Costa Coffee pledges to halve food waste by 2030
Costa has signed the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) ‘Step up to the Plate’ pledge, committing to halve their food waste by 2030.
Costa has signed the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) ‘Step up to the Plate’ pledge, committing to halve their food waste by 2030.
Costa attended the ‘Step up to the Plate’ symposium in London last month, witnessing the launch of DEFRA’s commitment requiring businesses to adopt policies targeting Sustainable Development Goal 12.3; reduce global food loss.
Costa has pledged to halve its own contribution to waste, as well as direct wider change to reduce the UK’s annual food waste of 10.2 million tonnes.
The framework, developed in partnership with WRAP and IGD, creates a platform for which organisations can reduce waste with a ‘farm-to-fork’ approach. Globally, one third of all food produced is lost or wasted from the farm to the fork per year, causing $940 billion in economic losses, also contributing to food insecurity and malnutrition.
Costa Coffee’s Head of Sustainability, Victoria Moorhouse has expressed the business’ commitment to reducing food wastage as well as their practical solutions: "At Costa Coffee we are committed to playing our part in reducing waste wherever possible.
“We have a number of initiatives to ensure there is minimal food waste, which includes, first and foremost, an efficient ordering system designed to reduce waste before it is created. We also allow food sold during the last hour of trading that is in date but cannot be sold the following day to be discounted by 50% and empower our stores to make food donations to local charities via our Food Surplus Policy. Finally, for those stores whose waste streams we manage, any food waste that cannot be redistributed we send to Anaerobic Digestion, where it is turned into biogas and bio fertiliser.
“We are delighted to be working alongside government to drive change and share best practice, stepping up to the plate and delivering collective action.”
Environment Secretary, Michael Gove congratulated Costa for its progressive targets to reduce waste, adding: “The UK is showing real leadership in this area, and together we will end the environmental and economic scandal that is food waste.”
The Government’s first Food Surplus and Waste Champion Ben Elliot has said every business has the responsibility to take action to reduce food waste: “We will be highlighting those who participate and those who do not; the food waste crisis can only be solved by collective action".
Since DEFRA’s ‘Step up to the Plate’ pledge was introduced last month, the commitment has received over 100 business signatories such as Nestlé, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Read the full press release here.
