Get to know the thought leaders sharing their insights at the Future Food Systems event (25-26 January, Online | 2 March, London) in our dedicated speaker interview series.
Independent Forums: What is your favorite food?
Emma Piercy: Sri Lankan dahl and pol sambol (fresh coconut with chilli, lime, and a little onion)
Independent Forums: Who or what has inspired you this year and why?
Emma Piercy: I was at COP26 on Nature Day and at the evening reception there was a live performance of ‘It’s Time to Heal’ from ‘SOS from the kids’ – It was very grounding and humbling and really focused our minds on why we are all engaged on this agenda – not for us, but for future generations.
Independent Forums: What is your biggest source of motivation?
Emma Piercy: Seeing the sustainability agenda really take hold amongst colleagues and businesses, the progress we’ve made already and the momentum continuing to build.
Independent Forums: How would you describe a typical day?
Emma Piercy: I engage a lot with external stakeholders – both with members but also other organisations who represent parts of the farm to fork supply chain. We have such shared agendas that working collaboratively and supporting each other is really key and that can take different forms, whether providing comment on documents / proposals / reports, discussing next steps on joint projects, participating in meetings or speaking at events.
Independent Forums: What’s one thing about you that most people don’t know? Emma Piercy: For a few years my husband and I had a scuba diving business in Sri Lanka.
Independent Forums: What’s one thing about your organization that you wish more people knew?
Emma Piercy: That FDF represents the largest manufacturing sector in the UK – bigger than automotive and aviation combined.
Independent Forums: Where do you see the biggest opportunity for transformation within the food system?
Emma Piercy: Facilitating collaboration between stakeholders across the food system will be key to advancing the sustainability agenda.
Independent Forums: What are you most looking forward to at Future Food Systems 2022?
Emma Piercy: With collaboration being key to systems change – using the title of this conference! – meeting with industry colleagues and making new connections and developing ideas for next steps is what I’m looking forward to most.
Emma will be speaking in the 'Accelerating Race to Zero Commitments' session on 25 January 2022.
Register here to join the conversation.