WRAP EU launches to tackle food waste in hospitality
WRAP and the IFWC have joined to create WRAP EU to tackle hospitality food waste and address sustainable consumption across Europe.
WRAP EU, a new organisation based in the European Union (EU), has been launched by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and the International Food Waste Coalition (IFWC).
This partnership will initially focus on tackling food waste in the hospitality and food service sector, and then expand to sustainable fashion and plastic pollution.
It aims to amplify the impact of the IFWC, whose network is working to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in food waste by 2030. IFWC members represent around 60 per cent of the EU contract catering market and 15 per cent of the hotels market.
Commenting on the partnership, CEO of WRAP, Harriet Lamb, said: “WRAP has a strong track record collaborating with partners to tackle food waste across the EU, as does IFWC – so this is a perfect teaming-up to increase our collective impact. I am delighted to once again have WRAP firmly on the EU map.”
Didier Sandoz, President of the IFWC, added: “We are thrilled to join forces with WRAP and forge ahead with our work tackling food waste and loss. WRAP EU will allow this to flourish and grow.”
Currently, the restaurants and food service sector generates food waste worth more than €35 billion, making up 11 per cent of the total amount of food waste in the EU, according to Eurostat.
The IFWC will also join the global Network of Food Pacts, which gathered on 24 January in Mexico to address the issue of broken food systems and the cost of plastic pollution and waste.
Stéphane Leroux, Executive Director of the IFWC, explained the goals for WRAP EU: “We have a huge opportunity here to help businesses save money, help the member states hit the proposed mandatory targets on food waste reduction, and mitigate against the enormous environmental cost of food waste.”
WRAP EU launches in Paris
The official launch of WRAP EU took place in Paris on 28 January, at a meeting of IFWC programme members, including Accor Group, BWH Hotels France, Club Med, Compass Group, Elior, Kitro, Louvre Hotels Group, Leanpath, Orbisk, Sodexo and Winnow.
The event was hosted by WRAP CEO Harriet Lamb and Director of Impact Growth Dr Richard Swannell, with the IFWC President Didier Sandoz and Executive Director Stéphane Leroux also in attendance.
Discussing how the hospitality industry can benefit from this partnership, Brune Poirson, Chair Sustainability Officer at Accor, said: “We need to radicalise how we deal with food waste to have any hope of halving global levels by 2030.
“Given the scale of this challenge for us all, we firmly believe that collaboration is key to maximizing our impact, and we are delighted to work with WRAP EU to continue to do better."
Mouna Fassi Daoudi, Chief Sustainability Officer at Sodexo, added: “Reducing food waste and loss remains a cornerstone of our commitment to the food transition. This partnership is a game changer for advancing food waste reduction, benefiting both the environment and the economy.”
The EU will be WRAP’s third base outside the UK, alongside WRAP Asia-Pacific in Australia and WRAP in the Americas, based in Washington D.C.