Dive Brief:
- An international partnership debuted the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) 2016 Summit in Copenhagen on Monday.
- The goal is to provide definitions and reporting requirements for companies, countries and other organizations for standardized measuring and managing of food waste.
- The partnership — convened by the World Resources Institute (WRI) — includes the Consumer Goods Forum, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Union FUSIONS project, United Nations Environment Programme, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Waste and Resources Action Programme.
Dive Insight:
Managing food loss and waste is also seen as a critical part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting climate change goals set by the Paris Agreement. The UN's Sustainable Development Goals call for a 50% reduction in food waste at the consumer and retail level by 2030. The Consumer Goods Forum, which represents more than 400 of the world's major retailers and manufacturers, has also adopted a resolution that calls for its members to reduce food waste 50% by 2025.
Other initiatives, such as the Rockefeller Foundation's YieldWise and the Rethink Food Waste Through Economics and Data collaboration, have also announced major food waste plans and the movement continues to grow rapidly. The U.S. has set ambitious reduction goals and the topic has been under discussion on Capitol Hill recently. Accurate, standardized reporting will be key to realizing the full potential of all these goals and this new protocol is a promising tool in the ongoing food waste management effort.
