SDG Target 12.3 on Food Loss and Waste: 2020 Progress Report

Highlights

# One-third of all food is lost or wasted globally, resulting in significant impacts on food security, economic well-being, and the environment. The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the food loss and waste challenge at every stage of the food value chain.
# SDG Target 12.3 aims to halve global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses, including postharvest losses, along supply chains, by 2030.
# The United Kingdom is the first country to get more than halfway toward meeting this target, having reduced its national food loss and waste levels by 27% from 2007-2018. Several companies such as Tesco (Central Europe), Campbell’s, and Arla Foods have achieved food loss and waste reductions of more than 30%.
# With just 10 years to go, the world is behind where it needs to be to achieve SDG Target 12.3 by 2030.
Many more governments and businesses need to aggressively pursue the Target-Measure-Act approach: (1) set a reduction target aligned with SDG 12.3, (2) measure food loss and waste to identify hotspots and monitor progress, and (3) act boldly to reduce food loss and waste.

Summary

Approximately one-third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted, resulting in significant impacts on human livelihoods and well-being, the global economy, and the environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the urgency of addressing food loss and waste as food systems have struggled to respond to unforeseen drops in demand, labor, and disposable income.

In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted SDG Target 12.3, which calls for halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains (including postharvest losses) by 2030.

This fifth annual progress report assesses advances by governments and companies from October 2018–September 2019, relative to the Target-Measure-Act approach to food loss and waste, wherein a country or company (1) sets a food loss and waste reduction target, (2) measures its food loss and waste to identify hotspots, and (3) takes action to reduce the hotspots of food loss and waste.

The Target-Measure-Act approach is working. The United Kingdom has reduced food loss and waste by 27% since measurement began in 2007, making it the first country to surpass the halfway mark toward the SDG target. This has been achieved through public-private partnerships, comprehensive consumer education campaigns and innovative policy shifts. Companies like Campbell’s, Arla Foods and Tesco (among others) have also achieved reductions greater than 30% within the past five years by following the Target-Measure-Act approach.

There are only 10 years left to meet SDG Target 12.3 and cut food loss and waste in half – and more needs to be done. More governments need to address food loss and waste through national measurement strategies, public-private partnerships, and innovative policies. And more companies need to adopt the Target-Measure-Act approach and engage their upstream business partners and suppliers to do the same if we’re to meet SDG Target 12.3 by 2030.

The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste.
# A review of 114 restaurants across 12 countries found that nearly every site achieved a positive return, with the average restaurant saving $7 for every $1 invested in reducing kitchen food waste.

First-of-its-kind research on behalf of Champions 12.3 finds a robust business case for food service providers operating in hospitals, schools, sports arenas, and other facilities to reduce this inefficiency.

# A review of 86 sites in six countries found that nearly all achieved a positive return, with the average site seeing a 6:1 return on investment from reducing food waste.

# A review of 42 hotels across 15 countries found that nearly every site evaluated achieved a positive return, with the average hotel saving $7 for every $1 invested in reducing kitchen food waste.

#findings show that for every £1 invested in efforts to curb avoidable household food waste, households and local authorities saved £250. This report also presents data from the city of London.

SDG Target 12.3 on Food Loss and Waste: 2020 Progress Report

Five Actions Stand Out for Achieving Successful Reduction Programs

1) Measure. Generating a “food waste inventory” enabled sites to identify how much and where food was wasted, so managers could prioritize hotspots and monitor progress over time.
2) Engage staff. Kitchen and service staff often want to help prevent food waste, but need more definition and guidance from leadership.
3) Reduce overproduction. Certain production techniques contribute to a culture of overproduction. For example, batch cooking, casserole trays, and buffets tend to overproduce food relative to cook-to-order preparation.
4)Rethink inventory and purchasing practices. Restaurants that want to prevent food waste need to critically examine their current inventory management and purchasing practices.
5)Repurpose excess food. Because forecasting customer demand is not a perfect science, restaurant kitchens will find themselves with extra ingredients and potential wasted food. In these cases, having a Plan B for how to safely repurpose these ingredients can allow the kitchen to generate revenue from this potential waste.