The winners of the 2016 World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) Market Awards were announced during the closing dinner of a recent WUWM Conference hosted by the Lublin Wholesale Market JSC in Elizówka, in collaboration with the Union of Polish Wholesale Markets (SPRH), from 18-20 May.
WUWM member fresh food wholesale and retail markets from every continent of the world competed for a place in these awards which addressed the theme: ‘Effectiveness in reducing food loss and food waste on the market”. This theme was chosen as support to member market actions, as well as to current work plan activities linked with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between WUWM and the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) last year.
The GOLD prize was awarded to Melbourne Markets in Australia. This newly built market has used international benchmarking and state-of-the-art design and management to significantly lower food loss and food waste. Their award proposal detailed how this was achieved with the active support of market tenants, as well as private investors and the public sector, in a cost effective process. Melbourne Market in Australia serves a population of over 5.7 million and has more than 2,000 daily customers and visitors, with a turnover in excess of AUD 25million.
The SILVER Award went to the Borough Market in London, UK. This retail market has helped traders over a 2 year period to reduce food waste by diverting over 16,000 kilos of produce to good causes – producing over 40,000 meals for those persons most vulnerable in society. Borough Market was established 1756 and welcomes over 14million customers a year to its 1.62 hectare site in central London.
The BRONZE award was given to CEAGESP, the wholesale market of Sao Paulo in Brazil. This market has supported the ‘Zero Hungry’ programme – raising over 22,000 tonnes of food donations that assisted thousands of people in need over a 13 year period, and used multiple approaches – such as a dehydration machine to extend food shelf life. CEAGESP is a 70 hectare public market established in the city in 1969, with an annual turnover surpassing USD2.72 billion and some 50,000 daily customers.
Two merit certificates were also awarded during the Awards ceremony, which was held in the Philharmonic Concert Hall in Lublin, Poland on Friday 20 May.
The first merit certificate was awarded to Sydney Markets, Australia for its market activities in the area of food loss and food waste reduction which highlight the value of partnership, and acknowledge that the competitiveness and the health of surrounding communities are mutually dependent.
The second merit certificate was awarded to Mercagranada, the wholesale market of the city of Granada in Spain which was commended for its innovative market activity that creates environmental improvement by reducing landfill waste through high quality compost, while feeding marginalised families and reducing lower waste treatment costs.
The WUWM 2016 Market Award judging panel comprised: Torsten Berens, previously a WUWM vice-Chairman and the former Managing Director of Hamburg Wholesale Market in Germany; Michel Ganneau the former Secretary General of Rungis Market in Paris, France; and Jorge Fonseca, an Agro-Industry Officer from the UN FAO Nutrition and Food Systems Division in Rome, Italy.
The judging panel considered the following main areas in its deliberations: creative and innovative techniques to minimize market food loss and waste; cost effectiveness; the long-term sustainability of programmes/actions; active participation of traders/tenants and other market players; measurable results; the social impact of the programmes/strategies.
WUWM is a non-profit association which promotes the international exchange of information on wholesale and retail markets with a view to improving their construction, organisation and management.
The WUWM Market Awards are held annually and are open to all the wholesale and retail markets within the WUWM global membership. If you would like more information on these awards, or further detail on the winning submissions, please contact the WUWM Secretary General on the details provided below.
For further information please contact:
Maria Cavit
WUWM Secretary General
Molenstraat 15, 2513BH, The Hague, the Netherlands
Tel: +31 70 361 1728
Fax: +31 70 360 6908
E-mail: m.cavit@wuwm.org
URL: www.wuwm.org
Source: World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM)