SINGAPORE – Food and beverage companies that want to become more sustainable in their operations have more help now to manage food and packaging waste, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
These are the three key areas highlighted in the Sustainability Playbook for Food & Beverage (F&B) Companies launched on Nov 8 by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG).
Food waste is the most pressing issue in the industry currently.
In 2023, Singapore generated 755,000 tonnes of food waste, making up about 11 per cent of the total waste in Singapore, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA).
It is estimated that close to half of this food waste can be attributed to the F&B industry.
The playbook, part of a series supported by the Enterprise Sustainability Programme, was developed in consultation with the F&B industry and solution providers. It is available online.
It outlines a three-stage road map to guide F&B companies.
The first step is to account for waste – companies can conduct audits to measure their food waste, packaging waste, and emissions.
Such audits establish a baseline for companies to identify critical issues and areas for improvement in operations, track progress over time, and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented solutions
The second step is to prevent generating unnecessary waste. The playbook includes measures that can minimise waste generation at source, such as using technology to forecast demand and aid inventory planning.
Other measures include implementing flexible food portion sizes and redesigning menus to include versatile ingredients that can be used in multiple dishes.
The last step is to reduce unavoidable waste and emissions, as well as recover value from food waste through valorisation.
Food waste valorisation is the conversion of food waste or by-products into higher value products that contribute back to the food supply chain.
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