Tesco has convinced 24 of its biggest suppliers to begin publishing food waste data for their operations over the next 12 months.
Speaking at the Champions 12.3 group in New York, CEO Dave Lewis announced agreements with its biggest suppliers, which have agreed to adopt the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste by 2030.
Representing more than £17 billion worth of sales, the partnership comes after Tesco launched an online food waste hotline to help retailers work directly with suppliers.
Speaking yesterday, Lewis said:
Great progress has been made, but the reality is that we need many more companies, countries or cities committing to halve food waste by 2030, measuring and publishing their data and acting on that insight to tackle food waste.
“I am delighted that many of our major suppliers have taken this important step so we can work in partnership to reduce food waste.”
Tesco businesses in the Republic of Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Hungry have already published food waste data, following four years of publication in the UK.
Tristram Hunt, food waste campaigner said:
We have been challenging Tesco and other supermarkets on transparent reporting of food waste for years now.
“This commitment to ensure that supply chain waste is measured and reported makes Tesco the world-leading supermarket on transparent food waste reporting, and represents a significant step towards meeting the global goal to halve food waste by 2030.
“It’s time for other businesses to follow suit, and for Tesco, along with the rest of the world’s supermarkets, to demonstrate, if they can, that their businesses are not inherently wasteful.”
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has stated that a third of all food produced for human consumption is never consumed.
The waste costs the global economy a total of $940 billion.
