Nearly two-thirds of businesses increase prioritisation on food waste efforts

However, only 34% of them believe that they are doing a good job in managing food waste in their segment.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of businesses have said that their prioritisation of food waste has increased over the past five years, with just 8.5% saying it decreased, according to the Food Waste Gap Report of Too Good To Go.

Three in four (74%) have also recognised that customer interest in food waste management has increased over the past five years.

However, despite the general awareness of food waste as an important issue, the report noted that this isn’t translating into action for businesses.

Only 34% of businesses believe that they are doing a good job in managing food waste in their segment, with 43% for the grocery sector, 27% for fast casual dining, and 32% for restaurants.

The report also noted that 82% of consumers agree that businesses should be doing more when it comes to reducing food waste.

Moreover, businesses also believe that transporting goods (52.5%) is the top contributor to greenhouse gas emissions globally, followed by electricity and heating (46%), and food waste (41.5%).

“Our findings underscore the urgent need for industry leaders to collaborate and share insights to bridge the gap between awareness and effective action in combating food waste and its environmental impact,” said Sophie Trueman, country director UK&I, Too Good To Go.

Over two-thirds of consumers (68%) believe their interest in and awareness of food waste has increased in the past five years, and 79% also said that they are likely to purchase groceries from a business that has measures in place to reduce food waste.

Food waste accounts for 10% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.