A new, innovative approach to minimising food waste has been developed by Nestlé UK and Ireland in partnership with Company Shop and supported by WRAP’s work.
The integrated approach aims to make sure that significantly more surplus food is redistributed and available for both charitable and commercial use.
The partners are undertaking detailed site assessments to identify any opportunity to reduce food waste at the source, and find ways that any part-processed products can be redistributed instead of being used for animal feed or anaerobic digestion.
Finished, packed products are easier to redistribute and much of this surplus already goes to Fareshare. Looking at foods that require more involved approaches to make redistribution possible means that redistribution organisations will now be able to access much more of Nestlé’s surplus.
The method has been tested at a number of Nestlé’s factories and has proved to be an economically sustainable way for food manufacturers to tackle operational food waste. Increasing the amount of food being distributed in this way will also help the national redistribution infrastructure to grow and support the food industry’s efforts to reduce waste.
Nestlé and Company Shop estimate that this approach will increase the levels of charitable redistribution from their UK operations by the equivalent of two million meals per year on top of the products that already go to Fareshare.
The approach has social and environmental benefits while helping to reduce costs for manufacturers right across their supply chain and benefits the whole industry.
The work forms part of Nestlé’s overall strategy to reduce food waste and increase redistribution across the company’s own operations as well as to collaborate and share with other organisations in the food sector in the battle against food waste.
Andy Griffiths, Head of Environmental Sustainability at Nestlé UK and Ireland said:
“As a food manufacturer, we see food waste as a very important issue for business and society. To help us reduce and find good uses for our surplus food we’ve been working with our partners to find innovative ways to address these issues in our supply chain but also to help the wider industry. The joint expertise and insight of our longstanding partners in food surplus waste have been crucial in developing a viable and scalable approach.
“By increasing the amount of food going through charitable redistribution, collectively we can make a significant impact and help people in need as well as reduce the environmental challenges associated with food waste.”
John Marren, Founder and Chairman of Company Shop said:
“We don’t want to see any good food going to waste and Company Shop works hard with manufacturers and brands to help them to unlock the full potential in their surplus. We commend Nestlé for their joined-up approach to preventing waste and we look forward to demonstrating the positive social, environmental and economic impact that can be achieved through this programme.”
Dr David Moon, Head of Food Sustainability, WRAP said:
“This is an excellent example of organisations collaborating to boost food redistribution. With its partners, Nestlé has developed practices that work within its own network, and which – more importantly – can now be shared and replicated to benefit the sector more widely. This sort of innovative thinking will help the wider sector in contributing towards the Courtauld Commitment 2025 ambition to double the amount of surplus food redistributed by 2020.”
Food redistribution is a significant issue for the food industry and currently only 17 percent of the edible surplus food is being redistributed through charitable or commercial routes.
Research by WRAP reveals that over half of the food waste generated by the UK manufacturing and retail sectors is avoidable.
Their report highlights that a combination of preventing food waste being generated, redistribution of food surplus and diverting surplus to animal feed could lead to a 42% reduction in avoidable food waste, saving businesses millions of pounds a year.
Nestlé has been driving food waste reduction with the ambition to be a zero-waste business across its operations by working up the waste hierarchy.
By the end of 2015 all Nestlé’s factories in the UK and Ireland had been verified as achieving zero waste to landfill.
In the last decade Nestlé donated the equivalent of over seven million meals’ worth of food to charitable causes through Fareshare.
Working with Company Shop, Nestlé has saved tens of thousands of tonnes of waste by redistributing its products through Company Shop’s national network of membership only stores.
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Nestlé UK Press Office on 020 8667 6005 or email [email protected]
Notes to editors:
About Company Shop
- Company Shop is the UK’s largest redistributor of surplus. Through its network of membership-only stores, which serve people who work in the food manufacturing supply chain or emergency services, it gets good surplus food to its members at great prices, preventing it becoming waste. Working with Company Shop enables retailers, manufacturers and brands to achieve positive economic, environmental and social impact with their surplus. Find out more here: http://companyshop.co.uk/
- Company Shop is also the pioneer behind Community Shop, the UK’s first social supermarket chain. Community Shop, which is a social enterprise, also gets good surplus food and products to members at great prices, however these stores serve deprived communities. When members shop in store, the revenue raised powers the activity of the on-site Community Hub, which offers everything from debt advice and employability skills, to cook club and home budgeting. The stores support members to live fulfilling lives and build stronger individuals and more confident communities. Find out more about Community Shop here: http://companyshop.co.uk/community-shop/what-is-community-shop/
About WRAP
First established in 2000, WRAP is a not for profit organisation and registered charity whose vision is a world where resources are used sustainably. WRAP works with governments, businesses and communities to deliver practical solutions to improve resource efficiency.
Find out more here: http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/surplus-food-redistribution-wrap%E2%80%99s-work
