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World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has teamed up with the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) on the launch of a new tool to help growers tackle on-farm food loss. Developed by WWF and tested by CGF’s Food Waste Coalition and its growers, the Global Farm Loss Tool aims to provide a user-friendly and simplified approach to help growers of all sizes measure and report on their on-farm food loss. Farmers and their buyers can identify and address the cause and associated impacts of food loss, such as scope 3 emissions, using the tool. Research from WWF and Tesco shows that as much as 1.2 billion tonnes – around 15% of all food produced – is lost on farms during, around and after harvest worldwide annually. Growers and buyers currently have limited data on the volume of unharvested products, making it challenging to know how much of what is left behind is marketable, non-marketable or spoiled. The Global Farm Loss Tool provides actionable insights for growers and buyers to map their current loss levels and develop new channels to utilise more of what is grown. It can be used to estimate how much surplus (grown to the point of maturity) was left behind in-field post-harvest, and at further stages across a farm’s operations – such as processing and packhouse. It is compatible with existing reporting programmes, including including World Resources Institute’s (WRI) 10x20x30; WRAP’s Food Waste Atlas; and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Loss Index. The tool can be used with all crops, especially fruits, vegetables and tree nuts. The CGF supported the tool’s beta testing stage through its 18-member Food Waste Coalition, which aims to halve global food loss and waste by 2030. Working with its members, the CGF and WWF will continue to assess the tool’s impact, reviewing how to improve user experience and expand its utility in the field, as well as to more food types, growers and suppliers across the global supply chain. Endorsed by food loss specialists at Champions 12.3, the tool will also be integrated into existing farm sustainability reporting frameworks, such as Sustainable Food Trust’s Global Farm Metric, and develop new capabilities to estimate the scope 3 emissions associated with on-farm food loss in the year ahead. Pete Pearson, senior director of food loss and waste at WWF, said: “We need visibility to identify food loss hotspots and understand the reason behind them. The Global Farm Loss Tool is designed to be part of that solution, helping fill the crucial gap of tracking primary and actionable food loss data at the farm level of global supply chains.”