As part of the Beanstalk Global mission to assist with the first phase of FRESHPPACT in partnership with Blue Skies, Waitrose & Partners and the University of Northampton Centre for Sustainable Business Practices, we meet up in Ghana and talk with Ruth Sadjei – General Manager for Blue Skies in West Africa.
Ruth is an inspiring and hugely well-regarded figure in the fresh food industry in Africa. What she and her team have created at Blue Skies and the difference they have made to the people in Ghana and now Benin cannot be overstated.
We interview her to find out her background, how Anthony Pile MBE (founder of Blue Skies) inspired her to succeed and what she hopes for in respect of the Blue Skies business ongoing.
The Fresh Produce Impact Hub, known as FRESHPPACT, will collaborate with retailers, manufacturers and agribusinesses operating within food supply chains rooted in developing or emerging economies to identify shared high-priority social and environmental challenges, and work with research partners to accelerate the adoption of the most promising solutions through a process of rapid evaluation, testing and adoption.
FRESHPPACT is being implemented by Blue Skies and supported by Waitrose, which has been awarded a UKAid grant to develop the operating model and launch three challenge funds to find solutions to problem plastics found in agricultural mulch, workwear and packaging.
Solutions may include new technology and business models that mitigate plastic pollution through material substitution, accelerated biodegradation and improved manufacturing and remanufacturing processes.
The UKAid grant has been made via the Sustainable Manufacturing and Pollution Programme (SMEP). The SMEP programme is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and is implemented in partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The grant has been awarded for an initial period until April 2022.
FRESHPPACT is inviting expressions of interest from organisations who would like to be involved in launching the challenge funds and/or identifying solutions. Expressions of Interest may come from, but is not limited to retailers, fresh produce companies, research organisations (including universities) and solutions providers.
