This is an official event of the 5th Global Conference of the One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Programme.
About:The 5th global conference of the SFS Programme aims to inspire and encourage policymakers to take bold decisions in the key policy fora in 2025, such as the UNFSS+4 Stocktaking Moment and UNFCCC COP30.
The UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in 2021, and its stocktaking process that will run until 2030, built up significant momentum to transform food systems towards more sustainability, resilience and equity.
Since then, over 110 countries have developed National Pathways for Food Systems Transformation, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) was adopted, and 160 countries signed the UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action (hereafter UAE Declaration).
However, the implementation of these and other related commitments is often being hampered by political economy dynamics, such as existing lock-ins, power imbalances or geopolitical tensions.
To maintain and further accelerate global momentum for food systems transformation, this conference will showcase concrete solutions that can be adapted and replicated in different contexts.
Description: Significant levels of food loss and waste occur globally, and the urgency of addressing the issue is underscored by numerous strategic and technical documents. UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report, which tracks country-level progress and provides the methodology for measuring food waste under SDG 12.3, estimates global wastage of approximately 1.05 billion tonnes of food in 2022, with households accounting for 60% of this waste and generating 79 kg per capita per year on average. It demonstrates that food waste is a global problem, significant in almost every country where it has been measured, and without correlation to country income level.
In relation to food loss, the SDG Indicators Data Portal hosted by FAO indicates that approximately 13% of the food produced globally is lost from the post-harvest up to and excluding retail level. Food loss and waste generates 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is a key source of methane release, exacerbating environmental challenges. It also has significant socio-economic impacts, occurring while 783 million people are affected by hunger and a third of humanity faces food insecurity.
Bringing together stakeholders leading efforts in achieving SDG 12.3, this session will discuss barriers to scaling up systemic solutions to food loss and waste. It will showcase a range of initiatives that have made progress at local or national level, including by adopting circular approaches.
Aims:
- Discuss policy frameworks and strategies for FLW reduction, with a focus on integrating FLW mitigation into broader sustainability agenda, including circular economy, climate action and SDG.
- Share experiences and lessons learned from governance, climate and behaviour change initiatives for food loss and waste mitigation and transition to circular food systems.
- Facilitate knowledge exchange and multi-stakeholder collaboration to identify innovative solutions, technologies, and partnerships for reducing food loss and waste at scale.
Register for virtual attendance of the Global Conference.
