At the event, which took place in Reading on Tuesday 8th February, delegates heard from experts on three main areas affecting the sector right now – deposit return schemes, the future of responsible retailing, and upcoming HFSS regulations.
The first session of the forum saw an update from ACS Government Relations Director Ed Woodall on the latest developments on the introduction of deposit return schemes, both in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Delegates then heard from Spencer Roberts from Envipco, Mark Brill from TOMRA, and Ric Exley from Polytag about their DRS solutions, including a digital solution that consumers can take part in from their homes without needing to take containers to stores.
In the second session of the day, ACS Communications Director Chris Noice provided an update on ACS’ work to promote and extend the use of Challenge25 materials in store, with a view to reducing the levels of abuse faced by colleagues for challenging those that ask for proof of age. We then heard from Kate Winstanley from Community Alcohol Partnerships, and Iain Corby from the Age Verification Providers Association about how young people get alcohol, and new digital verification methods being trialled for age restricted products.
The final session of the event focused on the incoming high fat, salt and sugar regulations (HFSS). ACS Government Relations Director Ed Woodall gave delegates a first look at Assured Advice for retailers on the upcoming regulations, which detail how stores can ensure that they comply with the rules on both location restrictions and promotional restrictions in October this year. The session also heard from David Pickering from Surrey and Bucks Trading Standards on the approach that is going to be taken by enforcement officers once the regulations are in place.
Presentations and a report from the panel sessions at the event are available on the ACS member portal here.
