International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

  In 2015, countries from around the world adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty and hunger, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all populations and generations. One target within these goals is SDG 12.3 , which calls for per-capita reductions of food loss and waste by 50 percent globally. With five years remaining before 2030, the world is not on track to achieve SDG 12.3 . Global progress on reducing food loss and waste has not accelerated to the point needed to achieve this ambitious target—either from companies or countries. With fewer than five years left, time is running out. There are bright spots of action, though. Food loss and waste is rising on the political agenda, binding targets are moving closer to being enacted in many regions, and countries are increasingly addressing the issue from an entire supply chain perspective. Significantly, Japan has become the first country to cut food loss and waste in half compared to its base year a...

  It has been 10 years since the launch of the SDGs. So how much progress has been made in relation to SDG 12.3? Is the world on track, or is the world behind?  In the 2017 edition of this progress report, the authors introduced a “road map” of milestones (grouped into three-year segments) based on Champions 12.3’s “Target-Measure-Act” approach (Box 1) (Lipinski et al. 2017).  This road map is designed to track global progress by governments and businesses toward achieving SDG 12.3 and provides an assessment of where progress is sufficient or insufficient relative to the Target-Measure-Act approach. We most recently assessed these milestones in the 2022 edition of the report, in which, globally, companies were overall found to be making more progress than national governments (Lipinski 2022). Our analysis, however, found that the global rate of progress on food loss and waste reduction was insufficient to achieve SDG 12.3 . This assessment largely holds true for the mos...

  The world is not on track to achieve SDG 12.3 , but there is encouraging progress that shows what is possible. More countries and companies need to radically rethink their approach to this issue, especially as the SDG target year of 2030 approaches . These recommendations elaborate on how the world can build on existing progress while still bringing in those who have yet to tackle this issue head on: Countries need to commit to food loss and waste reduction in new Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans, and related strategies on food systems and resilience . Companies should explore opportunities for food loss and waste reduction across the entire supply chain and strengthen collaboration among businesses . Finance organizations need to increase focus on foodloss and waste as an issue and seek to better understand the financial business case for action . Philanthropic organizations need to invest in foodloss and waste reduction programs . Change the narr...

  Reducing food waste requires coordination among stakeholders across the entire supply chain , yet many food loss andwaste reduction actions focus narrowly on just one stage of the food supply chain . This approach fails to take into account the way that different stages of the supply chain interact. Food waste pacts and industry-facing initiatives focused on action provide opportunities for sharing best practices and developing solutions that span the supply chain. Companies should adopt the Target-Measure-Act approach in their own operations while contributing to larger collaborations and scaling action.

  Countries need to commit to food loss and waste reduction in new Nationally Determined Contributions , National Adaptation Plans , and related strategies on food systems and resilience . This commitment should be translated into meaningful policy measures. Countries including Chile, Colombia and the UK have included FLW in their revised NDCs . Countries such as Japan and Spain have demonstrated how to incorporate food loss and waste into strategies across the supply chain , and the African Union and European Union have shown that regional bodies can motivate action among their member states. More countries and regional bodies need to follow suit and back up their commitments with dedicated resources while strengthening data gathering and sharing best practices and key findings .

  Finance organizations need to increase focus on food loss and waste as an issue and seek to better understand the financial business case for action. Finance providers can design context-specific financial products that overcome barriers while also encouraging policy signals to scale investments. At the same time, private sector companies can leverage their farmer and intermediary networks to help aggregate smallholders into bankable groups, use long-term offtake agreements that both secure reliable supply and help farmers access credit, and finance or co-finance food loss and waste solutions that strengthen their own supply chains.

  In September 2025, the International Organization forStandardization (ISO) released ISO/DIS 20001 , a draft of standardized procedures for minimizing food loss and wasteacross the food supply chain. These standards are meant to apply to all organizations (e.g., food producers, food processors and manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, and food-related charities) within the food supply chain. The draft details requirements for what is described as a “ Food Loss and Waste Management System ” ( FLWMS ). The FLWMS lays out how an organization intends to address food loss and waste within its operations . At its most essential, ISO/DIS 20001 enables an organization “to plan, implement, operate, maintain, review, improve and update a FLWMS to minimize [food loss and waste] within its operations and/or its supply chain.” It provides guidance and requirements related to measurement, reporting, reduction activities, evaluation and assurance, and communication of food ...

  The Global Action Drive (GAD) brings together key NGOs to collaborate and advance global efforts to address food loss and waste. Following a detailed review, 13 priority countries and one bloc—the European Union—were identified to encourage incorporation of food loss and waste into the revised NDC 3.0 . GAD members have coordinated their outreach to these countries, including through joint letters, meetings, and workshops. As countries publish their revised NDCs ahead of the de facto deadline of COP 30—November 2025—an Assessment Framework has been developed to evaluate:  • how a country has incorporated food loss and waste into their revised NDCs;  • the broader food loss and waste policy landscape and progress with implementation; • government priorities and motivations; • opportunities to influence other countries within the same region and beyond; and  • recommendations on next steps for GAD engagement and influencing around food loss and waste policy implem...

The global philanthropy roadmap for food loss and waste developed at COP28 identifies multiple investment-ready projects that the philanthropic community can support. With known solutions for food loss and waste reduction and growing momentum within the private and public sectors, private philanthropy can play a key role in accelerating progress .

Numerous food waste pacts and industry-facing initiatives devoted to action on food waste have demonstrated impressive progress over the past year:  • Companies within WRI’s 10x20x30 initiative have continued to demonstrate progress toward reducing food loss and waste . 75 percent of the 248 10x20x30 companies have set a public food loss and waste base year to measure progress against, and 56 percent have measured and publicly reported multiple years of food loss and waste data. The average reduction in food loss and waste among 10x20x30 member companies is 15.4 percent • The Australian Food Waste Pact reported a 13 percent in food waste by its 37 signatories compared to a 2022 base year, resulting in 16,000 tons of prevented waste and saving companies approximately AUD 57 million as a result. Pact members have also repurposed 982,000 tons of “food not sold,” distributing it to food donations and upcycling it into other products.  • Retailers on the West Coast of the Unite...

In January 2025, the African Union adopted the Kampala Declaration , which lays out a 10-year strategy and action plan for how its 55 member states intend to enhance food security and nutrition across Africa. One target within the Kampala Declaration specifically aims to reduce post-harvest loss by 50 percent by 2035 and specifically emphasizes “the need to promote innovations in post-harvest handling, storage, and transportation to reduce food losses and improve food availability and incomes for farmers.” Specific activities within the Kampala Declaration related to post-harvest loss reduction include: • enhancing the integration of smallholder, women, and youth farmers into value chains to improve market access; • removing trade barriers and improving infrastructure for efficient movement of goods; and • investing in regional value chains and post-harvest infrastructure. The agreement also calls for member states to incorporate the commitments within the declaration into national p...

The predominant framing of food loss and waste has driven action over time , but it has not reached a broad enough audience to drive large-scale action on the issue. “ Food loss and waste ” can be a confusing term for many decision-makers, and focusing on waste can be generally unpleasant and negative . Economic factors tend to be the primary driver for action, and communications need to reflect this. Businesses want to maximize efficiency and thrive in the marketplace,   farmers want to find buyers and sell their goods, and   households want to save money as food prices continue to rise.  We must reframe the issue to appeal to what matters most to leaders: Reducing food loss and waste is not something we do for its own sake, but as a means to an end. As a global community tackling this issue, we need to do more to meet our audiences where they are and explain exactly why it should matter to them. Preventing wasted food needs to be a priority as we shift globally to ...