Lidl is looking to reduce in-store bakery waste as part of ambitious new targets with a new trial which will see unsold products sent for use in animal feed.
The discounter is undertaking the trial in the Peterborough region where inedible fresh bakery lines, such as croissants and bread, will be sent to create animal feed.
It comes as part of Lidl’s updated sustainability targets which have seen it surpass its goal of reducing food waste by 40% between 2016 and 2025. As a result, the retailer has now raised its five-year target from a 50% reduction to a more ambitious 70% by FY2030 against the 206 baseline.
Updates to the Lidl in-store bakery have been one of the ways the discounter has achieved its current target. Operating a bake-off model across its estate, Lidl said that by aligning the number of products available more closely to demand throughout the day, it has reduced bakery-related food waste by 30% over the past year.
To help further prevent food waste, the Lidl Plus app offers customers 20% off all in-store bakery items after 7pm.
“At Lidl, we set ambitious targets that challenge how we operate and inspire innovation when it comes to food waste,” said Lidl GB’s head of sustainability Matt Juden-Bloomfield.
“We’ve made good strides, but we know we can do more. With that in mind, we have increased our targets to ensure we remain accountable and also introduced some exciting new trials to take things to the next level. We remain committed to accelerating our progress in this space and collaborating closely with our industry peers to drive lasting impact for both the environment and the communities we are at the heart of.”
As part of its wider food waste reduction work, the discounter also has extended its current partnership with Neighbourly to trial the charity’s Surplus Saviours initiative this summer in the Midlands. This redistribution scheme enables registered individuals – including charity volunteers and customers – to collect unsold surplus food, building on the partnerships Lidl stores already have with registered charities and helping even more people support their local communities. With extended collection times and access to fresh and chilled items approaching their use‑by date later in the evening, the trial is expected to redistribute more than 5,000 tonnes of food to those in need.
Since 2016, Lidl GB has donated 50 million meals by redistributing surplus food through its Feed it Back scheme, delivered in partnership with Neighbourly. Every Lidl store nationwide is linked to local good causes, with processes in place to ensure as much suitable surplus food as possible is donated.
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