And, as a result, it claimed these areas represented the greatest opportunity for efficiencies which would deliver both environmental benefits in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and a reduction in the £17 billion cost it estimated waste in the supply chain led to every year.
Among the key actions suggested in the report, which was written by consultancy Oakdene Hollins using data compiled by DHL Exel Supply Chain last year, was a switch in emphasise by manufacturers from non-landfill disposal to prevention or waste reduction at source.
With manufacturing accounting for around a quarter, or 27% of the supply chain's waste, the report explained that it was generally believed that using by-products as animal feed rather than landfilling saved a company £85 a tonne – £55 a tonne landfill costs and £30 to sell the food.
However, it claimed that the cost of the original raw materials for the product and of processing actually represented a cost of £500, and as a result, waste prevention could result in a “top level” saving of around £555 a tonne.
But, it also noted that the shift to waste minimisation rather than waste management “may need a company culture change to shift focus to managing resources and as suggested in this research could deliver significant cost savings”.
The report also emphasised the importance of campaigns such as Love Food Hate Waste in encouraging households, which represent 64.7% of the supply chain waste, to make better use of the food they buy and to save money.
And, it also highlighted a number of other key opportunities for reducing food and drink supply chain waste, including:
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delivering “sector change” through initiatives such as the Courtauld Commitment, which was re-launched this month with a focus on cutting supply chain waste (see letsrecycle.com story);
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considering how to redistribute, recycle or reuse surplus food or “unavoidable” waste, including turning the material into energy using anaerobic digestion or redistributing it via schemes such as FareShare;
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encouraging behaviour change, not just among householders but by improving communications both between and within companies and suppliers;
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improving forecasting and working in partnership with suppliers which, WRAP claimed, “could result in reductions in costs and waste generated throughout the supply chain”;
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optimising packaging specifications, where WRAP said the supply chain should be “taking a holistic approach to primary and secondary packaging as well as understanding the environmental implications of retail-ready (or shelf-ready) packaging”.
Commenting on the report's findings, WRAP's director of retail and organics, Richard Swannell, said: “Thinking needs to go beyond the boundary of an individual site or an individual company. An integrated approach through the chain could really help reduce costs and waste, resulting in more efficient management of resources from their point of production through to their point of consumption.
“Making these changes is challenging and achievable given the sector's strong track record for innovation and implementing change. Focusing on the entire supply chain waste will deliver tangible commercial and environmental benefits – reducing costs, waste and greenhouse gas emissions,” he added.
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