Landscaping Study for Food Waste in the HoReCa and Retail Segments in the Cities of Mumbai and Pune
India faces significant challenges in achieving equitable access within its food systems but efforts are being taken to resolve existing disparities. The Netherlands Embassy in India, with support of WRI India as a technical partner, commissioned the Center for Responsible Business to conduct a landscaping study to map food waste in the Hotel, Restaurants and Cafes’ and Retail sectors in Mumbai and Pune. The study aims to deliver a problem statement for reducing food waste specifically in identified sectors and analyzing perspective of stakeholders involved in the value-chain.
Approximately one-third of all food produced worldwide is lost or wasted annually, equating to roughly 1.3 billion tons of food worth about $1 trillion. This wastage exacerbates climate change through greenhouse gas emissions and squanders precious natural resources like water, land, and energy. Considering the severity of this problem, the third target under this goal (Target 12.3) calls for halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030. However, the world is seriously off track in its efforts to meet this target.
Reducing food waste presents a range of opportunities for businesses and society. Economically, businesses can significantly reduce costs associated with purchasing, producing, and disposing of excess food. Environmentally, reducing food waste conserves natural resources, decreases greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigates environmental degradation. Socially, redirecting surplus food to food banks or redistributing it to communities in need can alleviate hunger and foster social cohesion and equity. Global crises of recent times have brought the topic of the sustainable food and nourishment security at the forefront, and preventing food waste turns out as a responsible action for maintaining balance in the food systems.
India faces significant challenges in achieving equitable access within its food systems but the efforts are taken to resolve existing disparities. The country contributes to about 8% of the global food waste and ranks 105th in the Global Hunger Index. The overwhelming volumes of food waste call for serious and concerted efforts to mitigate the problem.
The Netherlands Embassy in India with support of WRI India as a technical partner commissioned Center for Responsible Business to conduct a landscaping study to map food waste in Hotel, Restaurants and Cafes’ and Retail sector in Mumbai and Pune – two major metropolitan cities in the Western part of India. The study aimed at delivering a problem statement for reducing food waste specifically in identified sectors and analyzing perspective of stakeholders involved in the value-chain. This study is our small contribution to the ongoing efforts reduce food waste in India.
The report of this study were launched at the Food System Summit in New Delhi. The report offers practical recommendations to overcome the challenge of food waste; documents existing knowledge, best practices and policy measures aimed are reducing food waste. The report underscores the need of cross-sectorial collaborations between businesses, governments, civil society; and outlines practical, actionable strategies for reducing food waste, strengthening food security, and generating economic growth across sectors.
Click here to download the complete report on Agroberichten Buitenland.