UK food and drink firms aim to halve emissions

A TARGET has been set to halve greenhouse gas emissions from the food and drink sector by 2030, environmental charity Wrap has announced.

The organisation’s voluntary agreement, the Courtauld Commitment, which works with retailers, manufacturers and producers to cut food waste, water stress and emissions, has set new targets for the end of the decade.

They include a 50 per cent absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with food and drink consumed in the UK in 2030, compared with 2015 levels, replacing the previous 20 per cent cuts per person by 2025.

A focus on developing ways to monitor and tackle emissions throughout the supply chain for food and drink in the UK and abroad has also been highlighted.

The new commitments also include extending the food waste prevention target to 2030 and aligning it with a global target to halve food waste, so the sector will work towards 50 per cent cuts per person – after the farm gate – compared with a 2007 baseline.

Wrap said the new food waste prevention target, up from a 2025 goal for a 20 per cent cut in food wasted per person compared with 2015, if met, would save food worth £2.4bn a year by 2030 – the equivalent of 1.9 billion meals.

Wrap chief executive Marcus Gover said: “Only fundamental change can reset our fragile global food system... that will feed us in the future.”

Major supermarkets, industry bodies, producers, restaurant chains, food companies and redistribution organisations are signatories to the Courtauld Commitment, which is also backed by national and local government.

Scientists have said the world needs to cut emissions to “net zero” by mid-century to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.