An estimated one third of all food is wasted globally – accounting for 8% of global greenhouse emissions. If food loss and waste were a country, it would be the third-largest greenhouse gas emitter behind China and the United States.
In the face of this challenge, an increasing amount of countries and companies have made strong commitments to address the issue. However, to date, most have found it challenging to identify where food waste is occurring within their supply chains. In addition, the definition of food waste varies widely among different regions and industries, and it has been difficult to compare data due to inconsistent reporting frameworks.
To respond to these issues, a new tool was launched earlier this month. The Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard was launched at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) 2016 Summit and is the first-ever set of global definitions and reporting requirements for companies, countries and others to consistently and credibly measure, report on and manage food loss and waste.
A number of stakeholders were involved in the creation of this new standard including: The Consumer Goods Forum, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO), EU-funded FUSIONS project, United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).
It is hoped that this new standard will empower countries and companies to take more effective action in the fight against food waste. The standard is likely to play a critical role in developing effective strategies for reducing food loss and waste as well as improving how progress is monitored.
The launch of the tool is timely given the recent commitments made at the Paris Agreement on climate change. In addition, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched last year among which a target was set to achieve a 50 per cent global reduction in food waste by 2030, along with reductions in food loss.
For more information please contact Ali.Sheridan@BordBia.ie
Source: Bord Bia – First Global Standard to Measure Food Loss and Waste Launched
