UK Supermarkets have agreed to report on food waste by company, using a common methodology, according to reports.
The news was reported by The Grocer, which claims a source revealed that talks facilitated by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) led to agreement on a standardised method for reporting, with details still to be finalised on whether companies will publish their own data, or leave this to an industry body such as the IGD or WRAP.
Food waste campaigner, Feedback, said: “This is a massive step forward in the fight against food waste… The fact that one third of food is wasted around the world is a climate calamity as well as a moral disgrace: it is high time the food industry took responsibility for their part in this.”
Feedback – “This is a massive step forward in the fight against food waste”
Tesco became the first supermarket in the world to release a third-party audited report of its food waste throughout the supply chain. In 2016 Sainsbury’s agreed to release data on its in-store waste.
Until now, other supermarkets have continued to resist reporting by individual retailer, preferring to report their aggregate food waste figures through industry bodies.
“Reporting on food going to waste across their operations is an important first step, allowing retailers to develop comprehensive and credible plans to identify waste hotspots and prevent it occurring in the first place,” Feedback said.
“The next step will be to extend that transparency across their supply chains – food continues to go to waste on farms because of retailer policies and this too must be addressed to achieve a less wasteful food chain.
“Now we need to keep the pressure up to make supermarkets follow through and work towards reducing food waste across their supply chains.”
Food Waste Reporting “Being Discussed”
[UPDATED: 10.10am, 17 November 2017]
A spokesperson for the IGD told CIWM Journal Online discussions are being held and that agreement has been reached amongst many leading food retailers and their suppliers on a series of principles.
However, it’s not yet at the stage where UK supermarkets will be publishing their own food waste figures.
The IGD said: “Earlier this year, IGD was asked by a series of companies to facilitate discussions on standardising the measurement of food waste in the UK.
“The next steps for these companies are to apply the principles, refine their measurement method and check for comparability. The implications for reporting the information are also being discussed”
“Our goal is to enable and promote a consistent approach throughout the supply chain, aligned with the global Food Loss and Waste Protocol and the UN Champions 12.3 clarification document.
“Consistent measurement would be a significant step forward for the UK food sector in its support of the UN’s drive for global waste reduction under Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.
“Agreement has been reached amongst many leading food retailers and their suppliers on a series of principles. The next steps for these companies are to apply the principles, refine their measurement method and check for comparability. The implications for reporting the information are also being discussed.
“We are working closely with WRAP and this will continue over the next year, to maintain momentum on a highly important issue.
“This builds on a legacy of work by IGD to reduce food waste. From 2010-2015, through our ECR group of supply chain directors, we oversaw a range of projects that resulted in 260k tonnes of product and packaging waste eliminated from the chain.
“We also reached over one million people working in our sector with advice on how to reduce food waste in their role as consumers.”
