Countdown to 2030: Sharing Country Experiences for Delivering Food Loss and Waste Reduction under SDG 12.3

On 3 April 2025, the Food is Never Waste Coalition brought together more than 130 participants from 48 countries for the global webinar “Countdown to 2030: Sharing Country Experiences for Delivering Food Loss and Waste Reduction under SDG 12.3” 

The event aimed at accelerating efforts to reduce Food Loss and Waste (FLW) and achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3: By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses. 

Through a dynamic platform combining dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge exchange, the event focused on specific objectives and clear outcomes:

1. Raising awareness on effective strategies and actions to accelerate food loss and waste reduction
2. Fostering dialogue and collaboration between countries and promote knowledge exchange on food loss and waste reduction initiatives
3. Provide a platform for sharing practical experiences and insights from countries to meet SDG 12.3
4. Providing an opportunity for participants to share information about ongoing initiatives, upcoming events and publications on FLW, and  engage with peers facing common challenges

Key Messages

• Food loss and waste (FLW) represent a major global challenge, with significant negative economic, social, and environmental impacts. FLW leads to over $1 trillion in economic losses annually, while contributing to 8-10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. While staggering amounts of FLW occur, global hunger persists, with 733 million people facing undernutrition
• Reducing FLW is a powerful entry point for agrifood systems transformation. It improves resource efficiency, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, conserves biodiversity, strengthens food security, and drives economic development. Achieving SDG 12.3, to halve food waste per capita and reduce food losses across production and supply chains by 2030, is essential to creating more sustainable, equitable, and efficient agrifood systems.
  
• Significant reductions in FLW are achievable through public policies and legislative frameworks, innovations in the food value chain, and consumer behavior change. Scaling FLW actions to achieve SDG 12.3  will require data-driven decision-making and collaboration across all sectors and stakeholders–governments, private sector, civil society, and academia–through coordinated efforts such as public-private partnerships.

The need for an integrated approach

Opening remarks from Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, FAO and Martin Krause, Director of Climate Change Division at UNEP drew attention to the paradox of FLW occurring amidst global hunger and the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Recognizing that one-third of food produced globally is either lost or wasted, Mr. Torero framed FLW as a significant economic inefficiency and an environmental burden. He stressed the need for integrated approaches along the food value chain, powered by innovation and country-level action to tackle this issue. Outlining FAO’s role in tracking global food loss data, he underscored the role of technology and innovation in mitigating FLW from the farm level to retail and consumption stages.

Mr. Krause underscored the urgency of addressing food waste for climate change mitigation, citing that food loss and waste contribute to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Krause spoke about UNEP’s commitment to supporting countries in achieving SDG 12.3, particularly through tracking progress at the country-level through the Food Waste Index, and providing technical support for food waste measurement and reduction. He also emphasized UNEP’s role in fostering collaboration across nations and sectors, with a particular focus on consumer behaviour change, the development of circular food systems, and the role of public-private partnerships.

Global Insights: How Countries Are Responding

Japan: A Model of Multi-Stakeholder Success
Speaker: Makoto Tanaka, Director, Food Loss Reduction Promotion Division, Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan
Mr. Tanaka shared Japan’s long-standing commitment to tackling food loss and waste. He recounted how the country began measuring food waste in 2000 and took a major step forward with the enactment of the Food Loss Reduction Act in 2019. This legislation set clear national targets and mobilised collaboration across government, businesses, and consumers. Japan successfully reached its 50 percent food waste reduction goal for businesses eight years ahead of the 2030 deadline, and is now working towards an even more ambitious 60 percent target. Mr. Tanaka highlighted initiatives such as food donations, promotion of “doggy bags,” and better stock management in businesses, all underpinned by strong data collection systems and local government partnerships.

