Commission publishes transition pathway for a green, digital and resilient EU agri-food industrial ecosystem

Today, the Commission has published the transition pathway for the agri-food industrial ecosystem, which focuses on the food processing industry. The pathway has been co-created by the Commission, Member States, and stakeholders such as industry associations and NGOs.

Taking a food systems approach, the pathway identifies challenges and opportunities specifically for this part of the value chain and proposes actions to boost its contribution to a competitive, sustainable, resilient and fair EU agri-food system.

It highlights that the food system's competitiveness and resilience require fair returns for all players in the value chain, smart sustainability investments to limit food inflation, support for the international attractiveness of EU agri-food exports, and implementation of circular business models. 

The pathway encourages industrial stakeholders to take up the EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, while suggesting enabling actions to achieve the code's sustainability objectives. It also proposes to boost collaboration between different business support organisations, and to increase the awareness of R&I funding opportunities, especially towards sustainability innovation.

Moreover, the document published today presents EU policies and programmes that can be mobilised to support the transition towards a green, digital and resilient EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, and invites national and regional authorities to also mobilise their policies accordingly.

The transition pathway for the agri-food industrial ecosystem will be launched during the Open Food Conference which kicked off earlier today. To facilitate the implementation of the pathway, the Commission will set up a Transition Pathway Stakeholder Support Platform.