Challenge 2: Reducing Food Waste

How can we use technology and data to reduce food waste and improve supply chains, in order to decrease world hunger and overuse of natural resources?

Craig Hanson, Vice President (Food, Forests, Water & the Ocean) World Resources Institute outlines the context to our Reducing Food Waste challenge.

Background

Food waste has substantial environmental, social and economic impacts, with 8% - 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions being associated with unconsumed food, and the food industry itself accounts for 30% of the world’s total energy use (Source: UN SDG #12). Wasted food accrues across the supply chain, from harvesting, transport, storage and processing, all the way to distribution, storage, and consumption. Between food wasted in homes, restaurants and shops, 17% of all food is not consumed and a huge amount is also lost on farms and in supply chains. In total, it is estimated that overall a third of food is never eaten.

Why this is important

Global challenges linked to climate change, loss of biodiversity, and pollution are all linked to unsustainable consumption and production practices around the world (Source: UN SDG #12). Food waste has a substantial impact on greenhouse gas emissions, the economy, and rates of world hunger. With proper controls over consumption and production of food, aided by technology and collaboration, there is the potential to solve world hunger by redirecting, preserving, and distributing food to communities in need. This challenge has focused on the COP26 aim of collaboration to support governments, business and civil society to work together to transform existing food supply chains.

Target audience/end user

Governments, public sector organizations, and communities need direct access to platforms, products, or technologies that can prevent them from wasting food and natural resources, and ways to preserve and improve the food supply chains that already exist.

Goals

The GovTech Global Alliance Scale-up Programme has looked for scale-up products and solutions that support governments to:

  • Collaborate across various industries to reduce food waste, world hunger, and food insecurity

  • Address inefficiencies in the production and distribution supply chains.

  • Reduce global food waste in retail settings and minimize food losses within consumption

  • Set strategies that improve the repurposing, reuse and recycling of food products

  • Fill the data gaps, and aid governments’ capability to better design strategies to prevent food waste and improve supply chains

  • Balance production with demand and improve food security for communities

Sources: UN Sustainable Development Goal #12, U.S. Department of Agriculture, UN Environmental Program Food Waste Index Report 2021, COP26 Goals