Bakery suppliers to publish food waste data in Tesco partnership

Allied Bakeries, Samworth Brothers and Greencore are among a group of suppliers to publish food waste data in a ground-breaking deal with supermarket giant Tesco.

Twenty-four businesses signed up to the initiative, which will see them adopt the Sustainable Development Goal to halve food waste by 2030.

Collectively worth £17bn, the 24 suppliers will publish food waste data for their own operations within 12 months, and have committed to take steps needed to reduce food waste in their supply, as well as innovating to make it easier for consumers to reduce waste in their homes.

Speaking at a meeting of Champions 12.3 in New York, Tesco CEO Dave Lewis said: “Great progress has been made, but the reality is that we need many more companies, countries or cities committing to halve food waste by 2030, measuring and publishing their data and acting on that insight to tackle food waste. I am delighted that many of our major suppliers have taken this important step so we can work in partnership to reduce food waste.”

Champions 12.3 is a coalition of leaders from government, business, international organisations, research institutions and civil society, chaired by Lewis. The group is dedicated to accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Target 12.3, which is to halve per capita food waste at a retail and consumer level by 2030.

Lewis also announced Tesco’s businesses in the Republic of Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary have published their food waste data, following four years of publication in the UK.

“This commitment to ensure that supply chain waste is measured and reported makes Tesco the world-leading supermarket on transparent food waste reporting, and represents a significant step towards meeting the global goal to halve food waste by 2030,” added food waste campaigner Tristram Stuart. “It’s time for other businesses to follow suit, and for Tesco, along with the rest of the world’s supermarkets, to demonstrate, if they can, that their businesses are not inherently wasteful.”