumption of energy continues to become an issues of concern. Various aspects of the business operations have become affected and the sustainability challenge ought to focus efforts to the most affected areas. This should mainly be undertaken through the establishment of regulations and control within many business processes involved within the industry in the effort of implementing sustainable operation. Despite the adoption and implementation of different sustainability approaches, the pressure upon the entire industry continues to increase as a growing world population increases demand for the products within the industry. Increased production becomes necessary and this results in the industry exerting pressure upon the existing resources, while generating more waste and consuming more of the limited resources. Disposal challenges for the generated wastes have become imminent within the industry with the increased environmental concerns, the regulations existing in the waste disposal aspect of the environment continues to increase the need for the industry to become accustomed to sustainable business operations. The sustainability challenge in the food industry ought to focus on meeting requirements of the key sustainability elements of greenhouse gasses, energy efficiency, waste and water. 1. Greenhouse gasses The food industry is a wide industry within which a considerable level of greenhouse gasses produced by the processes involved. The carbon foot print within the food service and retail industry has become an element of concern because of the different stages which the food undergoes before reaching the customers (Pullman et al. 2009). This occurs at the processing and production stages in the food service and retail process. It has been estimated that the food chain in UK is responsible for 18% of the greenhouse gas emission associated with the economic activities occurring within the country. The direct sources of these emissions are mainly the processing and the agricultural phases of the food chain. The element of greenhouse gasses is an environmental concern which has been increasingly raised within many industries. The targets which have been developed by the industry on the greenhouse gasses need to meet requirements for improvement of sustainability aspects of business operations. The increasing concerns about the production of carbon and other greenhouse gasses in food industry have necessitated these improvements. The entire industry has been focused at reducing the carbon emission and there has been a significant achievement where the level was reduced by 19% against a target of 20% by 2010. The industry hopes to reduce carbon emission by 35% by 2020 (IGD 2014). The operations of the various establishment and organisations involved within the industry must remain focused at meeting these targets for the industry to achieve sustainability comprehensively. 2. Energy efficiency Within the modern business environment, which has stiff competition, success can be achieved through adoption efficient business processes. Energy efficiency continues to become an increasingly important element for organisations seeking to become and remain competitive within the food industry. This has been necessitated by the awareness which has been created on environmental factors, and the rising cost of fuel around the world. Energy efficiency focuses on minimising carbon footprint and reducing energy consumption within the food retail and services industry. The industry faces a fundamental challenge in the production process and supply chain, which affects the energy efficiency within the industry. Having effective energy efficiency process involves availing energy facilities which are appropriate for the activities being undertaken at the particular place. The food industry in UK accounts for about 14% of all the energy consumed by businesses in the country, while producing over 7 million tonnes of carbon annually (IGD 2014). The industry continues to focus on reducing the energy consumption within the business processes as well as consumption within the industry. The upgrading of various facilities and continuous improvement of the processes involved remains key to an effective energy management system, which will enhance efficacy (CRC 2014). Reduction in energy consumption remains critical in ensuring the efficiency of energy within the industry. Organisation have been adopting the utilisation of renewable sources of energy in seeking to implement sustainability in the energy aspect of the process. 3. Waste The amount of waste produced within the food industry has continuously increased over time to relatively high levels. While the production process mainly produces biodegradable waste, the industry faces a fundamental sustainability challenge in management of waste generated from packaging. This waste is normally non-biodegradable and mainly creates a disposal problem when generated in large volumes (Defra 2013). The level of packaging remains relatively high as food industry involves mainly retailing outlets providing processed food or even fast food outlets, which package cooked food. The industry focus on the waste which has produced the significant sustainability challenge has been increasing recycling and the recycled content, and reducing the weight of generated waste. While much focus and emphasis ought to be placed on the packaging waste, the waste management processes for the biodegradable waste have produced a significant level of concern especially among the smaller organisations. Despite the industry targets of reducing grocery packaging, there have been no notable changes within that segment of the waste management process. 