Kerry has partnered with the Australian Food Pact, joining Australia’s biggest food businesses to tackle $36bn food waste challenge.

Kerry, the world’s leading taste and nutrition company, is proud to announce that it has joined the Australian Food Pact, a commitment to Australia’s goal to cut food waste by half by 2030. As part of the agreement, Kerry will set targets to cut food waste in its operations in line with the international best practice set out in the Target Measure Act process. The company will also work with supply partners to reduce food loss and waste in its supply chains.

Kerry will also quantify food waste in its operations using the World Resource Institute’s Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard and encourage major supply partners to do the same. This will include an assessment of the volumes of food saved, lost or wasted in food donated, composting, energy from waste and landfill, among others, with the intent of turning surplus and wasted food into food recovery to benefit businesses and the community. Launched in October 2021, the Australian Food Pact led by Stop Food Waste Australia (SFWA) is a voluntary agreement that brings together signatory companies to help tackle Australia’s annual $36.6 billion food waste challenge. Woolworths, Coles, Mondelez International and Simplot are among the founding signatories.

Speaking about the announcement, John Cahalane, president and chief executive officer, Kerry Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, said, “The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation reports that 35% of the food grown for human consumption in Australia is wasted, which equates to 7.6 million tonnes per annum. The food industry plays a crucial role in tackling this issue.

“Supplying sustainable nutrition solutions is part of how we can solve this challenge. As a leader in taste and nutrition solutions, Kerry’s goal is to work with our customers to reach over two billion people every day by 2030, helping consumers eat better, improve our local communities, reduce food waste and with it, environmental impact.

“We are committed to delivering the activities and initiatives included in our Food Waste Action Plan and look forward to working with Stop Food Waste Australia over the next three years.”

As part of its commitment, Kerry will also lead or support initiatives and goals including working with food rescue and relief organisations to make sure no food safe for human consumption goes to waste, and increase the amount of safe, surplus food suitable for use as animal feed donated to farmers with a goal of increasing farmer donations by 50% by proportion of surplus food, all by 28 Feb 2025. Food waste will also be considered in Kerry’s new product development process as it refreshes existing product lines or introduces new products to the market.

“Stop Food Waste Australia welcomes Kerry Australia to the Australian Food Pact and thanks them for committing their time and resources to the bold and important goal of halving Australia’s food waste by 2030,” says Mark Barthel, SFWA chief operating officer.

“We look forward to working closely with Kerry Australia on collaborative and innovative approaches to reducing food waste and food insecurity, delivering its sustainability objectives and unlocking new environmental, economic and societal value for the organisation, the communities in which it operates and for Australian consumers.”