Rules and legislation

On a global level, no legally binding targets for reducing Food Loss and Waste reduction have been established thus far.

In September 2015, during the United Nations General Assembly, countries worldwide officially adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 12 aims to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, with SDG 12.3 specifically concentrating on reducing Food Loss and Waste. The objective outlined in SDG 12.3 is 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 compared to the reference year 2015. It's important to note that SDG 12.3 does not specify a quantitative target for Food Loss reduction.

To accelerate the EU's progress towards Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3, the European Commission is proposing to establish legally binding Food Waste reduction targets for Member States to achieve by 2030. This proposal is part of the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, adopted by the Commission on July 5, 2023. The results of the first EU-wide monitoring of Food Waste levels conducted in 2020 will serve as a baseline to assess progress towards these targets. More specifically, Member States are required to implement necessary measures to reduce food waste by the end of 2030: a 10% reduction in processing and manufacturing (tons of fresh mass), and a 30% reduction (per capita) jointly at retail and consumption levels (including restaurants, food services, and households). For further information on the Food Waste reduction target proposed directive of the European Parliament and of the Council, introduced on July 5, 2023, please visit these links Food waste reduction targets - European Commission (europa.eu) and resource.html (europa.eu).

However, although there is no globally legally binding target, we aim to inspire you to set your own goal. In this context, our Quantification tool can provide significant support.