Dr Steven Lapidge shares an update on the first five years of Fight Food Waste Limited (FFWL) and the scale of opportunity of halving food waste by 2030.
Food waste is Australia’s 7.6 million tonne opportunity. It’s the elephant in the room of the Australian food industry. Our aim is to get more of Australia’s high-quality and internationally coveted food onto our plates and those of our trading partners.
Our vision is an Australia without food waste, undoubtedly a significant challenge. But a challenge that will have significant impacts for people, for the planet and for industry profitability.
On 1 July 2018, the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) began operation.
With the addition of Stop Food Waste Australia in January 2021, we now form one of the largest dedicated public-private partnerships focussed on fighting food waste globally. More than 100 committed organisations have joined the fight. We have taken great strides over our first five years to ensure we are well placed to deliver the Australian Government’s National Food Waste Strategy and halve food waste by 2030, together.
So far, the Fight Food Waste CRC has 35 active research projects, 34 completed projects, authored more than 200 scientific publications and delivered Australia’s most comprehensive research on household food waste behaviours and interventions.
Through our research projects and the industry action supported by Stop Food Waste Australia, this is a snapshot of our impact so far:
Impact on people
Fighting food waste helps fights food insecurity. Foodbank’s 2022 Hunger Report shows that two million households go hungry regularly in Australia.
Research projects conducted with the Fight Food Waste CRC and Stop Food Waste Australia, in particular the Food Rescue
Sector Action Plan, are focussed on making it easier and more efficient to redirect good quality food to food rescue charities.
These initiatives are set to rescue an additional 300,000 tonnes of good food over the coming years.
While in the first reporting year of the Australian FoodPact – delivered by Stop Food Waste Australia – signatories donated enough food to provide 54 million meals for food-insecure families.
With support from the Fight Food Waste CRC, Foodbank Australia commissioned a report from KPMG on a proposal for a new tax incentive for food donation.
The tax incentive would help reduce food waste, promote sustainability, and support businesses at the same time as helping many Australians in need of food relief.
We continue to advocate for this tax incentive and encourage others to pledge their support: stopfoodwaste.com.au/food-rescue-tax-incentive.
Impact on Planet
Food waste actions currently funded by FFWL are estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 million metric tonnes over their lifetime – the equivalent of taking nearly half of Australia’s fuel-powered cars off the road for one year.
The environmental impact of food waste is three-fold. Food rotting in landfill produces methane (25 times more potent than carbon dioxide); it also wastes all the energy, water, and resources it took to grow, make, move, and consume that food; and there’s impact on land and ecosystems if we focus on producing more food.
Businesses, like signatoriesto the Australian Food Pact,are embedding food waste reduction into their sustainability strategies and commitments.
FFWL is working with industry partners to quantify emissions reductions from food waste action through a GHG Working Group, the first of its kind in Australia.
Fight Food Waste CRC research has also challenged existing beliefs about the role of packaging, highlighting that given the enormous impact and emissions footprint of food, there is a case for a considered and balanced approach towards packaging when it helps reduce food from being wasted.
Fighting food waste also supports Australia’s move to a circular economy, with FFWL work set to support the creationof 3400 circular economy jobs and 36 new upcycled foods and ingredients. One of these is Australia’s first high purity locally made grape seed extract for Swisse Wellness.
Impact on Industry Profitability
For individual food businesses, Capgemini Research Institute found food waste costs total on average 5.6 per cent of total sales (2022). FFWL food waste reduction research projects and initiatives are on track to generate $2.7 billion in industry profitability.
Through the Australian Food Pact, we are currently supporting 33 organisations – representing some of Australia’s biggest food businesses – to reduce their food waste and move waste up the food waste hierarchy.
Founding Signatories to the Pact include Areco Pacific, Coles, Goodman Fielder, Mars Australia, McCain, Mondelez, Simplot Australia and Woolworths, with many other leading businesses joining the fight since. Through the support of our expert team, we are helping identify food waste hotspots and potential profit by transforming waste into higher-value end products.
Across the industry, Stop Food Waste Australia is in the process of delivering eight sector action plans – for food rescue, cold chain, bread and bakery, and dairy (all now completed) – and red meat, horticulture, hospitality & foodservice, and institutions (in the works), which address sector-wide action to reduce food waste and improve industry profitability.
And for households reducing food waste – it can’t be missed that only buying what you need and eating what you buy – can help save near $3000 a year.
I’m incredibly proud of the delivery team and thankfulfor our partners’ commitment to the work that will ensure these impacts for people, the planet and industry profitability are realised.
I remain hopeful about reaching the target of halving food waste by 2030 and encourage anyone who’s not yet joined forces with FFWL to get in touch and join the fight!
This story first appeared in the August-September edition of Food & Drink Business magazine.
