WRAP and Tesco call for urgent action to reduce global food loss and waste

Tesco has partnered with global environmental action NGO WRAP to inspire fresh action to tackle global food waste, which currently contributes between eight to 10% of climate warming greenhouse gas emissions, and totals more than one billion tonnes every year. 

The World Economic Forum estimates that food loss and waste also costs the global economy $936 billion a year, when more than 783 million people go hungry every day, and a third of humanity faces food insecurity.

The collaboration will deliver a programme of high impact initiatives at key moments in the environmental calendar to drive forward action across the whole supply chain – from farm to fork – and motivate government action ahead of COP30.  

Tony McElroy, Tesco’s head of circularity campaigns, commented: ‘We are incredibly proud of all the steps we have taken so far, from avoiding waste by redistributing over 300 million meals to charities and communities, to helping customers save money and cut waste at home. We remain focused on driving forward action across our entire supply chain and in collaboration with our key partners as we accelerate progress to halve our food waste.’

Known for its leadership in food waste prevention, Tesco was one of the first retailers to ask suppliers to adopt the ‘Target-Measure-Act’ approach to food waste it had adopted in its operations and publicly report its own and supply chain food waste. The company was a founding member of the UK Food and Drink Pact, managed by WRAP – the climate action NGO leading work on global food system transformation across food waste prevention, water security and GHG emissions for more than 20 years. 

The two have a long association of working together, but this is the first partnership setting out ambitious new global focus. Catherine David, CEO WRAP, explained: ‘Food waste shouldn’t happen. It is one of the largest, most urgent and actionable issues to address and doesn’t need to wait for new technology or AI – it needs focus, collaboration, shared targets and ambition. Looking at NDCs across countries attending COP in recent years, this has all been in dangerously short supply. 

‘The need to reset our global food system is imperative as our population grows and the climate changes. One third of what we produce goes to waste every year while millions go hungry. We need a fair and sustainable system to protect these fragile networks from future disruptions and to make the most of the food we have, for all.

‘Food security will become a priority for governments as the real impacts of climate change bite harder in coming years, and tackling waste is a key step they must take. WRAP and Tesco are taking a stand to call out inaction, and demand more from those who fail to act.’

The Tesco WRAP partnership will host a collaborative panel organised at the Climate Innovation Forum for Wednesday 25 June at London Climate Action Week. This brings together senior representatives from governments, businesses, cities, finance, the UN and the climate community at the key midpoint between COP meetings to show how business and industry can take action with meaningful consequences. 

The panel will consist of Catherine David, WRAP’s CEO, Tony McElroy, Tesco’s head of circularity campaigns, Kris Gibbon-Walsh, FareShare’s CEO, and Mark Willcox, Branston’s agronomy director. Rosemary Brotchie, senior manager, health and sustainability at The Consumer Goods Forum will chair. 

The session sets out the aims to address every link in the food supply chain from farm to fork – from food waste in the home (which makes up 60% of the UK’s 10.7 million tonne total each year), to improving efficiencies – reduce waste – and increase redistribution in retail and manufacture, and with farms and growers to reduce the amount of surplus and food loss.