Switzerland wants to halve its food waste by 2030. If the target is achieved, we will save around two million tons of CO2 emissions every year and help to alleviate the climate crisis. We reduce the loss of biodiversity as well as land and water consumption, save money and resources and improve the efficiency of the food system.
It is uncertain whether we will achieve this goal. According to the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, every year 963,000 tons of food waste go to the account of food processing and 279,000 tons to that of the wholesale and retail trade. These figures are estimates for the directly generated food waste and ignore all food waste that is indirectly influenced by processing and trading in upstream and downstream areas of the food chain. Data on food waste from the various sectors are of insufficient quality. Effective projects that extend integrally across the food chain are rare. Hardly any company has published measurable reduction targets or measures the success of measures transparently. “Processing and retail have a great responsibility, also for food waste that you do not generate directly,” says Claudio Beretta, President of foodwaste.ch. Because through their acceptance policy, product development, quality requirements and range of products, processing and retail have the opportunity to massively reduce food waste beyond their own operational business and across the entire food chain. “We know that projects that involve several links in the food chain can be particularly effective,” says Daniela Hoffmann, an expert at WWF Switzerland for the food industry. «Nobody likes to throw away groceries. We have to create a system that reduces food waste at all levels. “
The recommendations are divided into three axes of action:
- Establish measurability, For example, processing and trading within the industry and along the food chain can agree on transparency and reporting rules.
- Set food waste reduction targets, especially for those product lines and categories that have the greatest impact on the environment (such as meat and milk).
- Implement effective measures, eg through the development and implementation of integral projects to avoid food waste across the entire food chain.
More information:
The recommendations for reducing food waste for processors and retailers can be found here.
Contact:
Daniela Hoffmann, food industry expert at WWF Switzerland, [email protected], 044 297 21 72
Claudio Beretta, Food Waste Expert ZHAW and President foodwaste.ch, [email protected], 058 934 56 66
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