An estimated one-third of food produced globally is lost or wasted from farm to table. This is about 1.3 billion tonnes of food – an amount that would occupy more land surface area than China and India combined. Instead of feeding people, it affects ecosystems and biodiversity, generating eight per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 calls for a halving of food waste at the retail and household level, and a reduction of food loss across the supply chain. Champions 12.3 - a high-level coalition formed to deliver this target - counts UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen and Unilever Chief Executive Officer Alan Jope among its Champions, and signatories of its September 2020 Global Call to Action on Food Loss and Waste.
As the world marks the first International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, UNEP Programme talks to Alan Jope about integrating food loss and waste in corporate climate strategy and the role of the private sector in helping consumers to reduce food waste at home.
In June 2020, Unilever announced new commitments and actions to fight climate change and regenerate nature. What part does food waste play in Unilever’s strategy to mainstream sustainable living?
When you are in the foods business and know that one third of all food is lost or wasted you can’t ignore it. Even more so when your purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace!
Hanneke Faber, our President for Foods & Refreshment, has therefore made tackling food loss and waste central to our Foods business strategy. She recognizes that tackling this one issue has multiple benefits. It means increased production capacity whilst using fewer natural resources, it means less greenhouse gases emissions and it means cost savings for everyone. It is an issue where ‘the system’ comes to life – a triple win for food security, climate, and people’s wallets.
Addressing food loss and waste starts with getting our own house in order by reducing food waste in our own operations. We have longstanding zero waste to landfill programs in place and recently we announced our commitment to halve food loss and waste in our global direct operations by 2030, as part of the Champions 12.3 initiative.
Then you must think about who you can influence – encouraging your partners across your value chain to address the issue and your consumers who enjoy your products. With our marketing and behaviour change skills we want to encourage consumers to be more creative with their food and waste less; this is an area where we believe we can have a big impact.
And now is the time to really go after this. COVID-19 is a nightmare, but it has reawakened people to the value of food. A perfect opportunity to start a consumer-focused movement and accelerate progress towards achieving SDG 12.3.
Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 asks governments to halve retail and consumer food waste and reduce food loss by 2030. Yet so far very few countries have baseline data against which they can track their progress. Is Unilever working to collect food waste data in its operations? How can the private sector support governments with data collection in manufacturing and retail?
It’s a cliché, but what gets measured gets managed.
When we committed to halving food loss and waste in our global direct operations by 2030, as part of the Champions 12.3 10x20x30 initiative, we spent a good amount of time making sure we could collect the data we needed. And it is tricky. I can understand why governments struggle.
The Target-Measure-Act approach from Champions 12.3 helped us on that journey. Setting out a high-level ambition is motivating to me, and it certainly motivated our teams to work through the challenges we had.
Unilever has adopted the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard, which helps to drive greater transparency and accountability in the collection and reporting of data. That helps governments report on the progress of SDG 12.3 and it helps to keep us honest: comparability and transparency of data mean there is no hiding if we are not delivering!
It’s a triple win for food security, climate, and people’s wallets.
Unilever piloted a unique food waste reduction campaign in Brazil. Can you tell us about the inspiration for the campaign and how Brazilians responded to it?
One of my favorite meals is my wife’s chicken soup, which is made from leftover roast chicken. The soup is better than the main event! I am telling you this because as a manufacturing and marketing business we spend a huge amount of time understanding what consumers think and do.
Hellmann’s – our global dressings brand – has used consumer insights, combined with the knowledge that as much as 45 per cent of all food waste happens in homes, to encourage people to use their leftovers to create another fantastic meal. Hellmann’s has already reached more than 100 million people over the last two years with its campaigns in Brazil and other countries, working with several NGO and media partners to educate, inspire and enable consumers to be more resourceful with their food.
Most people are not aware of the extent of the food waste issue and rarely make the connection of throwing away food with climate change and food security. Hellmann’s believes food is too good to be wasted which is why they are trying to raise awareness about the impacts of food waste and to inspire and enable people to waste less.
Data suggests household food waste has been decreasing under COVID-19-related lockdowns. Has this unique moment created new opportunities for Unilever to address food waste? How would you advise other companies to use their influence on consumer behaviour to reduce food waste at home?
When we spent more time at home, and when trips to the shops or deliveries were scarcer, we naturally put more thought into our shopping, storage and many had more time to cook from scratch producing less waste. But it also had the reverse effect of making some people overbuy and waste more!
There is a huge opportunity to use this moment as a catalyst for lasting change, not least as research shows many people intend to continue new habits started during lockdown. But with food easier to access and life returning to some sort of normal, it is very easy to fall back into old habits.
Changing habits and behaviour is never easy. There is a gap between people wanting to reduce food waste and people having the information, skills, and tools they need to act. We are keen to help close that gap.
Hellmann’s is therefore extending its effort to save food from being wasted around the world by rolling out its education and inspiration campaigns across North America and Europe. We are also looking to further strengthen this initiative with input from behavioural psychologists and academics to help embed behavioural changes so food waste becomes a thing of the past.
I am keen for companies and non-governmental organizations to join us in driving this behaviour change. At the Champions 12.3 session In September, I encouraged the members to come together and start a consumer movement with new social norms and lots of practical help to shop food better, store it better and use food better, in order create the triple win for the climate, food security and people’s wallets.
For more information, contact: Clementine O’Connor (clementine.oconnor@un.org)
Champions 12.3 is a coalition of executives from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups, and civil society dedicated to inspiring and mobilizing ambition toward Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3, by 2030. All serve in a personal capacity.
