Food waste: 70% of food retail businesses have adopted anti-waste policies
Analysis by the Food Sustainability Observatory at the Politecnico di Milano: the gap between large and small companies remains wide
Seven out of ten retail companies adopt at least one circular economy practice for surplus stock – donation, reuse or recycling – and almost all major retailers that publish a sustainability report also implement prevention measures, such as promotions on products nearing their use-by date or stock optimisation systems. These are the findings of research by the Food Sustainability Observatory at the Politecnico di Milano, presented today, 17 June, and conducted on a sample of 867 companies with more than nine employees. However, the picture is mixed: there remains a marked gap between large-scale retailers and small businesses.
The European agenda identifies donations for social purposes as a priority form of corporate social responsibility: 44.5% of companies engage in this practice. However, whilst large companies donate on a regular basis in 83% of cases, the figures for small and medium-sized enterprises stand at 42% and 46% respectively. Donation does not preclude other approaches: 54% of donating businesses also adopt other forms of reuse, compared with 40% of non-donating businesses. Among those who do not donate, 43% still adopt at least one other practice: 24% engage in reuse, and around 13% in recycling and recovery.The sector thus recovers around 135,000 tonnes of surplus food per year, representing an estimated social contribution of almost 632 million euros.
Only 43% of businesses monitor their food waste, a figure that rises to 76% amongst large firms but falls to 47% amongst small ones. This is a significant shortcoming because measuring waste is a prerequisite for planning targeted measures – and the targets to be met are now binding: EU Directive 2025/1892 requires a 30% per capita reduction in food waste in the retail sector by 2030, compared with the 2021–2023 average. For the Italian retail sector, which produced an average of over 565,000 tonnes of food waste per year over the three-year period, this target equates to approximately 170,000 tonnes per year to be eliminated. “To achieve these targets, a significant step up in scale will be required, based on collaboration between stakeholders and a drive for innovation,” notes Paola Garrone, scientific director of the Observatory alongside Barbara del Curto.
On the technology front, the Observatory has also identified 198 international start-ups working to tackle waste, founded between 2021 and 2025, with total funding exceeding 336 million dollars.
Furthermore, the PPWR Regulation transforms previously voluntary choices into mandatory requirements: recyclability, recycled content, weight reduction, chemical composition and labelling. The greatest uncertainties relate to the practical implementation: from the definition of performance classes for ‘design for recycling’ to the availability of secondary raw materials suitable for food contact, right through to the management of PFAS and restricted substances.
