The Food Loss and Waste Protocol, a multi-stakeholder partnership, convened by the initiative of the World Resources Institute at the Global Green Growth Forum announced the launch of the new accounting and reporting standard for food waste prevention – the FLW Standard.
The partnership unites The Consumer Goods Forum, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), EU-funded FUSIONS project, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) and World Resources Institute.
Putting numbers on food waste and monitoring the progress is a foundation for achieving the 50% food waste reduction goal, stated as one of the targets in the SDG 12 “Responsible consumption and production”.
The FLW Standard is a global standard with guidelines and requirements for quantifying and reporting on food waste. The guidelines are developed for application on different scales and are meant for different actors, like countries, cities, and businesses. The Standard also includes explanation of how to quantify food waste and provides training for practitioners. Those interested will be able to make inventories of their waste and identify steps for its reduction.
Cutting food waste has a potential to increase economic efficiency, cut emissions and contribute to the reduction of global hunger. There are already many examples of innovative businesses who capitalize on food waste. The FLW partners have high hopes that the Standard will accelerate this agenda, reducing environmental pressure and making a difference for everyone.