Nestlé is taking part in a brand-new initiative called ‘Working on Waste’, which brings together food and grocery companies in a bid to help their employees reduce household food waste in their homes.
Spearheaded by food and grocery research and training charity, IGD, the campaign will use the scale of the industry collectively to talk directly to their employees as consumers, driving awareness and engagement to take learnings beyond the workplace into households.
Working in collaboration with WRAP, the campaign is set to reach 650,000 employees working in the industry across 107 FMCG and associated companies, during the month of October. As well as engaging employees, companies are also supporting the campaign with social media, digital, in-store and PR activity.
Nestlé will be supporting Working on Waste by running a two day event for all its employees at the Fawdon site in Newcastle Upon Tyne. This event will incorporate a number of fun and informative activities including insights into food waste and the challenges it presents.
A competition has also been organised which will run across twelve months encouraging employees to submit their own recipes using leftovers. The winning recipes will be incorporated into a recipe book while live cooking demonstrations will also take place to include tips and suggestions on how to reduce personal food bills.
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive, IGD said:
“A lot of progress has been made already by companies across the industry to help consumers reduce household food waste. However, seven million tonnes of food and drink is still being thrown away by UK homes every year, costing consumers £12.5bn – so there’s more work to be done.
“As an industry, we employ 3.6m people and it is these employees that will form the bedrock of our campaign, taking learnings from their company into their households. In its first year, from the 107 companies that have pledged their support so far, Working on Waste will reach around 650,000 employees in one month through meal planning advice, top tips, what to do with leftovers and much more. And if we can inspire each of these employees to inform their friends and family on how to reduce food waste, the campaign’s impact will be felt far beyond this number.
“I’m thrilled that companies of all sizes are supporting this campaign, demonstrating how serious they are about tackling food waste in homes. Through this scale, collaboration and power of our industry, we have the potential to make a substantial impact collectively in reducing household food waste in the UK.”
Inder Poonaji, Head of Environmental Sustainability Nestlé UK & Ireland, said:
"Food waste has a profound impact and we have to take key learning's and immediate action to reduce waste as individuals and organisations. We believe progress can be made and needs to be made as in the next 15 years, it's expected that we will need 50% more food than we currently produce to meet demand."
Dr Richard Swannell, Director at WRAP, said:
“Putting the issue of tackling food waste right at the heart of the food industry has led to a significant reduction in what we waste, but there is still 4.2mt of edible food being thrown away from UK homes alone. This campaign is a great opportunity to further mobilise action by those who work in the sector, which is good for their pockets and the environment.”