Don’t look now, but they’re at it again in the UK. On Thursday, WRAP announced an extension of an existing voluntary agreement to reduce packaging and food waste.
As of Thursday’s launch, 29 food retailers and producers had signed on to the second installment of the Courtauld Commitment. The first was signed in 2005 and involved more than 40 signees.
Courtauld II sets new targets (to be met between April and December 2012):
- Reducing the carbon impact of grocery packaging by 10%, or 1.1 million tonnes, of CO2 equivalent from 2009 levels
- Reducing household food waste by 4%, or 330,000 tonnes, of 2009 levels
- Reducing product and packaging waste throughout the supply chain by 5% of 2009 levels to save 0.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent
And for those who prefer to watch their news…
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I’m curious to hear what the response will be like in the UK. From what little I’ve seen, it has been positive.
Another question is whether voluntary participation will work. It did with the first agreement, as companies representing 92 percent of UK supermarkets signed the agreement. I’ll be following the progress on this, but let me know if you hear anything further on it.
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In a related story, The Telegraph tells us that UK supermarkets will sell smaller portions of some items:
To help consumers cut food waste, supermarkets will sell smaller portions such as half loaves of bread and suggest recipes for left overs.
Hear, hear!
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