Will a new commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030 bring together the food and drink industry? WRAP hope so.
Georgina Wilson-Powell
Tue 20 Jul 2021
WRAP has announced that it now has a voluntary agreement from the food and drink industry to half its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, in order to get the UK to Net Zero.
This agreement is part of the larger Courtauld Commitment which has already helped drive the British food and drink sector to halve food waste.
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the food and drink sector plays a key role in moving the UK to Net Zero (What Does Net Zero Really Mean?).
Environmental charity WRAP, who are delivering the Courtauld Commitment, has brought together more than 80 businesses, trade bodies, NGOs, government departments and other organisations to set the inspiring new greenhouse gas emission targets.
Marcus Gover, WRAP CEO, said “I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved under the Courtauld Commitment 2025 during the last five years.
But with COP26 fast approaching, the new Courtauld Commitment 2030 has been refreshed to build on this success and meet newer demands of climate action head on.
Courtauld has always addressed the most significant sustainability challenges that the sector faces – carbon reduction, improved water stewardship and food waste.
Climate change is the biggest threat we all face, and fixing food is vital. I believe Courtauld has never been more important as only fundamental change can reset our fragile global food system into a sustainable model that will feed us in the future, and cut greenhouse gas emissions towards Net Zero.”
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions is as important as cutting food waste
What is the Courtauld Commitment?
The Courtauld Commitment 2025 launched in 2015 and was then a ten-year programme, to complete in 2025.
Today, the agreement has strong membership with more than 90% of UK food retail as well as food manufacturers, the hospitality and food service sector, farmers and growers, redistributors and charities, trade bodies, local authorities and groups and businesses from across the lifecycle of food.
The core Courtauld Commitment targets have been recast to reflect the extension and expansion of the agreement, as follows:
- A 50% absolute reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with food and drink consumed in the UK by 2030, against a 2015 baseline.
- A 50% per capita reduction in food waste by 2030 vs the UK 2007 baseline.
- To achieve sustainable water management (quality and quantity) in the top 20 most important product and ingredient sourcing areas in the UK and overseas – covering 50% of product ingredients deemed ‘at risk’ from water insecurity.
"Only fundamental change can reset our fragile global food system into a sustainable model that will feed us in the future, and cut greenhouse gas emissions towards Net Zero"
Government Food Waste Champion, Ben Elliot, said: “From farm to fork, our food and drink sector is hugely reliant on natural resources, which means it also has a significant environmental footprint.
“Not only do we need to drastically reduce our food waste both before and after it has been plated up, but we also need to reduce the reliance on those resources from the outset to better protect the planet.
“The Courtauld agreement is central to achieving this vision. I strongly encourage food and drink businesses to get behind these ambitious targets for 2030 to reaffirm the sector’s commitment to creating a greener and more sustainable food system.”
