Clean Industrial Deal
The EU’s Clean Industrial Deal and the related Action Plan for Affordable Energy have the potential to help drive the climate transition in Europe while safeguarding the competitiveness of the food and drink industry.
The Clean Industrial Deal, published on 26 February 2025, is a promising first step. However, the European Commission must ensure that swift and appropriate incentives for decarbonisation are available to the food and drink sector in line with its climate and sustainability ambitions. With rising energy costs driving up production expenses and food prices, urgent action is needed to reduce energy costs and expand renewable energy supply, maintaining food security and boosting sustainable food production across Europe.
As Europe’s largest manufacturing sector, employing 4.7 million people, the food and drink industry should benefit from targeted support measures, including access to clean energy supply. Decarbonisation and competitiveness must go hand in hand to secure Europe’s food production and sustainability goals.
Omnibus Simplification Package:
As the European Commission works to streamline corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence legislation, FoodDrinkEurope highlights five key principles to guide the process:
- We support the objectives of the CSRD, CSDDD and EU Taxonomy as we believe they have potential to support the transition towards a sustainable and resilient food and drink industry. The Omnibus simplification should support this objective in a business-friendly way.
- We advocate for smart, targeted simplification — ensuring clarity, coherence, and reducing unnecessary burdens, particularly for SMEs, which represent 99% of food and drink companies in Europe.
- The European Commission needs to provide certainty and predictability for companies to further encourage short- and long-term investments in sustainability measures.
- Europe must find a way to balance short-term wins with long-term predictability and stability, all while staying true to its sustainability ambitions.
- The European Commission should provide clear and precise guidance and timelines and include stakeholders when clarifying the implementation guidelines.
