4. Better understand hotspots of food loss and waste
UNEP is launching Regional Food Waste Working Groups to support countries in regions where food waste data availability is lower on using the common methodology from the Food Waste Index Report for measuring food waste and tracking progress on UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030.
These Regional Working Groups on Food Waste aim to provide capacity building on the measurement and reduction of food waste, and peer-to-peer collaboration between countries as they tackle similar food waste reduction challenges. Moreover, they will increase understanding of food systems (drivers and impacts), and of relevant policies and initiatives to integrate sustainability across food systems.
The objective is to ensure that middle- and low-income countries receive training on Food Waste Index approach to measure national food waste baselines and develop national food waste prevention strategies. To do so, over the coming year, UNEP together with technical partner WRAP will facilitate a series of workshops to help governments and relevant partners develop baselines for reporting on SDG 12.3 in 2022 and national food waste prevention strategies to coordinate action.
UNEP, WRAP, One Planet Network- Programme on Sustainable food Systems and Governments in Asia Pacific, West Asia, Africa, and Latin America & the Caribbean
10. Increase information accessibility and data utilization
7. Reframe wasted food and byproducts as valuable resources
4. Better understand hotspots of food loss and waste
Through the initiative Our Food Future, the Canadian municipalities of Guelph and Wellington County aim to create the country’s first circular food economy by 2025 with three ambitious goals known as 50x50x50: (1) increase access to affordable, nutritious food by 50%, (2) create 50 new circular food businesses or collaborations, and (3) increase economic benefit by unlocking the value of waste by 50%.
Guelph-Wellington will operationalize technology and use of data to support circular business models. Building on the work of Our Food Future, the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL) was launched to help entrepreneurs, established businesses and social enterprises launch and scale innovative, sustainable products and business models. This program will accelerate an additional 45 businesses, launch 5 industrial-scale demonstration projects, deliver 3 innovation challenges and build momentum around ReSource Exchange, a business-to-business marketplace for end-of-life products/by-products that would otherwise go to waste.
The Government of Canada, Municipalities of Guelph and Wellington County, Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada, 10C, Innovation Guelph, University of Guelph (Arrell Food Institute), Conestoga College, Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, Alectra Utilities, Provision Coalition, The SEED (Guelph Community Health Centre), Toward Common Ground, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, Smart Prosperity Institute (University of Ottawa), Western University Ivey School of Business, Circular Innovation Council, Circular Leadership Council, MARS, Dillon Consulting and Metabolic.
6. Increase investment in food loss and waste reduction
7. Reframe wasted food and byproducts as valuable resources
8. Facilitate secondary market development and access
An initiative under the Food Policy for Canada, the $20-million Food Waste Reduction Challenge was launched in November 2020 to accelerate and advance diverse and high-impact solutions to food waste in Canada. Funding will be awarded to innovators with business model solutions that can prevent or divert food waste at any point from farm-to-plate, as well as to new technologies that extend the life of food or transform food waste into new foods or value-added products.
The challenge is divided into four streams:
Streams A and B focus on solutions that are ready for commercialization and that provide an innovative “way of doing business” (i.e. business model) to reduce food waste across any or multiple stages of the food supply chain. Successful solutions will have a high impact in reducing the volume of food waste in absolute (total volume of food saved) or relative terms (percentage of food saved). Semi-Finalists have been announced in spring 2021 and have received approximately $100,000 and the chance to advance to stage 2 ending in spring 2022.
Streams C and D focus on the life of food or transform food waste. They fund technologies that are at the prototype and testing phases to improve their effectiveness and make them ready for market within the next two years. Applications for these streams will be open until August 31st 2021.
The Government of Canada
4. Better understand hotspots of food loss and waste
6. Increase investment in food loss and waste reduction
The Cooperation for Reduced Food Waste is a Swedish voluntary agreement between food value chain actors to collaborate with a shared goal of reducing food waste and food loss. They work together to identify where food waste and food losses occur and what causes them. In this way, the problems can be remedied and the solutions spread to more actors.
The project objective is reached within three working groups, all currently operative: (1) the first focuses on finding a mutual way to measure food waste and losses from the whole food chain, and collecting data from all project members, (2) the second group aims to set measurable targets for the sector, and (3) the third group collectively look at mitigation measures to reduce food waste and losses based on research and results from the data collection within the project.
In June 2021, the first Annual Report has been published. Members will continue to submit the measurements to evaluate the method and a handbook for reducing food waste and loss in the private sector will be published.
