Nomad Foods commits to cut food loss and waste in half

Feltham - September 24, 2020: Nomad Foods, Europe’s leading frozen food business, has today announced that it has joined the groundbreaking “10x20x30” initiative to root out food loss and waste from its supply chain. 10x20x30 includes signatories from more than ten of the world’s biggest food retailers and manufacturers, with each having committed to engage in a “whole supply chain” approach to halving food loss and waste by 2030.

Stéfan Descheemaeker, Chief Executive Officer at Nomad Foods, said: “At Nomad Foods, we know that partnerships and collaboration are essential to driving impact and reducing waste. That’s why we’re pleased to announce that we have signed up to this initiative, as we continue to champion our progress towards the target of halving food loss and waste by 2030. We believe that our influence within the food industry, our wide consumer reach and our unique capacity to promote freezing as a solution to food wastage make us perfectly positioned to raise awareness of the issues and lead the way towards a less wasteful food industry.”

As a leading signatory of the initiative, Nomad Foods has committed to a 50% reduction target in its operations, to measure and publish food loss and waste inventories, and to create actionable strategies to reduce this waste.

Jason Musk, Chief Supply Officer at Nomad Foods, said: “I’m immensely proud of the work we’ve done in our supply chain, our factories and across our markets to minimize food waste. Joining this initiative reinforces our commitment to continuously improving factory operations to streamline production and prevent spoilage, as well as exploring ways to up-cycle resources like vegetable offcuts, rather than use them as animal feed. We believe in working proactively and collaboratively to ensure we make the biggest contribution possible towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and will continue to use them as a catalyst for change in our business.”

The food retailers and providers behind 10x20x30 include AEON, Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour, IKEA Food, Kroger, METRO AG, Migros (Turkey), Pick n Pay, The Savola Group, Sodexo, Tesco, and Walmart. Among them are 6 of the largest food retailers in the world, the world’s 2^nd largest food service provider, and leading food retailers in regions such as southern Africa, the Middle East, and Japan. Combined, participants operate in more than 80 countries.

10x20x30 was publicly launched at the 2019 annual food loss and waste summit hosted by Champions 12.3, a voluntary coalition of executives from business, government and civil society committed to raising ambition and motivating action to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 12.3. SDG Target 12.3 calls for a 50% reduction in food loss and waste worldwide by 2030. The coalition inspired and helped develop 10x20x30, with World Resources Institute as co-secretariat of Champions 12.3 and lead provider of technical assistance to the 10x20x30 retailers and suppliers.

“Reducing the more than 1 billion tons of food that’s lost or wasted each year would bring big social, environmental and economic benefits – but bringing these benefits to scale requires action across the entire supply chain,” said Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute. “I’m encouraged to see so many leading food retailers and suppliers committing to bold action. It’s exactly what the world needs to achieve the target of 50% reduction by 2030.”

Each year, one-third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted, resulting in significant economic, environmental, and food security impacts. This amount of food loss and waste equals $940 billion in economic losses annually. It is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And while more than 1 billion tons of food is lost or wasted annually, 1 in 9 people is undernourished.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency of addressing food loss and waste. Farm-level losses have increased in many countries as distribution has been disrupted and restaurants and other hospitality businesses have reduced operations. Addressing food loss and waste in their operations is a key strategy for ensuring both a sustainable business and food future.

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Nomad Foods Media Contacts

Oliver Thomas
Corporate Affairs Manager
oliver.thomas@nomadfoods.com
07568 108744

Sam Fulton
Group Director of Corporate Affairs
sam.fulton@nomadfoods.com
07936 924691

About Nomad Foods

Nomad Foods (NYSE: NOMD) is a leading frozen foods company building a global portfolio of best-in-class food companies and brands within the frozen category and across the broader food sector. The company's portfolio of iconic brands, which includes Birds Eye, Findus, iglo, Aunt Bessie's and Goodfella's, have been a part of consumers' meals for generations, standing for great tasting food that is convenient, high quality and nutritious. Nomad Foods is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Additional information may be found at www.nomadfoods.com

About Champions 12.3

Champions 12.3 is a coalition of leaders across government, business and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward achieving Target 12.3 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Target 12.3 calls on the world to “halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses” by 2030.

The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and World Resources Institute serve as co-secretariats of Champions 12.3. For more information, visit www.Champions123.org

Notes to Editors

Nomad Foods food waste reduction examples:

1. Nomad Foods Precision Pea Platform uses satellite mapping to better understand soil health and variability across fields. In 2019, the UK team was able to use this data to make more precise decisions about when to harvest. This helped to maximise the high-quality yield and reduce food waste.
2. In 2019, Nomad Foods held a pilot workshop called “Opportunity walk” at its factory in Hull (UK) with waste reduction specialists from UK WRAP and FareShare, a UK based national network of charitable food redistributors. The aim of the session was to identify areas where Nomad Foods can reduce or divert waste for repurposing. Ideas from the workshop are now being reviewed and shared with other factories.
3. Nomad Foods has long lasting relationships with local food banks across Europe, to ensure surplus food is redistributed to those who need it most. In 2019, the company donated the equivalent of almost 490,000 meals across nine markets.