The Food Waste Charter: Reducing food waste across the supply chain
Food Waste is a significant contributor to climate change, responsible for 10% of global green house gas emissions. The EU is proposing to set legally binding food waste reduction targets to be achieved by 2030, including a 10% reduction in food waste across the food processing and manufacturing sector.
Reducing food waste is a key and immediate action in Teagasc’s Climate Action. We are encouraging food businesses to sign the Food Waste Charter, a voluntary agreement led by the EPA to promote a collective food and drink sector commitment to reduce food waste along the entire food supply chain. This means committing to:
- Measuring food waste
- Set targets to reduce this waste
- Reporting on their activities
As a supporting organisation for the Charter, alongside Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Failte Ireland, we’re implementing measuring, reducing and reporting food waste activities across our own sites.
Learn more and sign up to the Food Waste Charter.
There are a number of measurement tools available to help businesses measure and identify areas for food waste reduction
Teagasc supports research, development and innovation in the Irish food sector. Increasingly the activities carried out in the Teagasc Food Research Centres in Ashtown, Dublin and Moorepark, Cork address circular solutions for processing food waste streams and by-products. This includes reduction at source, valorisation and exploitation for high value applications such as food ingredients and packaging.
This work is contributing to the circular bioeconomy whilst supporting the EU food use hierarchy.
The National Prepared Consumer Food Centre at Teagasc, Ashtown provides a range of supports to assist companies in exploring opportunities for processing food waste streams and by-products. This includes reduction at source, valorisation and exploitation for high value applications such as food ingredients and packaging.