Podcast by Footprint Media Group
17 June 2026
In Monday’s Footprint In Focus feature we explored the implications of a new government-backed plan to triple the level of surplus food being redistributed to those in need. The plan has been pitched as an opportunity to turn the environmental problem of surplus food into a social opportunity. But it’s also raised concern that food redistribution risks being conflated with food security amid a surge in need for charitable provision. The food sharing app Olio sits at the heart of the redistribution ecosystem. It enables food businesses to offer surplus food for free to people within their local community. In this week’s episode, Nick speaks with Olio co-founder Saasha Celestial-One to discuss the origins and growth of Olio, how barriers to redistributing more food surplus can be removed, why she fully supports mandatory food waste reporting, and why it’s important to be clear about the issues redistribution can and can’t solve.
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34:12
09 June 2026
The UK Government has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 87% by 2040 as part of its seventh carbon budget. Yet comprehensive plans to decarbonise agriculture and land use remain conspicuously absent from policy papers, with food production on track to become the UK’s largest source of emissions by 2050. In this week’s episode, Ruth Westcott from the charity Sustain joins Nick to discuss why food and farming has failed to receive the same level of policy attention as the energy and transport sectors, and why farmers need greater support to produce food that is good for health and the environment. Ruth also reflects on why ministers are so scared to talk about the need for dietary change to meet emissions targets, and the kind of levers that should be pulled to get us eating less meat and dairy, and more fruit, vegetables and pulses.
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31:56
02 June 2026
The cold chain describes the collection of businesses responsible for keeping temperature-controlled goods like meat, dairy and fresh produce moving safely and efficiently through supply chains: from source all the way through to restaurant kitchens and supermarket shelves. Trade body the Cold Chain Federation is concerned about growing risks to the chain from a range of threats including targeted cyber attacks, extreme weather events and disruptions to fuel and energy supplies, all of which are set out in a newly released whitepaper. Yet there’s a strong sense that government ministers continue to turn a blind eye to the unique challenges facing suppliers and distributors of perishable goods that make up 50% of the UK’s food supply. In this week’s episode, CCF chief executive Phil Pluck explains why the cold chain is essential to the effective functioning of the foodservice sector and why it’s high time for a resilience strategy that protects against current and future risks.
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38:35
26 May 2026
Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions account for the lion’s share of the total for the average foodservice business. These are the emissions buried within food and drink supply chains that can be difficult to capture and measure in a consistent way. WRAP has taken on the task of creating a voluntary set of protocols for how food and drink businesses should report their scope 3 emissions. It has just published version 3 of its guidance that includes key changes in areas relating to the quality of data, what should feature within the scope of a company’s inventory, how to approach the task of rebaselining and, most significantly of all, how to account for emissions reduction from land use change and management. In this week’s episode, Hamish Forbes from WRAP joins Nick to cut through the jargon and give The Small Print listeners the lowdown on this next frontier in scope 3 reporting.
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31:39
20 May 2026
New research from the campaign group Action on Salt & Sugar has revealed worrying levels of salt in some of the UK’s most popular sandwiches sold by high street food-to-go brands and retailers. It’s now two years since the deadline passed for food businesses to meet voluntary salt reduction targets and still the government has failed to publish its report on industry progress. In the meantime, policy focus has shifted towards a more holistic approach to nutrition via plans for a healthy food standard. In this week’s episode, Nick is joined by Sonia Pombo from Action on Salt & Sugar to hear why salt should remain high on the health agenda and how businesses can play their part in helping lower our intake.
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31:34
12 May 2026
The humble soybean plays a major role in powering the global food system as a key source of animal feed. But with industry targets for sourcing verified deforestation- and conversion-free soy having been missed, and with the landmark Amazon Soy Moratorium on the brink of collapse, is sustainable soy still within reach for UK food businesses? In this week’s episode, Nick speaks with Jonathan Gorman from Efeca which heads up the UK Soy Manifesto to delve into the complexities of soy supply chains, highlight the current risk to businesses sourcing from the key Amazon region, and explore alternative feed sources and their potential to replace soy at scale.
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41:31