4. Water Water can be defined as a basic requirement for the food industry and the management of the water usage remains a significant sustainability issue within the industry. The industry accounts for approximately 10% of all industrial water within the country. Effective utilisation of the resources of water remains essential in ensuring sustainability of the business operation. The level of consumption of water by the industry continues to increase within expansion of the sector. As a result the sector continually contributes to increasing demand on the water resources. This presents a sustainability challenge as it can affect the water quality and local habitat at the sources of the water. The growing population within the country further increase the demand for domestic water, leading to challenges in the management of water resources by the organisations operating within the sector. The fundamental challenge presented by this situation remains the reduction of the current demand levels for the limited resource. This must occur at all stages of the supply chain in order to ensure efficiency in the process. despite the growing demand and expansion experienced within the industry, a reduction in water usage per tonne of 1.4% was achieved between 2007 and 2008 (IGD 2014). This was achieved through the improvement of the efficacy of the establishment through adoption of best practices. While seeking to achieve this reduction, the organisations within the industry must ensure that they do not compromise the quality and hygiene of food presented to consumers. Regulation Compliance with the existing regulation remains important as organisations seek to achieve sustainability within their operations. Much regulation has been impressed by the government mainly to ensure that the quality of products presented within the industry is not compromise as organisations seek to implement sustainable operations (Pullman et al. 2009). There are different regulations which have been implemented on different platforms of the fundamental sustainability challenges facing the food industry. Energy The UK government has develop and implemented a climate change programme which is aimed at ensuring that eh country achieves the Kyoto commitments through setting its own energy targets. Various agreements have been established between the government and different industries in regard to the energy consumption within the industry. Analysis of the food industry have indicated an improvement in energy efficiency by 9.5% as compared to the industry target of 7.5 % (Defra 2006). Such reductions have essential reduced the energy costs for the various organisations operating within the industry. These reductions have a significant effect in enhancing the efficiency of the general operations of the businesses operating within the food industry. The focus on energy efficacy does not only benefit the country but also the organisations since they reduce the operating costs significantly. Waste The food industry contributes significant level of wastes within the country. The government has developed the waste strategy which creates a vision for sustainable management and an effective strategy for managing resources and wastes in an improved manner. This strategy includes packaging waste recycling targets for different industries. Landfill continues to be negated as a preferred waste disposal option because it presents adverse environmental effects. The introduction of landfill tax seeks to become an incentive for enticing organisations to adopt different waste disposal approaches which could be considered to be more environment friendly, like recycling. The European Union directive on packaging, which is applicable within the UK, has been adopted to meet the recovery and recycling targets. Within the UK this has been implemented through the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations of 1997. Meeting the requirements of these regulations provide a platform for organisation to initiate sustainability in the waste management aspect of the organisation. Water The environmental agency (EA) has been charged with the responsibility of management and control of the utilisation of water resources within the country. The agency has introduced strict regulation of water abstraction, through a system of abstraction licensing. There are existing regulations which govern the undue consumption and contamination of public water. These regulations provide standards for the utilisation of water in seeking to ensure sustainability. The agency continue to encourage innovative ways of minimising the utilisation of water resources within the county through the enhanced capital allowances (ECA). This comes as a tax relief for organisation which have adopted and implemented sustainable water use technologies within their premises (Defra 2006). While this encourages investments and change of operating procedures to minimise water usage, it reduces the pressure upon the water supply agency of providing water to other users. Environ wise is a resource efficiency programme which has been initiated to assist organisation within the food industry to achieve their goals in water usage. Conclusion The sustainability of business operations within the food processing industry has been faced by numerous challenges emanating for the standard industry operations. The growth which has been experienced within the industry continues to increase the pressure in necessitating adoption of effective management procedures for controlling various factors which cause operational costs to increase (Tiwari et al. 2013). Environmental focus has been the fundamental challenge facing many organisations within food industry in relation to sustainable business operation. This has been because of the environmental concerns which arise as a result of operations undertaken within the industry. Much of the environmental elements affecting the operations have necessitated adoption of sustainable operations in relation to energy consumption, waste production and management of water resources. While organisation have adopted different approaches in seeking to remains competitive within the industry, the government regulation on these factors has created the baseline upon which sustainability issues can be managed within the organisations operating in the food industry. The food industry sustainability strategy (FISS) remains a significantly helpful document for the operators within the industry (Defra 2006). Regulation imposed by the governments have enables the industry to implement and continuously improve the aspects of sustainability within the entire industry. References Baldwin, C.J., 2009. Sustainability in the Food Industry, New Jersey: Wiley - Blackwell. CRC, 2014. Carbon Trust. UK Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS). Available at: http://www.carbontrust.com/ [Accessed January 7, 2015]. Defra, 2006. Food Industry Sustainability Strategy, London. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/.../pb11649-fiss2006-060411.pdf. Defra, 2013. Reducing and managing waste, London. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-and-managing-waste. IGD, 2014. Fast facts on sustainability. Available at: http://www.igd.com/our-expertise/Sustainability/Greenhouse-gases/7815/Fast-facts-on-sustainability/# [Accessed January 7, 2014]. Pullman, M.E., Maloni, M.J. & Carter, C.R., 2009. Food for thought: social versus environmental sustainability practices and performance outcomes. Journal of Supply Chain Management, 45(4), pp.38–54. Tiwari, B.K., Norton, T. & Holden, N.M., 2013. Sustainable Food Processing, New Jersey: Wiley - Blackwell.  Read More