Iceland steps up to the plate to fight food waste

Iceland has joined forces with other major players from the worlds of food retail and hospitality, along with social media influencers and chefs, to pledge ground-breaking action to drive down food waste, a driver of climate change.  Ten million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK every year, the majority in people’s homes, and the emissions this creates are the equivalent of every third car on the road.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Thérèse Coffey were among the first to sign up to the pledge which includes a goal to halve food waste by 2030.

The Iceland team joined Food Surplus and Waste Champion Ben Elliot at a major symposium at London’s prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum this week to discuss the challenge.

Speaking at the event, Michael Gove thanked Ben for bringing together the biggest players from the world of food to ‘Step up to the Plate’ and slash food waste. He added: “Every year, millions of tonnes of good, nutritious food is thrown away. This is an environmental, economic and moral scandal, and I am determined to tackle it. I urge businesses to join me in signing the pledge to deliver real change to stop good food going to waste.”

Iceland MD Richard Walker said: “Iceland’s focus on frozen food helps us reduce waste, but we are still working hard to minimise the amount of unsold food within our business and to make sure any surplus is put to good use. We already have a zero landfill policy and are using unsold bread to make animal feed and brew craft beer. This year will see us working more closely with customers to avoid waste and save money as well as the planet.”

Find out more about how Iceland is reducing food waste here.