The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals included a Target (12.3) to halve food loss and waste worldwide by 2030. Doing so is important for ensuring food feeds people – not landfills – and meeting our climate and environmental goals.

In 2013, WRI released the report “Reducing Food Loss and Waste,” setting off our research into this area. We currently serve as co-secretariat of the Food Loss and Waste Protocol and Champions 12.3, two worldwide efforts to accelerate momentum toward achieving SDG 12.3. Through the Food Loss and Waste Protocol, we promote the value of measuring food loss and waste – because without measurement, there is no effective management and no way to benchmark progress. The FLW Protocol produced “The Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard”, which enables companies, countries, cities and others to quantify and report on food loss and waste so they can develop targeted reduction strategies and realize the benefits from tackling this inefficiency.

Through Champions 12.3, we convene executives from across the private and public sectors – as well as research institutions and civil society – to urge leaders across the world to set reduction targets in line with SDG 12.3, measure food loss and waste, and take action to address hotspots. In addition to ongoing work, Champions 12.3 publishes an annual report assessing global progress toward the 50% reduction target. The group has also published research into the business case for reducing food loss and waste, including sector-specific looks at hotels, catering and restaurants.

WRI is also a project founder of The Food Waste Atlas, which tracks global food waste.

Photo Credit: Alex Berger