IVL, Arla, Norrmejerier, Orkla Foods Sverige, LRF, Menigo, Jordbruksverket (Agriculture Ministry), Livsmedelsverket (Swedish Food Agency), Compass Group, Martin & Severa, Linas Matkasse, Coop, Paulig, Potatisodlarna (Potato Growers Association=, Svenska Köttforetagen (Swedish Meat Industry Association), Naturvårdsverket (Swedish Environment Ministry=, Visita, Sodexo, Livsmedelsföretagen (Food Industry Association), COOR, Kronfågel
1. Enable transitions to planetary health diets
2. Scale productive and regenerative agriculture practices
The Global Future Council on Japan brought together a multi-stakeholder expert group to formulate a new vision and path for Japan’s sustainable transition. In its 2020-2021 term, the Council will focus on two working groups: (1) Food and (2) Circular Economy.
The Food working group aims at identifying the key ingredient to move forward the food industry's circular transition, including the entire value chain, in Japan and the Asian region, together with in-country partners.
Its objectives are: (1) Policy suggestion, pointing out top priority domestic issues, (2) Dissemination to the international community and (3) creating opportunities for accelerating Public-Private partnership or inter-corporate collaboration.
Center for Global Commons – University of Tokyo and the World Economic Forum
In-country partners
4. Better Understand Hotspots of Food Loss and Waste
5. Integrate Food Loss and Waste More Broadly in the SDG Agenda
The Champions 12.3 coalition of global leaders is committed to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action and accelerating progress toward achieving SDG Target 12.3 by 2030.
The Champions are committed to:
Meeting SDG Target 12.3
Leading by example on how to reduce food loss and waste
Showcasing successes and communicating the importance of food loss and waste reduction
Advocating for improving the enabling conditions for reducing food loss and waste
Acting together to solve specific challenges facing the food loss and waste reduction movement
In 2021, the Champions will particularly encourage countries to include food loss and waste in their NDCs, as this is a major contributor to global emissions.
World Resources Institute, DSM, Rabobank, UNEP, Unilever, WBCSD, WWF, WRAP, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Quality of the Netherlands
See the full list of Champions
4. Better understand hotspots of food loss and waste
6. Increase investment in food loss and waste reduction
10. Increase Information Accessibility and Data Utilization
The Food Loss & Waste Protocol (FLW Protocol) is a multi-stakeholder effort that addresses the challenges in consistently measuring and credibly reporting on food loss and waste. One of their initiatives includes the PACE-affiliated 10X20x30 Food Loss and Waste Initiative. A global accounting and reporting standard, known as the FLW Standard, was developed to credibly, practically and consistently report how much food loss and waste is created and identify where it occurs.
As a global leader in the food reduction space, in 2021 WRI will be focused on encouraging countries to include the FLW Protocol in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as food loss and waste a major contributor to global emissions. Additionally, the FLW team is planning on undertaking some regional and country-level outreach. In partnership with the InterAmerican Development Bank, WRI will be helping to develop a “FLW Playbook” for the 20+ countries of Latin America as well as an “FLW Index” that will score countries (on their progress against “Target-Measure-Act”), leveraging transparency while promotion friendly competition between the different countries.
World Resources Institute, WRAP, UNEP and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, FAO, The Consumer Goods Forum, EU Fusions
1. Enable transitions to planetary health diets
The Better Buying Lab works on researching and scaling cutting-edge strategies that enable consumers to choose more sustainable foods, focusing first on plant-based foods. Such a transition accelerates demand for sustainable food.
The first step is to explore the ways in which one can increase people’s purchasing of plant-based foods, which use natural resources efficiently. In 2021, Better Buying Lab will double down on research to determine which interventions are most capable of shifting social norms about food waste and changing consumer behaviour.
The three core areas include (1) transforming food industry communication, (2) popularizing plant-rich dishes, and (3) identifying environmental metrics, targets and methods.
World Resources Institute
1. Enable transitions to planetary health diets
The Cool Food Pledge is focused on reducing GHG emissions and promoting plant-based alternatives. They are committed to helping businesses and organizations cut the climate impact of the food they serve.
In 2021, the Cool Food Pledge will seek to scale even further by increasing the number of food providers joining the Cool Food Pledge who are working to cut their food related emissions in line with the target. The initiative will also scale the number of restaurants licensing Cool Food Meals and build the consumer reach through social media campaigns.
World Resources Institute, UNEP and INGKA Group
See the full list of members here
