Nearly three-quarters of major U.S. food companies acknowledge food waste as an issue in their public reporting. Yet fewer than one in three have set a quantitative target to reduce it, according to a food commitment landscape outline released by ReFED.
Findings suggest a gap between acknowledgement and commitment to reducing food waste.
For example, 73% of companies reference food waste in public reporting, but only 27% disclose a quantitative reduction target. The majority of food businesses sit in the middle: 36% acknowledge food waste and have diversion or donation initiatives but have not set a measurable goal.
What’s more, 55 of 75 companies (73%) reference food waste as a distinct issue in their public reporting. Measurable targets are far less common, where 28 companies (37%) disclose a measurable target of any kind, and only 20 (27%) disclose a quantitative reduction target. Just 36% of companies acknowledge food waste and describe initiatives but have not disclosed a metric or timeframe.
Key takeaways:
- Food manufacturing/CPG leads on reduction targets: 40% of companies in the sample disclose a target, and their disclosures more frequently include a baseline year, metric, and target date.
- Quick-service restaurants (QSR) show the highest percentage (55%) of companies that do not reference food waste at all in reviewed public materials.
- Grocery retail shows broad acknowledgment (85%) but splits evenly between diversion-based and reduction-based targets.
- Foodservice contractors acknowledge food waste at high rates (86%) while disclosing measurable targets at lower ones (33%).
