Launch of the 2021 Food Waste Index Report

When: Thursday 4 March 2021 | 15:30 – 16:30 CET

Where: Zoom, join here

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will host a media briefing on the 2021 Food Waste Index Report with high level representatives from governments, cities and the private sector.

The fact that substantial amounts of food are produced but not eaten by humans has substantial negative impacts: environmentally, socially and economically. Estimates suggest that 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is not consumed.

Reducing food waste at retail, food service and household level can provide multi-faceted benefits for both people and the planet. However, the true scale of food waste and its impacts have not been well understood until now. As such, the opportunities provided by food waste reduction have remained largely untapped and under-exploited.

If we want to get serious about tackling food waste, we need to increase efforts to measure food and inedible parts wasted at retail and consumer level, and track food waste generation in kilograms per capita at country level. Only with reliable data we are going to be able to track progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3, which aims at halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.

Speakers:

• Ligia Noronha, Director, Economy Division, UN Environment Programme
• Dr Tom Quested, Lead Analyst, WRAP
• Rebecca Pow, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity, UK Defra (TBC)
• Claudia Nayibe López Hernández, Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia (TBC)
• Hanneke Faber, President, Foods & Refreshment, Unilever

Moderator: Terry Collins, International media relations