Kenya: Building a National Strategy from the Ground Up
Speaker: Teresia Karanja, Director, Plant Protection and Food Safety, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kenya
Ms. Karanja shared Kenya's journey towards developing a national strategy to address food loss across its agricultural value chains. Before 2024, Kenya lacked a dedicated strategy to reduce food loss and waste. However, through extensive consultation with multi-sectoral stakeholders, including government ministries, the private sector, and civil society, Kenya developed a comprehensive strategy in 2024. The strategy focuses on strengthening post-harvest management, improving food safety, and fostering public-private partnerships to drive change at the grassroots level. Ms. Karanja discussed how Kenya is focusing on integrating food loss reduction within its broader agricultural and food security agenda, especially at the county level, where local governments play a crucial role in implementing and monitoring strategies. She also emphasised the need for capacity building and the importance of engaging vulnerable groups, including women and youth, in food loss reduction efforts.

Outcomes from the panel discussion

Brazil: Linking Waste Management with Climate Goals
Speaker: Eduardo Rocha Dias Santo, Director, Department of Waste Management, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Brazil
Mr. Rocha Dias Santo discussed Brazil’s innovative policies to tackle food waste at the municipal level. He highlighted Brazil's commitment to reducing organic waste through the National Plan for the Reduction and Recycling of Organic Waste, which provides guidelines for local governments to implement composting and food waste recycling programs. One of Brazil’s key strategies involves incentivising cities to establish composting units, which has helped integrate waste management and agriculture, promoting sustainable farming practices. Mr. Rocha Dias Santo emphasised Brazil's goal of creating a circular economy for food waste, where organic waste is seen as a resource rather than a burden. He also pointed to the “pay-as-you-throw” system being piloted in various cities to incentivise waste separation, including food waste, and to reduce the overall amount of waste sent to landfills. His discussion also touched on the importance of building a waste management culture in urban settings and the significant role of local governments in this transformation.

United Kingdom: Leveraging Public-Private Partnerships
Speaker: Alex Rennison, Joint Head of Circular Economy Strategy, Resources and Waste Directorate, Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom
Mr. Rennison provided insights into the UK’s success in reducing food waste through a combination of clear government signals, public-private partnerships, and consumer behaviour change initiatives. He emphasised that food waste reduction in the UK was first incorporated into the country's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, sending a strong signal to the food industry about the importance of addressing food waste as part of climate action. The UK Food and Drink Pact, which comprises over 200 organisations across the food and drink sector, has been instrumental in achieving significant reductions in food waste. Through this pact, businesses have committed to reducing food waste through actions such as improving stock management, adopting better packaging practices, and redistributing surplus food. Mr. Rennison also discussed how the UK uses voluntary pacts to drive action across the supply chain and the success of consumer-facing campaigns, such as “Love Food, Hate Waste,” which have reduced food waste at the household level.

Tunisia: Tackling Post-Harvest Losses in Cereals
Speaker: Sarra Marzougui, Head of Cereals, Postharvest Quality and Laboratory, National Institute of Field Corps, Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Fisheries, Tunisia
Ms. Marzougui outlined Tunisia’s response to food loss and waste, focusing on efforts to reduce post-harvest losses in the cereal sector. In response to research showing significant losses during harvest and storage, Tunisia launched a national food loss reduction strategy in 2021. Key actions include digitalising agricultural value chains and raising awareness about food waste, especially in hospitality, households, and restaurants. Tunisia faces a 30-40 percent gap between potential and actual harvests, driven by factors such as parallel informal markets, seed retention by farmers, and outdated agricultural machinery. Some of the machinery is over 30 years old, resulting in up to 20 percent losses during harvest. To address this, the government organised training sessions for farmers to improve equipment efficiency and encouraged agricultural cooperatives to help farmers access low-cost new machinery. Tunisia has also implemented stricter post-harvest management measures, such as ensuring compliance with storage regulations, humidity control, and proper maintenance of facilities. These actions aim to reduce food losses and strengthen the resilience and sustainability of Tunisia’s agricultural systems.

A call to action

Reducing food loss and waste is achievable and essential for building more sustainable agrifood systems. Reaching this goal will require collective action across governments, industries, and communities. 

As highlighted in the closing remarks by Richard Swannell from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), countries are called to build on the lessons shared during the webinar and accelerate efforts to reduce food loss and waste. These efforts also offer significant economic returns, as every dollar invested in food waste reduction yields a sevenfold return. Governments play a crucial role in achieving tangible results by 2030, particularly by integrating FLW reduction targets into their climate action plans and national development strategies.