A collaboration between a non-profit organisation and a global NGO is helping businesses reduce food waste across their supply chains.
UK-based non-profit The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) has teamed up with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to update Runa’s Clause – a practical contractual tool designed to help businesses tackle food waste while supporting sustainability goals and operational efficiency.
TCLP noted that reducing food waste delivers both financial and environmental benefits. Businesses can cut unnecessary costs while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with wasted food production, transport and disposal, it said.
The updated clause strengthens requirements for businesses to measure the tonnage of food waste generated, record reduction initiatives and outcomes, and report progress against food waste reduction targets. It encourages organisations to use recognised frameworks such as WRAP’s Food Waste Data Capture Sheet and aligns with best-practice guidance, including WRAP’s UK Food and Drink Pact and Food Waste Reduction Roadmap.
By embedding these practices directly into contracts, businesses can improve transparency across supply chains while working with suppliers to identify the causes of waste and implement practical solutions.
“Contracts are one of the most powerful levers businesses have to drive change across supply chains,” commented Ben Metz, executive director at TCLP. “By building food waste reduction directly into contracts, companies can move from good intentions to measurable impact.”
WRAP senior specialist food system transformation Caroline Conroy added: “Last year, the average cost incurred by a company for every tonne of food waste it generated ranged between £1,638 and over £4,200, across various sectors. The updated Runa’s Clause will be welcome news for businesses, as it means they can reduce costly food waste at the contract stage and avoid these heavy, persistent losses.”
A tonne of food waste prevents nearly 4 tonnes of CO2e from being produced, it added.
One firm to already receive board approval to adopt Runa’s Clause is English Provender Company, which supplies a range of sauces, dressings, marinades, condiments, chutneys, and cooking ingredients to major UK retailers, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. “We are looking forward to working collaboratively with our suppliers and customers and embedding these principles into our ways of working,” said Carl Steckerl, business lead for environmental, social and governance at English Provender Company.
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