Unilever, Walmart, Bel Group Pledge #TooGoodToWaste With Consumer Goods Forum
A host of CPG companies and retailers, including Unilever, Bel Group, and Walmart, are aligning with the Consumer Goods Forum in a bid to combat food waste across the value chain.
Under the Consumer Goods Forum’s #TooGoodToWaste food loss and waste education campaign, member companies within the dedicated Food Waste Coalition will share their individual reduction initiatives to encourage industry action and increase consumer education.
The Consumer Goods Forum, a CEO-led member organization for consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, has also developed an online resource hub for resource sharing and educational materials surrounding overbuying, imperfect produce, and reuse ideas, as well as examples of collaborative efforts for sustainability.
CGF cited 2021 data from the United Nations Environment Programme reporting that about 60% of food waste happens in homes; as a result, the hub will also contain information about better understanding date labels — including the difference between “use by” and “best before,” which can be a common cause of consumer confusion that results in unnecessary food waste.
There are nearly two dozen food companies involved in the Food Waste Coalition, and Chris Franke, Walmart senior manager, global sustainability, said an estimated 96% of its U.S. private-brand food supplier-reported sales came from items carrying the "Best if Used By" or "Use By" standardized date label this fiscal year.
“Standardized date labeling can be a useful aid in improving customer decision-making and behavior, especially the ‘Best If Used By’ label for packaged food if the date references optimal quality, not safety,” she noted, adding that Walmart encourages suppliers to follow the CGF Date Labeling Call to Action, established in 2017 to simplify date labels.
Campaign Goals
There are nearly two dozen food companies involved in the CGF Food Waste Coalition, including Tesco, Grupo Exito, Kerry, Majid Al Futtaim, and Migros Ticaret A.Ş. They’ve committed to halving food waste within their own operations by 2030, and the #TooGoodToWaste campaign seeks to build on other efforts, including measurement, reporting, and waste reduction across supply chains.
This new campaign is ultimately about uniting members to gather practical insights to drive faster collective progress, said Sharon Bligh, director of health and sustainability at CGF.
“We hope that through this initiative, our members — regardless of where they are on their journey — will be inspired to do more while also empowering consumers with clear information and advice on how to play their part.”
Unilever’s Tech-Infused Waste Reduction
The launch of the #TooGoodToWaste initiative was timed with the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on September 29, prompting various consumer goods companies to share details about other efforts underway. In addition to joining #TooGoodToWaste, Unilever noted in a blog post that machine learning in its Heppenheim, Germany, factory is optimizing the amount of chocolate coating required for its Magnum ice cream line — a product previously identified as a source of food waste due to the excessive amount of chocolate required — and improving chocolate recirculation.
As a result of the new digital tools, as well as a factory awareness campaign to improve measurement, the company has reduced food waste by 30%. The factory has also established processes to repurpose any waste into animal feed.
In another example, Unilever’s ice cream factory in Corlu, Turkey, added waste data to the daily reporting runs from its finance team, as well as an auditing process for loss-prone equipment. These new steps, when coupled with daily shop floor meetings and weekly governance meetings, have reduced food waste by 30% compared with last year, according to the company.
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