Food Waste Prevention in Business Sector

Description

The EPA is seeking expert advice and technical support to assist with collaborative programmes for food waste prevention initiatives in the business sector, delivered in partnership with stakeholders. Ireland is estimated to annually generate over 1m tonnes of food waste along the food chain and faces ambitious targets on reducing food waste by 2030 articulated through the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Waste Framework Directive . In particular, there is a requirement to reduce food waste by 50% at retail and consumers level – which includes restaurants and food service, along with household waste. The Food Waste Charter is a national initiative led by the EPA targeting food waste in the business/commercial sector. Launched in 2017, the Charter was developed to promote a collective, public industry commitment to reduce food waste along the entire supply chain. Signing the Charter signals stakeholder commitment to act to reduce food waste. Similar to the UK’s Courtauld Commitment and other similar initiatives, the signatories are pledging to take positive actions - through measuring; reducing; and reporting their food waste. Making a public commitment is a known tool for encouraging behaviour change. The first signatories were 5 major Irish retailers, representing 70% of Irish grocery retail market and are working towards reporting and reducing their food waste. In order to support the promotion of the Charter and associated food waste prevention ambitions, the EPA is leading a programme to drive reduction in food waste from businesses in the food supply chain, starting with the hospitality sector. Recently published EPA-funded research revealed that the food services sector generates over 250,000 tonnes of food waste each year with a very considerable cost in terms of resource-use and business overheads – estimated at over €300M for the hospitality sector alone. This highlights a high-potential area for action towards meeting national targets.