The following (position) paper reflects the experiences and views of GLOBAL 2000 / Friends of the Earth Austria, an environmental NGO that has an extensive record of projects in the field of food production and distribution. The contribution outlines the retailer's role in the various processes of the food life cycle from the point of view of an environmental NGO, referring especially to the experiences made in various multistakeholder forums over the last 3 years. These forums are composed by the cooperation partners of a collaboration program for more sustainable food production, farmers and their related distributors and external experts (e.g. from universities and chamber of agriculture). Moreover, general insights in the Austrian retail sector and reflections about its business model are given.

sustainable food-chain; retailer; NGO; multi-stakeholder forum