Focus on the SDG Target 12.3 on 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 and has now expanded its ambition to achieve even deeper reductions by 2030. Numerous countries and regional bodies have also adopted strategies that address the entire supply chain, showing a movement toward a more holistic approach to reducing food loss and waste. The private sector is making more progress than national and regional governments, and initiatives and pacts focused on scaling up private sector action have made great strides. Several large companies have achieved 50 percent reductions in their food waste, showing that significant action can occur in a relatively short period of time.
However, more needs to be done to bring additional companies on board. As the world approaches 2030:
• Countries need to commit to delivering UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 and include this commitment in new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and related strategies on food systems and resilience. This commitment should be translated into specific, practical policy measures supported by dedicated resources and funding. Countries should begin measuring and reporting on food loss and waste and demonstrating progress through, for example, the biennial transparency reports.
• Companies should explore opportunities for food loss and waste reduction across the entire supply chain and strengthen collaboration among businesses. Food waste pacts and initiatives focused on action provide opportunities for sharing best practices and developing solutions that span the supply chain.
Finance providers and intermediaries need to increase focus on food loss and waste and seek to better understand the financial business case for action.
Companies need to increase access to finance to reduce food loss and waste in both the Global North and South, addressing region- and country-specific issues in each location. This can occur through developing tailored products, taking a whole supply chain approach, and working with intermediaries where appropriate.
• We must change the narrative.
We need to reframe the issue of food loss and waste 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 must be a priority until we have shifted globally to a system that values the food we produce, ensures that people are fed, and preserves the planet for generations to come. It is up to us collectively to determine when that time will be.

It is estimated that 40 percent of the world’s food supply is lost or wasted (WWF-UK 2021). This huge level of inefficiency has significant impacts. Consider food security: Food loss is most common during either production or post-harvest handling and storage. This can affect the ability of farmers to live above the poverty line and, at times, feed their families. Food waste, which occurs near the end of the food supply chain, can affect household nutrition and food-related spending. Regardless of where food loss and waste occur, in a world where nearly one in three people cannot afford a healthy diet, it is a travesty that 2.5 billion tons of food goes uneaten each year (FAO 2025). In the past several years, global shocks including global conflict, newly instituted tariffs, and restrictions on exports have increased global food prices to the highest levels ever recorded (Glauber et al. 2022; Treisman 2022; Durante and Walker 2025). In the face of such shocks, reducing food loss and waste effectively means increasing the amount of food available to consumers. Recovering surplus food that would otherwise be wasted and ensuring its redistribution to people in need can also help address growing food security concerns. Consider the economic costs. Food loss and waste results in more than $1 trillion in economic losses globally per year (Hegnsholt et al. 2018). Investing in food loss and waste reduction efforts can therefore reap significant economic benefits. Consider the environment. The production of food that is ultimately lost or wasted requires a land area larger than China (FAO 2013). Moreover, food loss and waste generates about 8–10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions annually (IPCC 2019). To put this into perspective, if food loss and waste were a country, it would be the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet—surpassed only by China. When food is lost or wasted, the land, water, and fertilizer used to produce that food also go to waste. Considering these impacts, reducing food loss and waste can generate a triple win: It can help feed more people; increase savings for farmers, businesses, and households; and reduce the food system’s pressure on the environment, helping to mitigate climate change.