Clementine O’Connor
Programme Management Officer, Sustainable Food Systems, United Nations Environment Programme
In 2022, 1.05 billion tonnes of food — one-fifth of what was available to consumers — was wasted while 783 million people were hungry, and one-third of us faced food insecurity.
Most food waste occurs in households, where over 1 billion meals worth of edible food is wasted daily. This food we forget or don’t have time to eat is the equivalent of 1.3 meals a day for every person living with hunger.
Financial and global impacts of food waste
UNEP’s new Food Waste Index Report, published in March, uncovers more data reaffirming that food waste is not just a ‘rich country’ problem, with significant household food waste in nearly every country where it has been measured.
No one purchases food intending to throw it out. Food waste occurs quietly in the context of busy lifestyles and low kitchen confidence. Yet, cutting food waste out of our kitchens can free up £1,000 each year for a household of four, which families in the UK are currently spending on uneaten food. Project Drawdown determines it as the number one way we can individually address climate change, with a greenhouse gas impact over four times greater than air travel.
Retail environments influence not
only what and how much households
buy but also provide information on
food safety and proper storage.
How are supermarkets helping customers reduce food waste?
Food systems should simplify food waste reduction to better support households juggling multiple responsibilities, thus enhancing consumer motivation and action.
Retail environments influence not only what and how much households buy but also provide information on food safety and proper storage. Many supermarkets are also motivating customers to reduce food waste through various in-store and online channels.
They are enhancing customers’ ability to reduce food waste by offering loose produce and various portion sizes without price incentives to buy more than needed. They also use resealable packaging and clear date labels, plus provide fridge organisation tips, food preparation techniques and leftover recipes.
Supermarkets, where most food is purchased in many countries (around 85–90% of food and grocery sales in the UK occur through supermarkets), are a key interface in the quest to halve food waste by 2030 under Sustainable Development Goal 12.3. Ask your supermarket what it is doing to help you buy the right amount, make it go further and use it all.
The Consumer Goods Forum works with UNEP to tackle food waste both in-store and at home, including innovative piloting with retailers. By educating shoppers, we aim to shift perceptions around near-expiry products and encourage their purchase. This pilot amplifies the approach taken by our Food Waste Coalition which has published ‘The Sustainable Kitchen’, an online collection of recipes to inspire home cooks. By teaching consumers about proper food storage and how to assess freshness, we are striving to reduce food waste footprints across households.
