According to FAO, food waste results in around $940 billion per year in economic losses. In addition to having significant social and economic impacts, the amount of food wasted (which accounts for one-third of all food that moves from where it is produced to where it is eaten) is also responsible for an estimated 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

At this year’s Global Green Growth Forum Summit in Copenhagen, a partnership of leading international organizations launched the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard.

The FLW Standard is aimed to encourage consistency and transparency in measuring and reporting on the amount of food and/or associated inedible parts removed from the supply chain.

The  Standard can be used by organizations of all types and sizes that operate across different economic sectors all around the globe.

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The FLW Standard consists of the set of global definitions, guidance and reporting requirements that will help intergovernmental agencies, governments, industry associations, SMEs, agricultural producers and other users to consistently and credibly measure, report on and manage food loss and waste.

Andrew Steer, President and CEO at World Resources Institute, said, “This  standard is a real breakthrough. For the first time, armed with the standard, countries and companies will be able to quantify how much food is lost and wasted, where it occurs, and report on it in a highly credible and consistent manner. There’s simply no reason that so much food should be lost and wasted. Now, we have a powerful new tool that will help governments and businesses save money, protect resources and ensure more people get the food they need.”

Using this tool, organizations and countries will be able to develop effective strategies and prioritize actions to prevent food losses and waste, increase food security, minimize their impact on the environment and improve natural resource efficiency. In addition, FLW standard will also help users to monitor their progress over time and improve internal decision-making process.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director at UNEP, said, “The scale of the problem of food loss and waste can be difficult to comprehend. Having this new standard by which to measure food loss and waste will not only help us understand just how much food is not making it to our mouths, but will help set a baseline for action.” Since the SDG Target 12.3 is set to halve food waste by 2030, Achim Steiner welcomed companies and countries to complement actions aimed to deliver on this target with measuring and reporting food loss and waste.

For more details about FLW Standard, click here.

by Natalie Myhalnytska

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