Food waste to become focus for Global Retailers

6th July 2015

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), the global body for the consumer goods industry, has announced a major new initiative from its Global Summit in New York – to halve food waste by 2025 within member retail and manufacturing operations. This reflects the CGF’s commitment to using the skill and scale of its 400 members to help drive positive change in the consumer goods industry. The changes brought about by the resolution will benefit consumers, businesses and society whilst improving consumer trust.

Halving food waste by 2025
The Board approved a new resolution to halve food waste by 2025 within member retail and manufacturing operations, and support the UN’s food waste ambitions. It also pledged to reduce food losses throughout production and supply chain and to maximise the value of any remaining waste. The announcement comes at a critical time, with 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste being produced each year, which has an estimated value of $750 billion. The CGF will be developing an implementation plan for its members and will be running events and webinars, open to both CGF and non-CGF members.

The CGF Board, which comprises of 50 global CEOs worldwide, came together to discuss the role of new initiatives and how they are best placed to improve the industry. The CGF Board provides a ‘catalyst’ for this change, thanks to the scale and scope of operations and supply chains that these organisations have within the industry. This is further enhanced by the weight of the wider CGF membership – 400 businesses in 70 countries, with combined sales in excess of EUR 2.5 trillion – which allows the initiatives to have a real opportunity to make a positive difference.