The Israeli Convention For Food Waste Reduction

עברית

We, the signatories on this declaration, are committed to act to reduce food waste in Israel

We declare our commitment to acting for the good in prevention and reduction of food waste within the realm of our influence. We call upon all bodies involved in the food chain, from the field to the plate, to take action. We see food waste reduction as a significant way to fostering the State of Israel’s resilience, and contributing to the welfare of its people from the individual to the national level. This will contribute to strengthening weakened populations, decreasing the cost of living, preserving natural resources, protecting the climate and raising awareness of the value of food and its importance. We take responsibility for our activities and call on other organizations to join the process.

Moreover, we call the decision makers in the government to adopt strategic policies in the field of food and take steps to reduce food waste.

About the Convention

The Israeli Convention for Food Waste Reduction is a voluntary agreement, the first ever in Israel, signed by various organizations across the value chain of the food sector. The convention is one of the outcomes of the Sustainability Transition Lab for Food Waste Reduction in Israel. The Lab process was an unprecedented cooperation between the leading organizations in the food sector in Israel, representing stakeholders of all sectors: public; business; and the civil society. The Lab was established by The Natural Step Israel with the aim of implementing strategic sustainability in the realm of food, beginning with addressing the challenge of food waste in Israel in a strategic manner. The signatories are leading bodies in the government, private and civil sectors that decided to take voluntary initiative to reduce food waste along the value chain of food in Israel. The convention represents the commitment of these organizations to continuously promote food waste reduction within their capacity.

The Israeli Convention for Food Waste Reduction

This convention holds for all stakeholders in the food sector and value chain in Israel: manufacturers; suppliers; retailers; importers; distribution and selling points; hospitality businesses and caterers; local municipalities; the IDF; academic institutions; social and environmental civil organizations; as well as other organizations and businesses operating in the realm of food in Israel. Together, in combined actions, we will create a change in Israel. Through collaboration of knowledge and experience we shell promote the needed awareness to the challenge of food waste and its solutions in different circles within the Israeli public. We, the undersigned on this convention, will act to prevent and reduce food waste through: Measurement and monitoring

Measuring and monitoring the use of food in the organization and the amounts of waste
Identifying opportunities to reduce the amounts of wasted food

Assimilation of solutions for food waste, including setting goals and distributing them

Taking action by the organization to reduce food waste in the realm of its activities
Cultivating appreciation for food in the organization while raising awareness of employees and providing knowledge about ways to decrease food waste at home and at work
Encouraging initiatives of employees and other stakeholders to reduce food waste within the organization’s spheres of operation and influence

Assimilation in relations with other organizations in the value chain

Setting standards for suppliers which encourage reduction of food waste throughout the value chain
Preference for suppliers who act to reduce food waste

Transparency, participation and distribution

Behaving transparently regarding activities of the organization in the realm of food waste
Informing stakeholders as to their ability to reduce food waste in aspects relevant to the organization’s activities
Sharing insights and successful methodologies in order to assist others in assimilating a similar change and, to the extent possible, including quantitative data.
Initiating activities to raise awareness within different circles in Israeli society.

Alongside our activities we call upon decision makers in the Israeli Government to adopt a broad policy to reduce food waste as a part of national resilience, reducing the cost of living and protecting natural resources, and within its framework:

Establishing a national target for food waste reduction
Requiring state institutions and public institutions to measure and report the loss and waste of food through a unified methodology.
Following-up and publication of data on the progress towards achieving the target
Encouraging efficiency and assimilating innovation in the field within the public institutions, the local municipalities, government and private companies through grants, competitions, incentives and other measures
Removing obstructions to the organization which are interested in becoming more efficient and in reducing food waste
Adopting the EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy as a scale of preference for food waste strategy in Israel.

Food Waste - a local and global pleg

A third of all the food produced globally is wasted annually, while one in every seven people suffers from hunger. In Israel, every year around 2.4 million tons, valued at 19.5 billion NIS, is thrown out, while around one-fifth of the population suffers from food insecurity. Food waste creates social and economical implications in the individual as well at the societal level, such as perpetuating social and economic gaps and food insecurity; it also has economic implications that include waste of money and burden the cost-of-living. The environmental implications of food waste include loss of resources that were invested in the production of food that was wasted, contamination of air, soil and water, packaging waste and greenhouse gases emissions which drive global climate changes. In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations, set a target of halving food waste per capita and food loss along the chain of production and supply by 2030. In many countries this goal is adopted as a national target, while recognizing the potential benefits, such as the opportunity to improve the quality of life, to lighten the cost of living and to limit environmental implications.