November 12, 2020 was a monumental day for GFLI (Global Feed LCA Institute). During its first Annual Membership Meeting, founding members welcomed GFLI’s first new member: Sindirações (Brazilian Feed Industry Association). Members expressed their gratitude to outgoing Chair of the Board of Directors, Greg Downing, for his commitment and exceptional leadership of the Institute during its formation as a legal entity, and throughout the transition phase which has culminated in the launch of the updated database and tool. The Board of Directors then met to elect Nick Major as its new Chair. Having previously served as GFLI’s Vice-Chair during the past year, Mr. Major will bring GFLI to next levels with his vast experience from his role as Corporate Affairs Director for ForFarmers and former President of FEFAC. The Board is grateful for his willingness to lead the Institute during this next critical phase of operations. Mr. Major has already had the opportunity to present the improved GFLI database and tool at the FAO/IFIF Annual Meeting on 24 November. The position of Vice Chair will be filled after new GFLI members nominate their representatives to the Board of Directors. The official launch of the database then took place in the form of a webinar, which attracted nearly 200 participants.
Launch Event
GFLI would like to thank all attendees for their interest in the launch event. With more than 180 active viewers and 30 questions submitted, GFLI’s objective of sharing what the Institute has to offer came to fruition. Following the event, the Secretariat received requests for webinars for practitioners, and for more detailed information about GFLI membership. We extend very special thanks to our panelists for taking time to lead our panel discussion: Dr. Camillo De Camillis (FAO-LEAP), Dr. Wolfgang Trunk (European Commission, DG SANTE), Mr. Roberto Betancourt (Sindirações), and Dr. Martin Alm (WRO and EFPRA), and to Greg Downing (former Board Chair), Nick Major (current Board Chair), and Tom Battagliese (Technical Management Committee Chair) for presenting GFLI on behalf of the Board of Directors.
The GFLI Secretariat is working to respond as quickly as possible to all questions submitted during the webinar and via email. Those who missed the event and are interested in learning more are invited to check GFLI’s events page for the summary, or reach out to gfli@agribusiness-service.nl.
Acknowledgements
GFLI would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Board of Directors and Officers, as well as the GFLI Secretariat for making the launch possible. Deliverables such as improving the database and tool, updating the methodology and procedures documents, finalizing all legal documents, and laying the groundwork for responding to requests for data-in and data-out projects are all in place and will allow the Institute to take the next steps toward expanding the GFLI database by continuously increasing and improving available data.
Join us!
Collaboration with members and strategic partners will allow GFLI to expand and improve its database. Additionally, as a member, you are invited to nominate candidates for Board of Directors and Technical Management Committee positions, and you will receive a discount on data-use license agreements (i.e. to access disaggregated data). Please visit our updated website for more information and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.