Reducing food waste: Companies are doing too little

A new global survey by certification company DNV shows that while six out of ten food and beverage companies recognize food waste and loss as a significant problem, less than a quarter have put the issue at the top of their strategic agenda. This indicates a large gap between awareness and action. In the ViewPoint survey, which involved 375 companies from Europe, America and Asia, 85% of companies say they are taking action to reduce food loss and waste, but only 44% have established systems in place. Furthermore, less than one in three companies are aware of the upcoming introduction of the ISO 20001 management system standard, which is designed to help companies minimize food loss and waste along the entire supply chain.

Problem recognized - solutions missing

"Food loss and waste is both a sustainability challenge and a missed business opportunity. Our findings suggest that while companies recognize the scale of the problem, many are still at the beginning of their journey towards more effective, system-wide structured solutions," says Barbara Frencia, CEO of Business Assurance at DNV. The report highlights the complexity and scale of the problem. Companies cite a variety of causes, from process inefficiencies and human error to limited shelf life data and overproduction. Nevertheless, 43 percent of respondents believe that more than 10 percent of unavoidable food loss and waste could be reused for other purposes - but only 19 percent currently do so.

Food waste brings sustainability problems

Food loss and waste is increasingly becoming a sustainability issue and a financial burden for the global food and beverage industry. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, over 1 billion tons of food was wasted worldwide in 2022. The survey highlights the collective opportunity - and responsibility - of the industry to drive significant change. "There is a clear business case for taking decisive action on food loss and waste to reduce costs while helping to feed the world's population. A structured approach, reliable data and best practice standards are crucial for companies to translate their intentions into measurable results," concludes Frencia.

Further survey results

The survey revealed further important results. For example, only 24 percent of companies stated that food loss and waste is at the top of their agenda. And 30 percent believe that only a small proportion of their food waste is preventable, while a further 28 percent believe that the majority could be prevented. Again, 75 percent have integrated food loss and waste into their sustainability strategies, but only 40 percent report on it publicly. Reporting is still predominantly manual, with more than half of companies using spreadsheets.

Source: DNV