The Consumer Goods Forum has announced its commitment to tackling global food waste, agreeing to halve food waste by 2025.

The CGF's board of directors has approved a new resolution to halve food waste within the operations of its 400 retailer and manufacturers members by 2025 and to support wider UN goals on the issue. This Food Waste Resolution ("the Resolution") is the third of the CGF’s Sustainability Pillar. It complements board-approved resolutions made in 2010 on achieving zero net deforestation by 2020 and beginning the phase-out hydro fluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants by 2015.

The body says a third of food calories produced are never eaten. It represents an economic cost to the global economy of $750bn per year.

It has outlined a number of aims to meet the goal of half food waste by 2025 which include halving per capita global food waste at the consumer level; and reducing food losses along production and supply chains including post-harvest losses and maximise the value of the remaining waste.

Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestlé said: "The Resolution on Food Waste the CGF Board of Directors has adopted demonstrates our willingness to engage and take action in an area where a collective industry effort can make a difference. We will leverage the best practices we have developed for the implementation of the existing resolutions on deforestation and refrigeration to engage the CGF’s wider membership in the global effort on food waste."

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever and board co-sponsor of the CGF’s sustainability work added:"The CGF commitment to reduce food waste strikes at the heart of the global climate and development challenge. It is a tragedy that up to two billion tonnes of food produced around the world is lost or wasted never making it onto a plate. At a time of growing food insecurity and climate change, we can’t afford to let this continue. This resolution marks a step change in industry leadership and is an important contribution to the longer term sustainable development agenda."

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