Tesco bags web

A leading environmental charity has welcomed the decision by supermarket giants to release transparent company level data on how much food each of them wastes each year, as a “strategic breakthrough” in the fight against food waste.

Feedback, which has campaigned for supermarkets to release their data since 2009, said that until now there had been “wild variation” in the reporting of waste figures.

It said Tesco’s “comprehensive approach” was commonly recognised as the gold standard in the industry, while several retailers did not make any data publicly available.

The Grocer reported last week that talks held by the IGD have resulted in agreement on the landmark change, after companies agreed on a new common methodology which will be used to measure the waste figures published.

The move also represents a major victory for the Grocer’s Waste Not Want Not Campaign, which has urged supermarkets and suppliers to move towards greater transparency in reporting waste.

Companies have yet to decide whether these figures will be reported by the IGD or whether it is something that will be left to individual companies.

Carina Millstone, executive director of Feedback, said: “Feedback’s campaigns have for years argued that real action on food waste starts with transparency.

“We’re delighted that retailers have decided to come clean on what they waste, and how. This is a major step forwards, an important validation of our long-term position on food waste transparency, and an indication of the growing global ambition to slow the avalanche of food wasted every year.

“The fact that one third of food is wasted around the world is a climate calamity as well as a moral disgrace: it is high time the food industry took responsibility for their part in this. Reporting on food going to waste across their operations is an important first step, allowing retailers to develop comprehensive and credible plans to identify waste hotspots and prevent it occurring in the first place.”

The next step will be for supermarkets to extend transparency across their supply chains, added Millstone. “Food continues to go to waste on farms because of retailer policies and this too must be addressed to achieve a less wasteful food chain.”