Structural changes in infrastructure and underlying technologies are essential to facilitate the implementation of circular business models as well as being inherently beneficial to lower the environmental impact of food systems. For example, sustainable food cold chains can reduce, if developed correctly, the 4% of global GHG emissions generated by current technologies.
The scale of sunk costs in infrastructure, and the impact of education and training programmes on mindsets and approaches of future generations of producers and food system actors, all mean that current technologies and infrastructure will shape inputs, production practices and value chains through to 2050 and beyond. It is therefore key to adapt current infrastructure to support a transition to a circular global food system.
UNEP works to support the uptake of sustainable cooling and cold chains, environmentally friendly waste infrastructure in line with the waste hierarchy (including separate collection, waste-to-feed initiatives) and connect, share and pilot digital solutions (food waste measurement, AI, IoT, sharing & redistribution), to maximise the consumption of existing food products and facilitate circular uses for unavoidable waste (such as food, water, packaging and other resources).
