Responding to what it termed as “an enormous environmental, social and economic challenge,” the Consumer Goods Forum on Wednesday agreed on a resolution to halve food waste by 2025.
The CGF, a global trade association of retailers and manufacturers, made the announcement as part of its annual Global Summit meting in New York.
According to the GCG, one-third of food calories produced are never eaten, representing a cost of $750 billion a year.
“If food waste were a country, its carbon footprint would be third only to China and the U.S.,” the group said in a statement.
The resolution aims to set a clear benchmark for rising food waste today and set measurable goals to reduce waste in the future. The resolution specifically commits to aligning the industry around the food loss and waste protocol being developed by the World Resources Institute.
The effort will focus on preventing food waste within retail and manufacturing operations of Forum member companies and also by supporting the United Nation’s wider goals on reducing food waste, with a focus on halving consumer food waste by 2030 and reducing food losses along production and supply chains.
Also Wednesday, the CGF launched a series of free tools, which will deliver on its mission to improve business efficiency and consumer trust. These include:
- A health and wellness online platform called Consumer Goods for Better Lives, with over 30 practical examples of consumer goods companies’ concrete initiatives. It is designed to inspire the industry to implement action plans to improve the health of their employees and consumers.
- A Consumer Engagement Principles online companion handbook and quick assessment scan, which helps companies take steps towards managing their consumers’ data in a trustworthy manner, and benchmark their consumer engagement strategy against their peers.
- The GFSI/ ITC Standards Map, which aims to bolster competitiveness and access to global markets for small to medium agribusinesses.
- The new GSCP-ITC Quick Scan application, which helps companies assess their supply chain management against international best practice — a key step for continuous improvement towards sustainability.
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