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The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory general review of both the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agendas being publicly reported by the world's leading spirits and beer producers and the nature of their reporting CSR processes, and then to offer some wider reflections on the ways these producers are addressing and pursuing CSR strategies.

The paper begins with a short discussion of the characteristics of CSR, then draws its empirical material from the most recent CSR reports posted on the websites of the world's top five spirits and top five beer producers.

The findings reveal that the leading spirits and beer producers are moving towards integrating CSR into their core business, and while they particularly emphasise their commitment to foster responsible drinking, they also address a wide range of impacts within the marketplace, the communities in which they operate, the environment and the workplace. Although the leading producers generally adopt a very positive approach in their CSR reports, independent external assessment of the reporting process is very limited. More generally, the paper offers some critical reflections on the CSR agendas currently being pursued by the leading spirits and beer producers.

The paper provides an accessible review of, and some reflections on, the CSR agendas being pursued by some of the world's leading spirits and beer producers, and as such it will interest academics in business and management and hospitality departments, a range of people working in management positions within the drinks industry, and those professionals who work with the industry.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate and evaluate the impact of macroeconomic fundamentals on stock prices of selected food and drink industry stocks during the period of 2005–2015, which saw the global financial crisis and its aftermath.

The paper employed correlation analysis and the Johansen cointegration test with the vector error correction mechanism for EU companies operating in the food and drink industry. The paper tested the effects of GDP, inflation and interest rates (IR) on the stock prices of companies from Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and the UK.

Based on the results, the authors can see that GDP has a generally positive effect on stock price development. In contrast, the relationship between stock prices and inflation and IR is negative in most cases.

Despite the fact that a majority of empirical research on companies in the food and drink sector was performed using the microeconomic approach, this paper used the macroeconomic approach and clearly demonstrated the effects of selected macro-variables on stock prices in selected EU markets. Macroeconomic factors shape the company’s performance and could potentially lead to persistent changes in supply and demand conditions in food and drink markets.

Reports on the third annual conference on benchmarking in the food and drinks industry. Presentations focused on business excellence in general and benchmarking. Companies such as Cargill, Sainsbury, Birds Eye Wall, Quadrant Catering, Cherrytree Bakery and Campbells were represented by the presenters.

Society and government policy currently demonstrate contradictory tendencies in relation to alcohol. Government policy promotes longer opening hours, but also more stringent control of public drinking through ASBOs and alcohol dispersal zones. Young people favour heavy drinking and the ‘night time economy’, while older generations oppose the extension of pub opening hours. The media debates rationing treatment for those with self‐inflicted disease, but portrays national mourning at George Best's death. In an attempt to learn from the efforts of the past, Virginia Berridge uncovers the strikingly familiar world of temperance and ponders whether we are perhaps at a ‘tipping point’ in culture in relation to alcohol?

Maintaining an adequate nutritional state, important at all times, is never more so than during the dark days of Winter. The body reserves are then taxed in varying degrees of severity by sudden downward plunges of the thermometer, days when there is no sight of the sun, lashing rains and cold winds, ice, frost, snow, gales and blizzards. The body processes must be maintained against these onslaughts of nature — body temperatures, resistance against infections, a state of well‐being with all systems operating and an ability to “take it”. A sufficient and well balanced diet is vital to all this, most would say, the primarily significant factor. The National Food Surveys do not demonstrate any insufficiency in the national diet in terms of energy values, intake of vitamins, minerals and nutrients, but statistics can be fallacious amd misleading. NFS statistics are no indication of quality of food, its sufficiency for physiological purposes and to meet the economic stresses of the times. The intake of staple foods — bread, milk, butter, meat, &c., — have been slowly declining for years, as their prices rise higher and higher. If the Government had foreseen the massive unemployment problem, it is doubtful if they would have crippled the highly commendable School Meals Service. To have continued this — school milk, school dinners — even with the financial help it would have required would be seen as a “Supplementary Benefit” much better than the uncontrolled cash flow of social security. Child nutrition must be suffering. Stand outside a school at lunch‐time and watch the stream of children trailing along to the “Chippie” for a handfull of chip potatoes; even making a “meal” on an ice lollie.

This study aims to explore how horizontal collaboration can help small and micro enterprises within the drink sector through the relational theory lens.

The use of qualitative research methods, including focus groups and interviews, facilitated understanding the horizontal collaboration in micro and small companies within the Welsh brewery industry. Data collection involved conducting three focus groups and 13 interviews within the Welsh brewery sector in the UK. The collaboration phenomena were explained using the three elements of relational theory: relational rents, relational capitals and relational governance.

Micro and small enterprises in the drink sector use collaborative initiatives in building new capabilities to generate relational rents. In addition, relational capitals and relational governance mechanisms were identified to support the horizontal collaboration among these enterprises.

The focus is on only one part of the drinks industry, i.e. the brewery industry; therefore, this study could be extended to other industries within the drink sector or across manufacturing industries.

The micro and small enterprises can collaborate to achieve relational rent, but this collaboration requires strong relational capitals, such as trust. These partners need to change informal governance mechanisms that already exist towards more contractual formal mechanisms.

Prior research has largely focused on vertical collaboration, with limited studies using the relational theory lens to explicate horizontal collaboration phenomena and no previous research in the context of micro and small companies. Relational rents, relational capitals and relational governance mechanisms are studied to provide insights into an effective collaboration in this context.

In moving towards sustainable wastes management, the UK Government has adopted a wastes hierarchy. This hierarchy sets out clearly the priorities for sustainable resource use and wastes management: it ought to be the guiding principle of private and public policy, with the emphasis placed strongly on reducing the amount of raw material used. The House of Commons Environment, Transport & Regional Affairs Committee has noted a pressing need to promote wastes minimisation within industrial and commercial sectors and has recommended the introduction of penalties and incentives to encourage industrial wastes minimisation. Despite this, in the food and retailing sector only around 25 per cent of companies were found to operate wastes minimisation programmes. This paper aims to demonstrate the benefits of wastes minimisation, in both financial and environmental terms, for the food and drink sector. Large multiprocess food and drink companies have found they can make annual savings of greater than one per cent of turnover by implementing wastes minimisation strategies.

The Secretary of State after consultation with the Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board and with organisations and associations of organisations appearing to be representative respectively of substantial numbers of employers engaging in the activities hereinafter mentioned and of substantial numbers of persons employed in those activities and with the bodies established for the purpose of carrying on under national ownership industries in which the said activities are carried on to a substantial extent and in exercise of her powers under section 9 of the Industrial Training Act 1964 and of all other powers enabling her in that behalf hereby makes the following Order:—

The results of a survey of production managers in the UK, carried out in 1986, on behalf of the British Institute of Managers (BIM). It compares these results with those from an earlier, similar survey carried out in 1977. The evidence shows that changes in production management have not kept pace with changes in technology and competitive priorities, such as the importance of consistent quality. Recommendations include the closer involvement of production managers in determination of manufacturing policy, reorganisation to allow responsibility to be taken for quality, production control, and maintenance, increased training, and better liaison between production, marketing, and design functions.

The Secretary of State after approving proposals submitted by the Hotel and Catering Industry Training Board for the imposition of a further levy on employers in the hotel and catering industry and in exercise of his powers under section 4 of the Industrial Training Act 1964 and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf hereby makes the following Order:—