12th Sustainable Food Summit to Bring Together Stakeholders of the Food Industry

The 12th Sustainable Food Summit, to be held on December 24, 2026 at Swissôtel The Bosphorus İstanbul in cooperation with TÜGİS and Sürdürülebilirlik Akademisi, is preparing to bring together all stakeholders of the food value chain under the theme “Transformation for the Future of Food.” At the summit, the steps that need to be taken to create a more resilient, efficient and sustainable food system across the process from production to consumption will be discussed.

TÜGİS Board of Directors Chairman Kaan Sidar and Sürdürülebilirlik Akademisi Board Member and Sürdürülebilir Gıda Platformu Chair Semra Sevinç, in their joint assessment, drew attention to the importance of strong industry-wide cooperation in order to secure the production and nutrition conditions of future generations.

Climate change, pressure on water resources, and uncertainties in supply chains are making the continuity of production and the efficient use of resources increasingly important in the food industry. The Sustainable Food Summit, organized for the 12th time this year by TÜGİS (Türkiye Gıda Sanayii İşverenleri Sendikası) and Sürdürülebilirlik Akademisi, will bring proposed solutions to these issues onto the sector's common agenda.

With its broad scope ranging from the protection of climate, water and nature to regenerative agriculture, from resilient supply chains to circular production, and from healthy and accessible nutrition to innovation and technology, the summit will focus on sectoral transformation. With contributions from business leaders, academics and experts, the event aims to bring global developments together with the needs of Türkiye's food industry, and will lay the groundwork for sharing actionable solutions and developing new collaborations.

“Today's decisions determine the nutrition conditions of future generations”

TÜGİS Board of Directors Chairman Kaan Sidar, commenting on the summit, stated that a strong link needs to be established between production, technology and public policies in order to secure the future of the food industry.

Sidar said, “When discussing sustainability in food, we need to jointly address the conditions under which production will continue, how we will protect our water and soil, and how we will ensure society's access to safe food. The decisions we make today also determine the production opportunities and nutrition conditions of future generations. This responsibility on us requires establishing a consistent relationship between short-term needs and long-term goals.

We cannot consider the challenges faced by a producer separately from the agenda of industry or consumers. Therefore, we need every link in the sector to listen to, understand, and work together with one another. Whether scientific knowledge finds application in production, whether technology becomes widespread, and whether public policies support this transformation all depend on the quality of our cooperation,” he said.

“We will evaluate the outcomes of COP31 from the perspective of the food industry”

Noting that the 12th Sustainable Food Summit will be an important platform for evaluating the outcomes of COP31, which Türkiye will host, from the perspective of the food industry, Sidar said:

“We will jointly discuss how decisions taken on the global climate agenda will be reflected in agriculture and food production, the steps our sector needs to take in this process, and the opportunities ahead of it. We invite all our stakeholders who take responsibility for the future of food to this gathering on December 24 at Swissôtel The Bosphorus İstanbul.”

“All stakeholders must act together for lasting transformation”

Sürdürülebilirlik Akademisi Board Member and Sürdürülebilir Gıda Platformu Chair Semra Sevinç also emphasized that lasting transformation in the food industry will be possible only through the joint action of all stakeholders.

Sevinç said, “Securing the future of food requires us to rethink how we create value in this sector. Sustainability is a strategic issue that determines the future of the sector, ranging from the continuity of agricultural production to the competitiveness of the food industry, from the resilience of supply chains to consumers' access to safe and affordable food.

For this transformation to be lasting, all stakeholders—from producers to manufacturers, from retail to out-of-home consumption—need to act together. At the Sustainable Food Summit, we bring together all stakeholders from agriculture to industry, from retail to out-of-home consumption, to put forward solutions and concrete steps that will accelerate transformation,” she said.

About TÜGİS

TÜGİS, one of our country's first employer unions, is also a founding member of the Confederation of Turkish Employer Associations (TİSK). With Türkiye's leading manufacturers among its members, TÜGİS has been working for more than half a century to develop the Turkish food industry and increase its competitiveness in international markets. Operating since 1961, the organization contributes to social dialogue, labor peace, and the development of the food industry.

About Sürdürülebilirlik Akademisi

Sürdürülebilirlik Akademisi has been operating for 17 years as a sustainability center supporting sustainable business and brand transformation. It helps companies bring their environmental and social impacts together with economic success, contributing to the development of their competitiveness, resilience and long-term value creation capacity.

With its approach of “Change Is Possible Together,” the Academy brings together business, the public sector, academia and civil society; through the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and the Sustainable Food Platform (SGP), which it founded, it strengthens the sharing of experience and cooperation among companies from different sectors. It supports the dissemination of good practices through research, training, platforms and award programs.