Reducing food waste
Reducing food waste within businesses
Why reduce food waste?
If food waste was to be a country, it would be third-greatest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions behind China and the USA. Food waste that is produced and not consumed accounts for approximately 8% of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, that uneaten food requires land greater than the size of China to be grown, not to mention other resources such as water. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a cost-effective use of resources. Let’s look at we can protect the environment along with your businesses bottom line.
Take action:
- Target: set a goal within the business to reduce food waste, aligning it with the Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve food waste and loss by 2030
- Measure: understanding where and why food waste is occurring by keeping track over a period of time
- Act: by implementing best practices and resources to reduce food waste and loss
On average, for every $1* that is invested in taking action to reduce food waste:
- Measuring waste
- Training staff
- Improving inventory management
- Changing packaging
There will be a $14* dollar return:
- Selling imperfect produce
- Creating new products
- Reducing waste management costs
- Avoiding cost of food not sold
* $1 = £0.76 and $14 = £10.63 - exchange rate on 30 August 2024
Food waste prevention resources
View our 2024 food waste prevention resource pack
Further information and resources
- Guardians of grub (guardiansofgrub.com)
- By the numbers: The business case for reducing food loss and waste (wri.org)
Last updated: 11/11/2024 11:33
