Delivering change

Food waste tracking


One of the first steps a business can take to reduce food waste is understanding the amount of food that is wasted in their operations.

‘Your Business is Food; don’t throw it away’ is Courtauld 2025’s campaign of action helping businesses in the hospitality and food service and manufacturing sectors to track and reduce food waste.

Read more

This was a good exercise with perfect timing. My advice to other pubs is definitely do it.

Andy Wightman | Licensee | The Harrington Arms

The WRAP tool captured our imagination because we were looking for something which would help us cut through the vast amounts of complexity around raw materials sourcing.

Sarah Wakefield | Sustainability Manager | Co-op

Managing risk


Businesses can improve the long-term sustainability of their supply chains by better managing the risks to raw materials.

Courtauld 2025’s ‘Raw Materials Risks & Opportunities Screening Tool’ makes it easier to identify and reduce these resource pressures. Insight from signatories helps us to continuously improve the information provided.

Read more

Mobilising action


Through projects, task forces and working groups, we have brought together organisations to tackle common challenges across the sector and along supply chains.

With 155 sector leaders collaborating across work areas, Courtauld 2025 is delivering activity in the sectors where we can have the greatest impact, including meat, dairy and fresh produce.

Read more

For us, Courtauld 2025 is all about collaborating and learning from our peers, because some of the biggest issues need a group approach.

John Curran | Head of Sustainability | Musgrave Group

As Courtauld 2025 signatories, we are committed to developing evidence based insights to support the reduction of food waste across the agri-food system.

Simon Davis | Head of Partnerships | Agrimetrics

Tackling on-farm food waste


With a renewed focus on improving productivity in primary production, Courtauld 2025’s pioneering research is helping us to build a better picture of the extent and causes of on-farm food waste than has ever been seen in the UK before.

Collaborations with key sector partners and sharing data throughout the sector is helping identify the areas where we can have the biggest impact.

Read more

Fresh produce


‘Farm to fork’ projects and the sharing of best practice is delivering change from the field right through the supply chain.

Technical innovations such as the use of smartphone technology and potato crop manager tools are optimising yields for farmers. In-store reviews of ‘wonky veg’ initiatives will help ensure that more good produce does not go to waste.

Read more

There are some great opportunities to collaborate on things like resource use in manufacturing, and understand where on-farm the issues are with food waste.

Sarah Wakefield | Sustainability Manager | Co-op

We’re always looking at ways to cut down on our packaging, use more sustainable materials and reduce our food waste, so we’re pleased to be working towards all three of these targets with this new launch.

Jo Heywood | Buyer | Waitrose

Money from waste


New business innovations are creating new revenue streams from waste and surplus food, including the creation of textile fibres from waste milk and bio-fertilisers from used coffee grounds.

Courtauld 2025 is sharing these practices across the food and drink sector to enable more businesses to get value from food that might otherwise have been thrown away.

Read more

Engaging employees


Motivating employees to help reduce waste is a proven way of reducing costs and boosting productivity.

‘Your Workplace Without Waste’ is Courtauld 2025’s employee engagement programme that’s helping food and drink organisations inspire everyone across their business to throw away less food and packaging.

Read more

We are planning to roll out ‘Your Workplace Without Waste’ more extensively across the company as part of a big focus on waste prevention.

Mererid Jones | Sustainability Executive | Puffin Produce

Courtauld 2025 business signatories have agreed an ambition to work collaboratively with WRAP to double the amount of surplus food they redistribute by 2020.

Courtauld 2025 Redistribution working group

Food redistribution


With the application of new technology and the development of new supply networks, the redistribution of surplus food for human consumption could be doubled in the next 5 years to 30,000 tonnes.

Courtauld 2025 signatories agreed a level of ambition on the amount of food surplus being redistributed by the retail, manufacturing, and hospitality and food service sectors.

Read more