Background

Each year 13.2 percent of food produced for human consumption is lost, while an additional 19 percent is wasted in retail, food service, and households. Food loss and waste (FLW) contributes 8-10% global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, costs the global economy over USD 1 trillion annually, and occurs while 733 million people face hunger, and 2.8 billion cannot afford a healthy diet.

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3, to halve per capita food waste and reduce food losses by 2030, is essential for improving the efficiency, sustainability, and resilience of agrifood systems. Reducing FLW will mitigate GHG emissions, enhance food security and nutrition, improve livelihoods, and foster economic growth, thereby accelerating progress towards the 2030 Agenda.

Globally, 91 of the 129 countries who prepared national pathways (i.e. 71%) identified FLW as a key priority in their national pathways , acknowledging its role in achieving food systems transformation objectives across all sustainability dimensions.

To support these efforts, the Food is Never Waste Coalition was launched at UNFSS to address FLW challenges by building capacity, fostering peer learning, and advancing FLW advocacy. This event advances the Coalition’s goal in bringing together governments, national convenors, food systems experts, and other stakeholders to drive collective action towards achieving SDG 12.3. The event fits into a broader series of knowledge-exchange meetings that the Coalition launched in April 2025.

Objectives

• Engage national government officials, UNFSS national convenors and other stakeholders on how FLW reduction serves as catalyst for food systems transformation with multiple improved social, economic and environmental outcomes.
• Provide a platform to discuss how countries are advancing FLW as part of National Pathways and integration into national strategies and plans (agriculture, food security and nutrition, development, NDCs, NBSAPs, NAPs, etc.).
• Share effective strategies and actions for accelerating progress towards SDG 12.3 and leveraging financial mechanisms for food loss and waste reduction.