AUSTRALIA | End Food Waste Australia (EFWA) has announced impressive progress in the fight against food waste.
A new report revealed that businesses, including caterers, manufacturers, and major supermarkets such as Coles and Woolworths, part of the Australian Food Pact, have reduced food waste by 13 percent since 2022.
This milestone was part of a broader effort to make Australia’s food system more productive, resilient, and sustainable and halve food waste by 2030.
While real progress has been made, Australia has discarded 7.6 million tonnes of food each year, enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground ten times over. Meanwhile, millions of Australians struggle to access nutritious meals during a cost-of-living crisis.
The 2024 Australian Food Pact Impact Report offered a comprehensive snapshot of food waste dynamics across leading food producers, manufacturers, and retailers.
The Australian Food Pact, launched by EFWA in 2021, called on signatories to follow a ‘Target, Measure, Act’ approach: setting goals, collecting data, trialling innovative solutions, and sharing best practices.
The new impact report demonstrated significant progress in the last three years, including an estimated 505,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions avoided. Landfill waste has more than halved since 2022, reflecting a substantial change in how businesses manage unsold food.
Food not sold dropped by two percent, even as total food handled increased by 19 percent; three-quarters of unsold food is now being repurposed, donated, used for animal feed, or transformed into new products.
Pact Signatories have donated 254 million meals to food rescue organisations in the last three years, helping to feed those who need it most.
Partnerships, such as the one between Simon George and Sons (a fruit and vegetable wholesaler) and FareShare (a food rescue charity), have redirected surplus fresh produce to create thousands of healthy meals.
“These outcomes underscore the difference we can make when the industry collaborates. Pact signatories are demonstrating real leadership by reducing surplus and repurposing unsold food. But there is more work ahead if Australia is to reach its target of halving food waste by 2030,” said EFWA Acting Director of Industry Action Sam Oakden.
“The Australian Food Pact is driving progress. But to fully capitalise, we need more businesses to join the fight. We can build a stronger, more sustainable food system by encouraging more companies to sign up for the Pact and uniting government at all levels, industry, and the community sector. This will benefit everyone - people, the planet, and businesses alike.”
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