The reduction of food waste will help in meeting various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG’s are a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.”1 The SDGs, which were set in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly, are to be reached by the year 2030, as part of the UN Resolution 70/1, the 2030 Agenda. 2 3

By reducing waste, one will in turn be reducing business costs, creating social and environmental benefits and increase consumers’ savings. The reduction of food waste works to directly affect the SDG Goal 12, most specifically SDG 12.3.

Goal 12 aims to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”.

With food waste being a large contributor to the global waste problem, SDG 12.3: “halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reduce food losses along production and supply chains by 2030”. 4

By a cascading effect, reducing food waste will also affect 8 other different goals, listed here below.

  • 1. No Poverty
  • 2. Zero Hunger
  • 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • 10. Reducing Inequality
  • 11.  Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • 13. Climate Action
  • 14. Life Below Water
  • 15. Life On Land

References

  1. dpicampaigns. “About the Sustainable Development Goals”. United Nations Sustainable Development. Retrieved 9 November 2019
  2. “United Nations Official Document”. www.un.org.
  3. “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. United Nations – Sustainable Development knowledge platform. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  4. Gheoldus, M. (2019). The UN Sustainable Development Goals set food waste reduction target. [online] Eu-fusions.org. Available at: https://www.eu-fusions.org/index.php/14-news/242-the-un-sustainable-development-goals-set-food-waste-reduction-target [Accessed 18 Dec. 2019].