Tesco’s Dave Lewis calls for post-Covid crackdown on food waste

Outgoing Tesco boss Dave Lewis has said that more food companies need to set food waste target and publish their progress against them if the sector is going to effectively tackle food waste.

The call comes as Tesco revealed that it had reduced food waste across its combined operations by 200,000 tonnes since it began publishing relevant data in 2013. 

The grocer cut 45,000 tonnes from its direct operations and worked with its 71 of its own-brand suppliers to cut a further 125,000 tonnes of food waste over a three year period. The grocer has also partnered with 11 of the world’s biggest household brands including Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Nestlé and Unilever to cut a further 30,000 tones from their respective operations.

Lewis is part the chair of a coalition of companies including Ikea, Kroger and Walmart which, alongside food experts and campaign groups, have pledged support for the UN target known as 12.3, which aims to half food waste by 2030. 

Lewis, who steps down from the helm of Tesco next week, said: “One third of the world’s food is going to waste, while one in nine people go hungry. If food loss and waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. In order to halve global food waste by 2030, more must be done with more urgency than ever before.

“Significant progress is being made. The UK has cut its food waste by 27% since 2007 and hundreds of companies, including many of our own suppliers, are doing their part too. But there is still more to do. We need even more companies to set food waste reduction targets and publish their data.”

“We are also asking the UK government, and its counterparts around the world,  to embed food loss and waste reduction into post-Covid plans to bolster supply chains, as well as strategies to meet commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”