Home 5 News 5 South Africa’s Top Food Retailers Embark on an Initiative to Reduce Food Waste

4 December 2019

Read the full news release here

Leading food retailers in South Africa have indicated a keen interest in committing to implementing initiatives to reduce food waste in their stores in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal to halve global food waste by 2030.

The retailers recently met in Cape Town at a workshop on how to measure their food waste in accordance with the globally recognised World Resource Institute’s Food Loss and Waste Reporting Protocol. The retailer specific workshop was coordinated by green economy sector development agency, GreenCape, and was facilitated by Nicola Jenkin (Pinpoint Sustainability) and Julian Parfitt (Anthesis), both of which are experts in the field who have consulted major international retailers and brands.

The workshop was a collaboration between GreenCape, the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), the City of Cape Town and the retailers. Delegates included sustainability representatives from Food Lovers Market, Pick n Pay, Shoprite Checkers, SPAR and Woolworths.

The workshop was held when the CGCSA was in the process of developing a homegrown South African Food Waste Voluntary Agreement. This is a partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, co-funded by the European Union through the SA-EU Dialogue Facility.