Coop Sweden has announced that food waste across its operations will account for less than 1% of its sales by 2025.
The new goal highlights the retailer's willingness to take greater responsibility to contribute towards reducing food waste.
In 2018, food waste in Sweden amounted to over 1.3 million tonnes, including avoidable and unavoidable waste such as bones, shells and skins. Food waste from shops and households stood at 520,000 tonnes, meanwhile, which corresponds to 55 kilograms per person, the retailer said.
'A Tough Goal'
Charlotta Szczepanowski, head of quality and sustainability at Coop, said, “We have long worked actively in our stores across the country to reduce food waste with a number of activities and initiatives.
“Now we are tying the whole strategy together and setting a tough goal for our entire business, while strengthening our work to help members and consumers reduce their food waste.”
Consumers ranked food waste as the most important issue for the industry to work with in the future, Coop Sweden said.
The retailer was one of the first in the sector to join the national agreement for reduced food waste.
The initiative was launched on 12 March 2020 with Coop Sweden's sustainability manager, Mattis Bergkvist, named as a member of its steering group.
'New Opportunities'
Szczepanowski added, “The agreement opens up new opportunities to counteract food waste throughout the food chain through cooperation with other organisations and authorities.
“That Coop has also joined the steering group is an important part of our overall work to turn the entire industry in a more sustainable direction.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
