Managed by sustainability charity WRAP and research and training charity IGD, the Roadmap lays out milestones towards tackling food waste to which many of the UK’s largest retailers, manufacturers and resource specialists have committed.
Suez is joining the initiative as an enabling partner, meaning it will use the skills and resources of its UK waste and water businesses to support its customers in meeting their commitments.
Peter Maddox, WRAP director, said: “I am delighted to welcome Suez as the newest signatory to the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap.
“Suez has an important role to play in helping to both raise awareness of the issue of food waste, and in helping to mitigate against the problem by engaging with its client base.”
Signatories to the Roadmap commit to a food waste reduction target across their operations, taking action to meet this by working in partnership with suppliers, and supporting consumers in their attempts to reduce their food waste.
Earlier this year, Veolia announced it had become the “first recycling company” to sign up to the roadmap (see letsrecycle.com story).
Expertise
Suez says it will use its expertise in waste and water to audit and identify potential reductions across all waste streams for business and industry.
The waste management company says that through collection, treatment, recycling and logistics operations, it serves more than 30,000 business customers and millions of householders throughout the country.
Ben Harding, UK and Ireland growth team leader for food and beverage and mid-markets for Suez water technologies and solutions, said: “We share WRAP’s ambition to halve food waste by 2030 and are delighted to combine our expertise in water and waste to support businesses in identifying targeted actions to reduce food waste in all forms.”
WRAP estimates 9.5 million tonnes of food and drink is wasted every year, worth a potential £19 billion.
This waste also engenders environmental costs arising from the water, energy and emissions associated with processing, packing, transporting and treating wasted food.
Roadmap
The Food Waste Reduction Roadmap was launched in May 2019, with former environment secretary Michael Gove and former environment minister Thérèse Coffey among the first to sign up to the pledge (see letsrecycle.com story ).
So far, more than 200 organisations have committed to the initiative, including retailers such as Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco.
A proposed environment bill, which is to go before a scrutiny committee for the first time on 10 March, will see mandatory food waste collections rolled out across the country by 2023, subject to consultation (see letsrecycle.com story ).
David Wood, market development manager for Suez recycling and recovery UK, said: “The 2023 deadline for separate food waste collections and the 2030 ban on food waste to landfill are drawing nearer, focusing the mind of business on reducing food waste across the supply chain.”
In practice, adopting the Roadmap means companies setting a food waste reduction target for their UK operations, measuring and reporting food surplus and waste according to the guidelines, taking action to reduce food waste in their own businesses and helping to reduce food waste from their suppliers and consumers through engagement and innovation.
Sector specific guidelines have been provided as part of the Roadmap, and these can be seen here.
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