Next week marks the third Food Waste Action Week. It means attention will turn once again to the jaw-dropping levels of food wasted in households across the UK.

This year, the scandal carries even greater significance than normal, given that an estimated 13 million adults and children are living in food poverty. It makes it even more shocking to hear the average household is throwing away £700 worth of perfectly good food each year.

But for the food industry to come at this from a position of strength, it needs to make sure it gets its own house in order.

Today’s relaunch of the landmark Food Waste Reduction Roadmap by IGD and Wrap should be a wake-up call to the many food businesses that have so far failed to respond to the cause.

Whilst the roadmap has had notable achievements since its launch in 2018 – not least a reduction in retail food waste of 19,000 tonnes – it has also clearly been blown off course by a combination of world events and a lack of commitment from across the supply chain.

The burdens of Brexit, the Covid pandemic, war in Ukraine and the worst financial crisis in a generation have all had an understandable impact. In some ways, the sign-up of 300 food businesses, including all the major grocery retailers, is a significant achievement – especially when compared with the secretive world of food waste that existed before.

But there is no getting away from the fact that only 221 large businesses have implemented its “target, measure, act” recommendations, out of an estimated 600. Only a fifth of large companies have set a target and even fewer have begun to act.

That contrasts starkly with the goals of the original roadmap – now conspicuously absent from the web – which aimed to have 75% of large businesses “targeting, measuring and acting” by the end of last year. 

When you consider the extent to which Tesco’s contribution to food waste transparency has driven the retail side of things, the progress begins to look even less impressive. And environmental campaigners will no doubt be alarmed at how far we are from the key milestones.

Still, there is much to admire about the new proposed path ahead. For starters, the roadmap redux contains a wealth of new information that suppliers can use to help begin their “food waste journey”.

There is also cause for optimism on the calls for mandatory reporting. Ministers have been dithering over plans for large food companies to produce mandatory reports since well before the disastrous chain of world events. 

Now, it looks as though progress is afoot. Wrap is working with companies including Tesco on pilots that aim to come up with standardised reporting mechanisms on areas such as food waste.

It is understood this would see companies across the supply chain report to the new Food Data Transparency Partnership, a body inspired by Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy. Although still in its infancy, the body could unleash a new era of transparency and, crucially, a level playing field.

Most of all, however, if the industry is to hit its targets of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030, it’s going to take collaboration. That’s why it was also encouraging to see the CMA finally report plans to allow companies to bypass competition laws in cases where it is vital to environmental sustainability.

A source told The Grocer the move “should make mandatory reporting, at a company level, much easier to discuss”.

This collaboration and accountability is crucial. As The Grocer argued when it launched its Waste Not Want Not campaign in 2016, food waste needs co-ordinated action right across the industry and Westminster.

And a fit-for-purpose reporting system is a vital part of that effort.

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