6 June 2016: The Food Loss and Waste (FLW) Protocol, an international multi-stakeholder partnership, has released version 1.0 of the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard (FLW Standard) providing requirements and guidance for quantifying and reporting on the amount of food lost in the food supply chain. The report aims to enable countries, cities, companies and other entities to develop inventories of FLW and inform policy making, target setting and the development of strategies reduce FLW.

The FLW Standard addresses key gaps and challenges in measuring and reducing global food loss, which has been estimated by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO) to account for approximately one third of global food production. The production of this unused food is responsible for an estimated 8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and is identified as a significant driver of land degradation, wasting agricultural inputs and other natural resources.

The Standard therefore directly addresses Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, including Target 12.3 which requires countries to “by 2030, half per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.” Use of the Standard will also contribute to achieving SDG 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture); SDG 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts); and SDG 15 (Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss).

The Standard is designed as a practical tool to quantify FLW based on a standardized terminology and requirements to promote international consistency, comprehensiveness and transparency in FLW reporting. It addresses current gaps and challenges in measuring FLW by providing a voluntary and flexible framework that can be used by any party interested in reporting on FLW, including intergovernmental agencies, governments, industry associations, agricultural producers and companies of all sizes across all economic sectors. The Standard enables such entities to: develop FLW inventories for their own internal decision making; report against FLW targets and regulations set by governments, industry associations or other actors; and inform FLW policies, initiatives and programmes.

The Standard takes into account that organizations use different definitions of FLW and have different reasons or quantifying FLW, including by using modular definitions allowing users to distinguish between food loss and/or associated inedible parts, as well as different destinations of the material being removed from the supply chain, such as: animal feed; bio-material or processing; or refuse, discards and litter. The standard lays out the main requirements for FLW inventories, including scope and appropriate quantification methods, as well as additional requirements and recommendations. Furthermore, the Standard is designed as an evolving tool that can be updated and improved based on experience and feedback from multiple stakeholders.

The FLW Protocol’s mission is to develop the FLW Standard and associated tools and promote their adoption and use. It also offers resources for quantification methods, training modules and links to other resources and institutions. Key partners of the FLW Protocol include: the Consumer Goods Forum, FAO, the FUSIONS project of the European Union (EU), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI). [UNEP Press Release] [WRI Press Release] [FLW Protocol Website] [Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard (Version 1.0)] [FAO Website on Food Loss and Food Waste]