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New Research Finds Companies Saved $14 for Every $1 Invested in Reducing Food Waste
March 7, 2017
New Research Finds Companies Saved $14 for Every $1 Invested in Reducing Food Waste
Washington, 7 March 2017: One-third of all food produced in the world is never eaten, which has tremendous economic, social and environmental consequences. New research on behalf of Champions 12.3 finds that for every US$1 companies invested to reduce food loss and waste, they saved US$14 in operating costs. The report finds that household savings could be much greater.
In a first-of-its kind analysis, The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste evaluated financial cost and benefit data for 1,200 sites across 700 companies in 17 countries, finding that nearly every site realized a positive return on its investment to reduce food waste. The types of investments companies made include: quantifying and monitoring food loss and waste, training staff on practices to reduce waste, changing food storage and handling processes, changing packaging to extend shelf-life, changing date labels, and other staff and technology investments.
"Too much food, or too little – this is something that everyone on the planet can connect with. Today, over one-third of the food we produce is lost or goes to waste – and while 800 million people go hungry every day, the weight loss industry generates revenue of about $60 billion per year in the U.S. alone," said Peter Bakker.
The 14:1 return on investment comes from not buying food that would have been lost or wasted, increasing the share of food that is sold to customers, introducing new product lines made from food that otherwise would have been lost or wasted, reducing waste management costs and other savings.
Read more at WBCSD News & Insights.
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