Event report

Past Event | Reducing Food Waste: Innovations, Impact, and Action for Singapore

The French Chamber of Commerce and WOMAG were delighted to co-organise a thought-provoking panel discussion on food waste.  

With an estimated 1 billion tons of food thrown away every year worldwide, including 800,000 tons in Singapore, food waste is a global issue with far-reaching implications not only for the environment but global economies as well. Reducing wastage is essential to creating a sustainable future, ensuring food security, and protecting the planet's resources. 

Expertly moderated by Servane Thomas,AMEA Transformation Director at Mondelēz International, our esteemed speakers Nichol NG, Co-Founder at The Food Bank Singapore, Louis-Alban Batard-Dupre,CEO at Yindii and Gin Keat Ong, Director, Sustainability & Business Development at Envcares, were able to share their observations and proposals for consuming better and throwing away less.  

Some key takeaways included: 

  • Consumer behavior and education: with an estimated 60% of food waste occurring in households, education from an early age is key. Cultural factors leading to over-purchasing and over-ordering in households and dining establishments need to be addressed
  • Implement recycling and upcycling: encourage households and communities to sort garbage trash and encourage composting of food scraps. Evaluate a stick and carrot approach to recognize/ sanction behaviors. Starting small at a district level could be a good approach whilst looking for fundings and champions to scale the initiatives nationwide  
  • Redistribute surplus food: Government should go beyond the recently voted “Good Samaritan Law” and put in place incentives and tax reductions to encourage companies to donate
  • Active engagement from industries and more transparency on “best before” food labels. Households to use their common sense to look, smell and taste and reduce premature food discard
  • Opportunities along the food chain: potential quotas on imported food to reduce food surplus and leverage technology to predict demand more accurately and encourage the use of apps like Yindii that connect individuals and businesses to sell remaining food at a discounted price

Thank you to all our partners and speakers for this eye-opening conversation. Small changes at a personal level can make a big difference so let’s continue to walk the talk and each contribute individually as we much as we can!

For more information about the Agri-Food Innovation Committee, please contact Vanessa Hobbs vhobbs@fccsingapore.com

 

 

More news

Close

Get your copy of FOCUS Magazine Issue 81: Implementing New Energies