Retailers, including Aldi UK, Booths, Marks & Spencer (M&S), One Stop, and Waitrose, have signed an open letter to the government calling on them to make food waste reporting mandatory.
Led by food waste prevention app Too Good To Go and the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the group of retailers want to “drive meaningful change” and ensure more action is taken to prevent food waste across the industry.
The letter is addressed to environment secretary Steve Barclay, who replaced Thérèse Coffey last autumn, and it comes after the concept of mandatory food waste reporting was floated by the government before being taken off the table last July.
The adage if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it is very much central to retailers’ desire for the rules to be put in place. Many retailers are already doing so within their own operations, but making the process an industry-wide requirement can help in terms of standardisation and collaboration.
Liz Fox, national sustainability director at Aldi UK, commented: “Retailers will continue to engage with the government to ensure the system works for all stakeholders, and that it aligns across the four UK nations.
“It is important that we tackle the critical issue of food waste as an industry, and mandatory food waste reporting would be a significant step forward in doing just that. Food waste reporting, and analysing opportunities for improvements, has already helped us achieve one of our food waste targets early – and allowed us to be even bolder in setting a new waste-reduction goal.”
Jamie Crummie, co-founder of Too Good To Go, who Green Retail World previously interviewed, remarked: “We’re delighted to see the strong level of industry support for the introduction of mandatory food waste reporting.
“The stark reality is that a staggering 40% of all food produced globally goes to waste. In 2024 there is no room for half-hearted measures or commitments a decade away. The government has an opportunity to lead the way in the fight against food waste by introducing mandatory food waste reporting and we hope it will seize this chance.”
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC, added: “Mandatory food waste reporting is a key step in reducing food waste, helping retailers to understand their waste hotspots and where surplus food can be redistributed.
“While most retailers already report voluntarily through Wrap’s Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, mandatory reporting will enable greater transparency across the supply chain.”
Companies to have signed the open letter are, as follows:
- Abel and Cole
- Aldi
- Bidfood
- Booths
- Compass Group UK&I
- Compleat Group
- Cook Trading
- Danone
- Gousto
- Innocent Drinks
- LettUs Grow
- Lidl
- M&S
- Neighbourly
- Nestle
- Ocado
- Oddbox
- One Stop
- Princes
- Quorn
- Rubies in the Rubble
- Sainsbury’s
- Samworth Brothers
- Tesco
- The Co-op
- Toast Ale
- Waitrose
- Wells and Co
- Winnow
- YO! Sushi / Snowfox
- Yoplait
[Image credit: Green Retail World]
