The report highlights that two thirds of the world’s 50 largest food companies, and governments representing 50% of the world’s population have set goals in line with SDG target 12.3.
The ‘10x20x30’ initiative will convene ten of the world’s biggest food retailers and providers to each engage with 20 of their priority suppliers to halve their rates of food loss and waste by 2030.
The Sustainable Rice Platform set a target, and called upon its members and the wider industry to commit to halving post-harvest rice loss and waste by 2030.
The World Bank reported that it raised USD 1 billion for sustainable development bonds addressing food loss and waste.
24 September 2019: The Champions 12.3, a coalition dedicated to inspiring ambition, action, and accelerating progress towards achieving SDG target 12.3 to halve food waste and reduce food loss worldwide by 2030, held its annual summit and released its annual progress report on the sidelines of the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit.
Prepared by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the 2019 progress report represents the fourth in an annual series of publications assessing progress towards SDG target 12.3. The report finds that governments representing 50% of the world’s population have set an explicit national target in line with SDG target 12.3. However, governments representing just 12% of the population are measuring food loss and waste, and countries representing just 15% of the world’s population are pursuing reduction actions at scale.
Further the report highlights that of the world’s 50 largest food companies, more than two-thirds have set goals in line with SDG target 12.3, more than 40% are measuring their food loss and waste, and one-third are pursuing actions at scale to reduce waste in their own operations.
The report urges governments to set ambitious targets and “act boldly” to reduce food loss and waste, especially because such commitments could also spur progress towards the Paris Agreement on climate change as well as other agreed development goals and priorities.
The Champions 12.3 summit also featured announcements towards achieving SDG target 12.3. Some of the highlights came from a newly launched ‘10x20x30’ initiative, the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) and the World Bank.
The 10x20x30 initiative will convene ten of the world’s biggest food retailers and providers to each engage with 20 of their priority suppliers to halve their rates of food loss and waste by 2030. Founding partners are AEON, Ahold Delhaize, IKEA Food, Kroger, METRO AG, Pick n Pay, The Savola Group, Sodexo, Tesco, and Walmart. Five of the ten are the largest food retailers in the world.
The SRP – a global multi-stakeholder alliance including some of the world’s leading rice producers and buyers, including Olam, Mars Food, Loc Troi, Ebro Foods, SunRice, LT Foods, and Phoenix Global – set a target, and called upon its members and the wider industry to commit to halving post-harvest rice loss and waste by 2030. Its commitments include developing a taskforce and roadmap of best practices to achieve the 50% reduction.
The World Bank reported that it raised USD 1 billion for sustainable development bonds addressing food loss and waste, since March 2019. A separate press release discusses the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) launch of Sustainable Development Bonds totaling USD 500 million. The Norinchukin Bank, a national-level financial institution for agricultural, fishery and forestry cooperatives in Japan, was the sole investor. The IBRD uses such funds to support middle-income countries to address food loss and waste, with investments in infrastructure, access to markets and logistics and waste management. [Publication: SDG Target 12.3 on Food Loss and Waste: 2019 Progress Report Executive Summary] [Champions 12.3 Summit Press Release] [10x20x30 Press Release] [Champions 12.3]