Signatories – including all major grocery retailers and many household brands and manufacturers – could reduce waste by 1.1 million tonnes by 2015, bringing £1.6bn cost benefits to consumers and industry. (All of the forecast impacts (tonnage, environmental and financial) are based on retaining the same coverage in waste terms as for Courtauld 2.)
The ambitious new targets, listed below, need to be achieved against a backdrop of sales growth and an increase in the amount of food produced in the UK.
Courtauld Commitment Phase 3 targets are:
The agreement is funded by Westminster, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments and delivered by Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap). It runs for three years from 2013 to 2015, with targets measured against a 2012 baseline.
The new targets could deliver £1.6bn of savings to consumers, the food and drink sector, retailers and local authorities. Their delivery will also help improve the competitiveness and resilience of the supply chain, and significantly reduce the impact on the environment.
To achieve the targets, signatories will need to help consumers reduce waste in the home. This will include delivering targeted food waste reduction initiatives, for example with the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, clearer product labelling and improved packaging design, while also tackling their own waste in the supply chain.
Significant achievements were made on optimising grocery packaging under Courtauld 1 and the first two years of Courtauld 2. Adding up achievements under both agreements to date indicates that around a million tonnes less packaging have been used.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024