WASHINGTON — On Sept. 24, a group of the world’s largest food retailers and providers announced that nearly 200 of their major suppliers have committed to root out food loss and waste from the supply chain. The 10+ food retailers and providers lead the groundbreaking “10x20x30” initiative, with each having engaged at least 20 suppliers to halve food loss and waste by 2030.
“The environmental, business and moral case for tackling food waste is undeniable. We need more companies to target, measure and act on food waste and publish their data if the world is to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 12.3,” said Dave Lewis, Chair of Champions 12.3 and Group Chief Executive of Tesco. “The good news is action is replacing talk. 10x20x30 is a great example of how companies are working in partnership with food suppliers to tackle this issue from farm to fork and I now urge others to follow their example.”
The food retailers and providers behind 10x20x30 are AEON, Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, IKEA Food, Kroger, METRO AG, Migros (Turkey), Pick n Pay, The Savola Group, Sodexo, Tesco, and Walmart. Among them are 6 of the largest food retailers in the world, the world’s 2nd largest food service provider, and leading food retailers in regions such as southern Africa, the Middle East, and Japan. Combined, participants operate in more than 80 countries.
The nearly 200 suppliers have each committed to a 50% reduction target within their own operations, to measuring and publishing their food loss and waste inventories, and to take action to reduce their waste. This “Target-Measure-Act” approach was pioneered by Champions 12.3, a voluntary coalition of executives from business, government and civil society dedicated to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 12.3. SDG Target 12.3 calls for a 50% reduction in food loss and waste worldwide by 2030. The coalition helped develop 10x20x30, which was publicly launched at Champions 12.3’s 2019 annual food loss and waste summit in New York.
Tesco was the first retailer to use the Champions 12.3 “Target-Measure-Act” approach with its suppliers when it invited 27 suppliers to adopt the approach in 2017. Now 71 of the retailer’s suppliers have published data on their food loss and waste. Their collective efforts contributed to the United Kingdom’s announcement earlier this year that the country has reduced food loss and waste by 27% since it began measuring wasted food in 2007 – making it the first nation in the world to surpass the halfway mark toward SDG Target 12.3. With today’s announcement, the nearly 200 suppliers are now taking the approach global.
“Food loss and waste is unseen, under-valued and a disturbing loss of human, environmental and economic capital,” said Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever. “Unilever is fully committed to halving food loss and waste by 2030 and we look forward to working with our supplier and retail partners to deliver this. The Champions 12.3 10x20x30 initiative is a great example of the collective action we need to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.”
“Cutting food loss and waste in half – from farm to fork – by 2030 will require ambitious, collective action. The 10x20x30 initiative is accelerating progress by aligning and training stakeholders across the industry on how to dramatically reduce food waste,” said Jane Ewing, Senior Vice President of Sustainability for Walmart Inc.
Each year, one-third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted, resulting in significant economic, environmental, and food security impacts. This amount equals $940 billion in economic losses annually. It is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And while more than 1 billion tons of food is lost or wasted annually, 1 in 9 people is undernourished.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency of addressing food loss and waste. Farm-level losses have increased in many countries as distribution has been disrupted and restaurants and other hospitality businesses have reduced operations. Addressing food loss and waste in a food business’s operations is a key strategy for ensuring a sustainable business as well as a sustainable food future.
“Reducing the more than 1 billion tons of food that’s lost or wasted each year would bring big social, environmental and economic benefits – but bringing these benefits to scale requires action across the entire supply chain,” said Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute (WRI), which serves as co-secretariat of Champions 12.3 and lead provider of technical assistance to the 10x20x30 retailers and suppliers.
“I’m encouraged to see so many leading food retailers and suppliers committing to bold action. It’s exactly what the world needs to achieve the target of 50% reduction by 2030,” Steer said.
In alignment with 10x20x30, an investment from the Walmart Foundation is supporting WRI to provide training and technical assistance on reducing food waste and loss, and will support WRI to share learnings across the food industry.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
Frans Muller, CEO, Ahold Delhaize: “Reducing food waste is the right thing to do to improve our business, our climate, and our food security. Therefore it’s heartening to see that the “10x20x30” initiative is resonating across the broader food industry and that retailers and suppliers are committing to concrete actions to reduce food waste.”
Veronika Pountcheva, Global Director Corporate Responsibility & Senior Vice President METRO AG: “METRO is committed to halving food waste in its own operations by 2025. We are delighted to be part of the 10x20x30 initiative and to involve 20 of our suppliers in the global movement of food waste reduction. Sustainability requires strong and trusting partnerships. This initiative will take our food waste prevention to the next level.”
PARTICIPATING SUPPLIERS
- 2 Sisters Food Group
- A Gomez LTD
- A. Espersen A/S
- ABP
- AEON Agri Create Co., LTD.
- AEON Food Supply LTD.
- Agrobay Seracılık
- Agrolibano
- Agropecuaria Montelibano
- Agrotomy Marketing S.A.T.
- Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
- Almondy AB
- AM Fresh Spain
- AMT Fresh Ltd (UK)
- Amy's
- Anadolu Etap
- Arla Foods
- Aryzta Bakery Ireland
- Astral Foods
- Avara Foods
- Aviko (Proven)
- Bakkavor Group
- Ballymaguire Foods
- BEF Foods, Inc.
- Bel Group
- Bimbo Bakeries, USA
- Branston Ltd
- Brop Brop Slovakia
- Café Sati
- Calavo Growers Inc
- Campbell Soup Company
- Cargill
- Cemre Ekolojik Sebze Meyve
- Chobani
- Clif Bar
- CocaCola European Partners
- Coca-Cola Türkiye
- Continental Bakeries
- Country Crest
- Cranswick Plc
- D H Brothers Industries (Willowton)
- Daltex For Agricultural Development
- Danone Global
- Danone S.A.
- Danone North America
- d'Arta
- Dawn Foods
- Dayka and Hackett
- Dewfresh (Pty) Ltd
- DFI / Fruca
- Dole Chile S.A.
- dps Ltd
- Driscoll's
- Eti
- Exportadora Subsole S.A.
- FarmFrites
- Flamingo Horticulture
- Flowers Foods
- Fresh Del Monte Produce
- Froneri
- Fruca Marketing, S.L.
- Gedik Piliç
- General Mills
- Greencore Group
- Greenyard Frozen UK Ltd
- G's Fresh
- G's Marketing Central Europe
- Grimmway Farms
- Gunnar Dafgård AB
- Güres Grup
- Hallands Fruktindustri AB
- Hallvard Leröy AS
- Ham Produce
- High Liner Foods
- Hikari Miso Co., Ltd
- Hilton Foods Poland
- Hilton Foods Ireland
- Hilton Foods UK
- Hormel Foods
- I&J South Africa
- Impossible Foods
- Interstate Meat Distributors
- Ito EN, LTD.
- Ito Fresh Salad Co., Ltd
- J. Skinner Baking
- Karsten Group
- Kato Sangyo Co., LTD.
- Keelings Retail UC
- Kellogg Company Of SA (Pty) Ltd
- Kellogg Company
- Kepak Group
- Kerry Foods Ltd UK & Ireland
- Kewpie Corporation
- Kikkoman Foods Inc.
- Kirin Holdings Company, Limited
- Kluth
- Kor Yumurta
- KP Snacks Ltd
- La Calera
- La Lorraine Unlu Mamuller
- Lakeside Produce
- Lantmännen Unibake
- Löfbergs Lila
- Lotte Co., Ltd.
- Manor Farm
- Mowi
- Mars
- Mars Consumer Prod Africa(Pty)Ltd
- McCain
- Meysan
- Mondelez
- Mondelez South Africa (Pty) Ltd
- Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd.
- Moy Park Limited
- MOYCA
- Müller Milk & Ingredients
- National Brands Ltd
- Nature Fresh Farm
- Nestlé Global
- Nestlé UK
- Nestlé Türkiye
- Nichirei Foods Inc
- Nihon Delica Fresh Co., Ltd.
- Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd.
- Nisshin Foods Inc
- Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd.
- Noble Foods
- Nomad Foods
- O'Brien Fine Foods
- Ornua Co-operative Limited
- Pacific Coast Producers
- Torku
- Panelto Foods
- Parmalat S.A.(PTY) Ltd
- Pasco Shikishima Corporation
- Simba
- PepsiCo
- Pioneer Foods (Pty) Ltd
- Premier Foods UK
- Premier Foods S.A.
- Princes Limited
- Procacci Brothers Sales Corp
- Procesadora Larán SAC
- RCL Foods Consumer (Pty) Ltd
- Ready Pac Foods, Inc.
- Rhodes Food Group (PTY) LTD
- Richard Hochfeld Ltd
- Rich Products Corporation
- Sağdıçlar
- Samworth Brothers Ltd
- Sanderson Farms, Inc.
- Schoenmann Produce
- Schreiber Foods, Inc.
- SeaPak
- Sek Süt
- Selsana
- Seyran Gıda
- Smithfield Foods
- Şölen
- Stapleton's Bakery
- Steriltom
- Subsole
- Suiderland Farms
- Sunner
- Suntory Holdings Limited
- Sütaş
- Symrise
- Tadim
- Tat
- Taylor Farms
- Terra Natura International
- The Wonderful Company
- Tiger Consumer Brands
- Tillamook County Creamery Association
- Total Produce
- Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing (PTY) Ltd
- Ülker gönüllü olarak girişime dahil oldu
- Unilever
- Unilever Polska S.A
- Unilever S.A. (Pty) Ltd
- Vegetech Co., Ltd.
- Village Farms
- Western Brand
- Westfalia Fruit South Africa
- Whitworths Ltd
- Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd.
- Yeo Valley
- Zanetti
Champions 12.3 is a coalition of leaders across government, business and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward achieving Target 12.3 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Target 12.3 calls on the world to “halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses” by 2030.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and World Resources Institute serve as co-secretariats of Champions 12.3. For more information, visit www.Champions123.org
