Food waste is a rather delicate problem, which is not overlooked even by Lithuania. Each resident of Lithuania throws away about 76 kg of food per year. What measures are the companies in the country taking and what can each of us do to make this problem no longer exist? He talked about it “Sustainable Lithuaniaambassador Rugilė Matusevičiūtė and responsible for Rimi Baltic’s social responsibility strategy and development Ludvikas Aleliūnas.
Basically, the problem of food waste is faced by the population of developed countries. According to R. Matusevičiūtė, such countries naturally buy and consume more.
“One of the ways to solve this problem is the Food Bank, which collects food and gives it to those who need it most. And if we talk about people’s perception of food waste, we rarely hear the position of how they could contribute. to solve the problem. Most of the food in Lithuania and around the world is thrown away from family farms. Some of it is thrown away by industry and restaurants, but most of it is thrown away by us, “he says.
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According to L. Aleliūnas, the chain of stores also has similar statistics, which show that 10% of food is thrown away in retail chains. The store chain has conducted several surveys, the results show that the main problem is excessive shopping.
“This is what happens when people buy on impulse and arrive, for example, without a list. With any project, it is important to have a to-do list: it simplifies shopping and reduces food waste. The same thing. happens in the retail network: we order the goods that are most needed, there is a system that foresees how much, when and what is needed “, says L. Aleliūnas.
A project was launched in the “Rimi” shop: they started selling imperfect looking fruit and vegetables. According to L. Aleliūnas, this idea arose after seeing a similar example in Sweden.
“The Swedish colleagues shared that several stores are selling these sets and they are doing quite well. We thought why not to do the same: if we sell at a good price, it should pay off. In March we started implementing this idea in 4 stores, in mid-July. we had sold 6 tons of fruit and vegetable sets. We see that people buy, search and often hear that when they stop after work they can’t find them, because they buy them during the day. For us, the most important thing was how people would react to the quality, because the fruit and vegetables are not perfect: they bounce, they rot, they have to be cut. There are no comments on the quality, “he says.
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According to L. Aleliūnas, fruit buyers buy twice as many vegetables.
“Let’s say it is like this: buyers buy 4 tons of fruit and 2 tons of vegetables. Why? I think the pragmatic answer is that fruit is more expensive and the price is the same for both fruit and vegetables”, he claims.
L. Aleliūnas adds that vegetables and fruit that do not enter the sets are disposed of: “We cannot sell them for two reasons: they are rotten or moldy and we cannot sell them according to food safety and hygiene requirements. Then we give them to the partners who produce. biogas from them “.
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The Social Responsibility Strategy and Development Guide offers canning and freezing for food storage.
“I promote it myself. If I have any leftover, I freeze it and use it within a week or two – I take it to work, reheat it and eat it. I would say this is the easiest way. It all happens to me too, I’m not Just holy I don’t throw away a single gram, I throw it away too, I beat myself up for it, I think I buy too much milk or sour cream, so I start buying smaller containers or choose a product with a longer shelf life. options, you just have to buy the products consciously, “said L. Aleliūnas.
For those who want to learn more about the valuable practices of Lithuanian and foreign experts, hear real advice and examples of sustainable business and learn about a real business action plan, with the aim of implementing sustainability goals in their organization, from the 1st to October 18. the “Sustainability Course” conference will be held. The conference is relevant for those who want to include sustainability goals in their business strategic plan, but do not yet know how to do it correctly. A responsible company chooses sustainability. The conference will be attended by managers of various levels who have sustainability goals in their company, make decisions and want to make a change. Strategists looking for concentrated knowledge and the latest practices in the field of sustainability will meet here.
The “Sustainability Course” will be held from 17 to 18 October, in Vilnius “Radisson Blu Lietuva”, more information https://www.tvarilietuva.lt/konferencija/.
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