Goodness Issue: 24 February

How to get involved…

News: Do you have a story about giving back, charitable initiatives or a sustainability win? Pitch your ideas to ronan.hegarty@thegrocer.co.uk by 16 February. Please note this must have a news hook, rather than being a past achievement.

Op eds: Have you got a snappy opinion on how the industry should be giving back? Perhaps there is an area everyone is missing, or you want to see a new approach? Please pitch your ideas to emma.weinbren@thegrocer.co.uk by 14 February. We have slots available online and two print slots: Saturday Essay (550 words) and Third Party (450 words)

Features: Would you like to contribute to one of our features? Please get in touch with the relevant writers listed below by 12 February

Feature 1: How to end rivalry in the food waste space by Ian Quinn ian.quinn@wrbm.com

Food waste is one issue the industry can come together on. Yet in this space, there is increasing rivalry as the amount of surplus dwindles and the number of people in need increases. So how can food waste charities come together on the issue? To what extent can collaboration help to minimise the pressures? What are charities already doing and what do they see as the way forward?

Feature 2: How the Bright Futures programme is tackling slavery by Megan Tatum wordsbymegantatum@gmail.com

The Bright Futures programme began as a partnership between Co-op and charity Causeway. The first initiative of its kind, it launched in 2017 to provide jobs/placements to survivors of modern slavery. Since then, it has evolved into its own independent cooperative model with 31 members, including Morrisons. How has it developed to reach these heights and what challenges has it faced along the way?

Feature 3: The heroes flying the flag for disability by Grace Duncan grace.duncan@wrbm.com

This feature will highlight those the industry who are making a real difference for disabled workers (whether physical, hidden or neurodivergence) in terms of rights, awareness and/or visibility. The people we profile would ideally be a mix from larger retailers and suppliers, as well as challenger/startup brands.

Feature 4: The rise of Sported by Dene Mullen dene.mullen@wrbm.com

A big interview with Sarah Kaye, CEO of Sported. Sarah has vast previous experience in fmcg before moving to Sported, a charity that seeks to have positive social impact through sport. We’ll cover how the food and drink sector can do good through sport, what they get out of it (staff feel-good factor, for example), the importance of being clear on your brand identity (what you stand for, and the role you play), what fmcg brands could learn from charities and vice versa. This will include a boxout on brand partnerships with charities in the sporting sector.