Goal: Halve food waste by 2030

Why it’s important

According to the Champions 12.3 network, food waste represents over 30% of the global food supply by weight and costs the world approximately $1.8 trillion per year. About 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to food waste and the amount of land dedicated to growing food waste would be a similar size to China. These high levels of food waste occur in a world where food insecurity is a daily challenge for millions.

As a food company, tackling food waste is one of the most powerful tools we have to tackle deforestation and biodiversity loss, climate change and social inequality. Goodman Fielder’s purpose is making everyday food better for everyone. We are passionate about the products we make and are motivated to see them consumed rather than wasted. That is why we have committed to halving food waste by 2030 not just within our own operations but also in the home, on the farm and everywhere in between.

There are many causes of food waste which means there are lots of opportunities to make an impact. Using the food waste hierarchy drives a focus on the highest value outcomes including avoidance and upcycling. Upcycling involves creating new or improved products from food waste and will include a focus on utilising ‘byproducts’ from the production of food and ingredients.

What we’re doing

Helping our customers find waste-prevention strategies will significantly impact the amount of food that goes to waste, but the emphasis begins firstly with us. We have invested in reducing food waste at our factories, our Burleigh Heads bakery achieved a 90% reduction in product waste after investing in plant upgrades and process improvements. We convert approximately 2,000 tonnes of unsold bread into breadcrumbs each year ensuring that material is still available for human consumption. Excess product from our bakeries is donated through partnerships with hunger relief organisations such as Foodbank, who receive the equivalent of over 1 million meals per year. Our major manufacturing sites also have arrangements with farmers or stockfeed companies to utilise food waste not suitable for donations.

Efforts to tackle food waste in the home include launching half loaf bread and the release of the Pampas re-pie-cling recipe book with over 200,000 copies distributed in 2020. The re-pie-cling campaign provides inspiration on how to use pastry to turn today’s leftovers into tomorrow’s fillings.

How we're going to do it

We will continue to drive our existing food waste initiatives while building a robust picture of our food waste baseline using techniques aligned with the Food Loss and Waste Protocol.

This baseline will also drive further opportunity identification and highlight challenges that require collaboration with external stakeholders. We will participate in industry collaborations including the Stop Food Waste voluntary commitment in Australia. Our brand plans will consider new products and consumer campaigns that help address food waste for customers and consumers. We have also commenced a review of internal business processes to maximise the utilisation of food waste generated from product trials and plant commissioning.