March 08, 2021
Author: Tyler Chaffo, Manager Global Sustainability, Avery Dennison
Food waste is a complex global issue that alone accounts for 8% of global GHG emissions. In the US, it is the #1 item in landfills and accounts for 24% of all landfill inputs. This is an especially concerning statistic considering that 1 in 6 Americans are food insecure, a number that grew significantly to over 50 million in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The “true cost” of food waste goes beyond the economic to also include the social and environmental. Food waste occurs throughout the value chain, however, one of the biggest contributors is consumer facing businesses which include; Retail, Full Service Restaurants and Limited Service Restaurants, accounting for 28% of all food waste, equivalent to a staggering $201 billion.
The ReFED Insights Engine is a data and solutions hub for food loss and waste, designed to provide food industry stakeholders with the information and insights they need to take meaningful action to address the food waste problem. ReFED’s Roadmap to 2030 builds on the recommendations from ReFED’s landmark 2016 Roadmap to Reduce U.S Food Waste by 20%. Now ReFED is taking that objective even further and with the bold ambition to reduce food waste of more than 50% by 2030. ReFED studied each stage of the supply chain from producers to consumers and identified the following seven key action areas for focusing the food system’s efforts to prevent waste: Optimize the Harvest, Enhance Product Distribution, Refine Product Management, Maximize Product Utilization, Reshape Consumer Environments, Strengthen Food Rescue and Recycle Anything Remaining.
Avery Dennison is proud to be listed as a solution provider as part of the ReFED Insights Engine and Roadmap to 2030, we believe technology has the power to positively impact and make 50% food waste reduction a reality.
Based on pilot studies, RFID tagging can help grocers reduce food waste by as much as 20%. And if we were to expand the scope to include food recalls and inventory management, the benefit could be even greater. Some of the Top 5 Solutions for Retailers, as it relates to Net Financial Benefit, include First Expired First Out and Enhanced Demand Planning. As Peter Drucker once said “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”, Digital ID solutions like RFID have the potential to play a big role here, providing the necessary transparency for improved decision making, this could mean producing less based on demand visibility. A World Economic Forum report found that sensors can reduce food waste up to 7%. In an industry that has historically been viewed as a laggard when it comes to sustainability, with some companies recently facing criticism for not living up to sustainability commitments, increasing transparency has been highlighted as one mechanism to improve the food industries record on sustainability.
List of Avery Dennison Solutions Provided
Find out how RFID bridges the physical and the digital, enabling food retailers to have a more connected, agile supply chain. In this white paper, we discuss the state of the grocery industry and explore how RFID addresses key challenges such as improving supply-chain operations and inventory management, enabling more socially distanced consumer experiences, while providing full transparency end-to-end.
In partnership with Question XYZ, Avery Dennison hosted a live panel to discuss "The Future of Food." Among the panelists were Stephen Swartz, Director of Marketing at Just Salad, the NYC-based fast casual restaurant with global locations; Roly Nesi, President and CEO of ROAR Beverages; and Julie Vargas, Director of Global RFID Market Development at Avery Dennison.
AFrictionless grocery shopping isn’t “the future” anymore. It’s happening right now, as grocers, convenience stores, and upstart brands deploy it in the fight for stomach share. In this report, we uncover true insights about the latest changes in the food industry – in a world where COVID-19 has suddenly made digitally enabled shopping not just a convenience, but a lifesaver.