Woolworths pledges zero food waste to landfill by 2020

Woolworths will eliminate food waste that is sent to landfill by 2020 which is part of a broader sustainability strategy the retailer began in 2007.
To meet the target Woolworths has strengthened its partnership with Australia’s leading local food rescue organisation, OzHarvest.
The new partnership sees OzHarvest become the principal partner for Woolworths to collect and distribute edible food to people who are in need across Australia.
Woolworths will engage their network of farmers, producers, manufacturers, employees and customers to help minimise food waste as well as supporting OzHarvest’s educational campaigns on food waste reduction, such as Think.Eat.Save, an initiative partnered with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Woolworths is one of the largest recyclers of materials in Australia, diverting more than 252,000 tonnes of material from landfill.
Woolworths Food Company managing director, Brad Banducci, said customers want food waste reduced right through the supply chain.
"In 2007 we set ourselves targets and goals that we as a company wanted to achieve by 2015," he said.
This includes reducing carbon emissions from stores by 40 per cent by 2015 which means our emissions will be the same this year as they were in 2006/07.
Woolworths relies upon one of the largest logistic networks in Australia to transport food and groceries to customers around the country.
"As a retailer of Australian fresh food, 96 per cent of which is grown here in Australia, we need to make sure our farmers and producers are using water as sustainably as possible and that our stores and facilities also use water efficiently via improved fittings, equipment and infrastructure. We are also achieving our target of reducing annual water use by 200 million litres," Banducci said.
OzHarvest’s CEO and founder, Ronni Kahn, said the Zero Food Waste by 2020 pledge from Woolworths, builds on an existing decade-long partnership.
“This commitment from Woolworths is a huge advance in our collective fight against food waste," she said.
"We all need to take  responsibility for the 4 million tonnes of food Australians send to landfill each year."
The federal government is currently developing a National Food Waste 2025 Strategy with OzHarvest pushing for yearly waste to be cut in half by 2025.