Nestlé Boss Urges More Action on Food Waste

23 Sep 2016 --- Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke says collective action is needed to accelerate the global fight on food waste following the latest report into world progress on the issue.

Speaking after the publication of the Champions 12.3 coalition report, of which Bulcke is a member, he says: “I am convinced that by working together, we can accelerate efforts and develop effective solutions to help reduce food loss and waste globally.”

The new report assesses the world’s progress towards food waste goals. Champions 12.3 coalition brings together CEOs, politicians, and leaders from global institutes and civil society to help achieve Target 12.3. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 aims to halve per capita food waste and reduce food losses by 2030.

The report concludes that in order to achieve the goals, nations, cities and companies need to work harder and closer together with more cooperation.

Nestlé’s actions to reduce food waste and loss include a commitment to sending zero waste for disposal at all its sites and halving food waste across its operations. 

Nestlé has already committed to improving efficiency across its operations, to do more with fewer resources, generate less waste by using the most efficient technologies and processes to optimize energy and water consumption, as well as using sustainable renewable energy sources and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. 

Last year saw the launch of Nestlé Commitment to reduce food loss and waste which set out and met objectives to reduce energy consumption per ton of product in every product category and achieve zero waste for disposal in 10 percent of factories. In fact, it exceeded the 2015 objective by reducing energy consumption per ton of product by 29 percent since 2005. 

Nestlé also retained its industry-leading position in the “environmental dimension” of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Series, scoring 99 out of 100.

Food waste and loss costs the global economy US$ 940 billion per year and generates around eight percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. It consumes around a quarter of the water used in agriculture each year.