Grocery retailer Pick n Pay (PnP) has managed to reduce the volume of food waste in its operations by 28% in the past four years.

The company is working towards reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.

To this end, PnP has donated about 880 t of edible surplus food to public benefit organisation FoodForward South Africa, valued at more than R35-million.

The global food system, mostly through discarded food, produces a significant amount of methane on landfills, which is reportedly much more powerful at warming the planet than carbon dioxide emissions.

This while global food loss and waste generate about 8% of total emissions, which is nearly equivalent to global road transport emissions.

For this reason, and the fact that South Africa has high food insecurity in many areas, PnP is increasing its commitment to reducing food waste in South Africa.

PnP environment, social and governance executive Vaughan Pierce said during an inaugural 1.5 Degrees: A Net Zero conference held between March 28 and 30, in Cape Town, that the company had moved to a circular economy way of operating, having increased the amount of surplus food it diverted from landfill through donations and recoveries, as well as invested in a waste management dashboard to have a consolidated view of its waste activities.

“We always aim to prevent food waste through better demand planning and ordering. But when it does occur, we prioritise donating surplus food that has reached its sell-by date, but not its use-by date, to a range of charities. This redistribution of food has supported thousands of families,” Pierce pointed out.

He added that the impact of food waste on the environment goes beyond just the product disposed, but included the natural resources used to produce it, from energy and water to transport and packaging.

Pierce said aiming for net-zero waste could incentivise companies to adopt more circular business models and waste reduction strategies.

Digital carbon offsetting exchange Global Carbon Exchange CEO Kevin James also spoke at the conference, stating that governments could set targets and regulations for waste reduction and incentivise businesses to adopt more sustainable practices.

He added that businesses could take the lead in implementing circular business models, especially by reducing waste throughout their supply chains, and incentivising their employees and customers to reduce waste.

Another speaker, recycling centre Don’t Waste sustainability manager Chantal Motilall, said some of the biggest obstacles to achieving net-zero waste were a lack of infrastructure and investment in waste management systems.

To this end, emerging technologies and innovations played a critical role in waste reduction by providing new ways to manage waste more sustainably, including through advanced recycling technologies, smart waste management systems and supply chain management.