Beyond food loss and waste reduction targets: Translating reduction ambitions into policy outcomes

Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is critical to finding global solutions to the triple challenge of feeding a growing world population, ensuring the livelihoods of households along the agro-food supply chain, and delivering on climate and environmental sustainability commitments. Tracking the progress made in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3 of halving global per capita food waste, however, has been hampered by inconsistent definitions and metrics across countries and differing national policy approaches to FLW reduction. Reduction targets are often unclear, national policy commitments fragmented, and coordination is limited across government entities. This report provides a comprehensive review of the FLW policy environment, drawing on data collected by the OECD from representatives of 42 national ministries and from the European Commission to support cross-country dialogue and accelerate the implementation of more effective evidence-based and context-specific FLW policies.