July 11, 2024 — A comprehensive report on food waste published in March by the United Nations Environment Programme shares some sobering statistics: In 2022, people around the world wasted the equivalent of more than 1 billion meals each day. But the key take-home message is a far more encouraging one. In addition to scoping the extent of food waste, the report offers a specific strategy for reducing it and shares case studies that show the strategy really works — with benefits for people and the environment alike that far outweigh the costs.

Think Eat Save: Tracking Progress to Halve Global Food Waste focuses on food waste at the household, food service and retail levels — including both edible and inedible parts of foods, since edibility is subjective and opportunities exist for productively using food not eaten. In-depth global research found that about 60% of that waste occurs at home, with 28% in food service and 12% at the retail level. All told, the edible fraction alone amounts to at least the equivalent of 1.3 meals per day for every person on the planet who experiences chronic hunger.

Click image to expand. Image courtesy of United Nations Environment Programme

Noting that food waste squanders money, contributes to food insecurity and climate change, threatens biodiversity, and more, the report calls for concerted efforts to reduce it. It also proposes a step-by-step plan that countries or regions can take to tackle it.

The plan involves companies, trade organizations, government and nonprofits teaming up to assess the food waste problem within a specific geography or sector. Together, they would develop a plan to reduce it, implement the plan, measure results, and course correct as needed.

Also known as a “voluntary agreement,” the approach succeeds because it engages parts of the system before they become competitors so they can freely collaborate. It also makes it possible for changes in the system and in individual behavior to complement each other.

“The complex challenge of food loss and waste requires a systemic approach,” the authors write. “Collaboration can create a movement that is more than the sum of its parts.”

One example in which this approach has gained traction on food waste is the Courtauld Commitment in the UK. Begun in 2005, the initiative engaged more than 100 companies along with government to together fund and implement waste reduction. Food waste dropped by nearly a quarter between 2007 and 2018, and redistribution of food that likely otherwise would have been wasted more than tripled from 2015 to 2021.

Click image to expand. Image courtesy of United Nations Environment Programme

In another example, the Consumer Goods Council for South Africa led creation of a food waste reduction partnership in 2020. Participants, including food retailers and multiple government agencies, aim to cut per capita food waste in half within a decade.

Encouragingly, the report notes that such partnerships are on the rise around the world. Other examples come from Australia, the Netherlands, Brazil and Colombia.

“A partnership that works towards a shared goal can overcome the complexities and challenges of coordination across multiple sectors,” the report concludes. “Halving food waste is a job too large for any one stakeholder, but it can be achieved through concerted, collaborative effort.”