How can businesses reduce food waste?

Businesses can implement circular design principles, leverage data analytics, and collaborate across the supply chain to minimize waste.

What is the Food waste transformation blueprint?

It is a practical guide developed by Capgemini and CGF to help organizations reduce food loss and create business value through collaboration and technology.

Why is reducing food waste important for sustainability?

Reducing food waste lowers greenhouse gas emissions, conserves resources, and supports global food security.

Turning food waste into business value

A blueprint for collective food waste transformation from The Consumer Goods Forum and Capgemini

Each year, the world discards an estimated 1.3 billion tons of edible food—an amount equal to roughly one-third of all food produced for human consumption.A problem this big makes one thing clear: incremental change from individual players is not enough.

Inspiring and orchestrating collective action to reduce food loss and drive retail sustainability is the primary mission of The Consumer Goods Forum’s Food Waste Coalition, a working group that brings together leading retailers and manufacturers, as well as industry and domain experts from Capgemini, to identify strategies and solutions to prevent waste at the source and transform what remains into new value.

In this paper, we present our Food Waste Transformation Blueprint, a practical and actionable guide thathighlights key areas where food waste can be truly solved through circular design principles, data and technology, and deep collaboration among all food system stakeholders, including consumers.

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What’s inside: Building a blueprint for collaboration

An in-depth look at four major food waste and loss “hot spots” across the value chain, as well as the systemic, structural barriers that impede progress.
A first look at our Food Waste Transformation Blueprint, which gives brands and retailers practical, tangible ways to evolve their priorities, processes, and technologies to build organizational maturity and inspire broader collaboration.
An actionable gap assessment tool that helps companies benchmark their food waste maturity across ten critical dimensions, including forecasting, inventory management, packaging, donations, and supplier collaboration.
Real-world examples from leading brands and retailers that are effectively addressing food waste through innovative solutions and scalable initiatives.

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“Food loss is not an inevitable cost of doing business — it’s a solvable, system-wide challenge. Through the CGF Food Waste Coalition, we are proving that eliminating waste is not only possible, but a powerful catalyst for innovation and value creation.”
Chris Franke, Senior Manager of Global Sustainability, Walmart, Co-chair CGF Food Waste Coalition of Action

“Retailers and brands need to rethink food waste not as a liability, but as a catalyst for business-driven innovation. Through the work of the CGF Food Waste Coalition we hope to inspire action among members and lay the foundation for wide-scale change across the industry.”
Laura Gherasim, Director, Sustainable Futures, Capgemini Invent

“Helping consumers reduce household food waste starts with making it simple, practical, and rewarding. Brands have a real opportunity to turn expertise into everyday tips that make a difference. For example, Bel Group uses its iconic brands to inspire consumers to see leftovers as a creative resource, sharing simple recipes and tips to turn surplus food into delicious meals.”
Annabelle Souchon, Group CSR Manager, Bel, Co-chair CGF Food Waste Coalition of Action

“Each year, the world loses 1.3 billion tons of food—nearly one-third of everything we produce. A challenge of this scale makes one thing clear: incremental, isolated action is no longer enough. Through the Food Waste Coalition, we’re uniting leaders across the value chain to prevent waste at the source and turn what remains into new value.”
Kees Jacobs, Consumer Products & Retail Global Insights & Data Lead, Capgemini

Bridging the gap

Bridging the gap between sustainability and consumer preference

Food waste reduction solutions

One-third of all food is wasted, harming the environment, biodiversity, and consumers.

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Meet our experts

Kees is Capgemini’s overall Global Consumer Products and Retail sector thought leader. He has more than 25 years’ experience in this industry, with a track record in a range of strategic digital and data-related B2C and B2B initiatives at leading retailers and manufacturers. Kees is also responsible for Capgemini’s strategic relationship with The Consumer Goods Forum and a co-author of many thought leadership reports, including Reducing Consumer Food Waste in the Digital Era.

Laura is currently a Director of Sustainable Futures for Capgemini Invent, the innovation arm of the consulting firm Capgemini, leading a team operating at the intersect of technology & innovation, technology with sustainability strategy. She works across major FTSE 100 corporate clients in the consumer product, retail, energy, and financial services sectors.

Shreya is a sustainability consultant specializing in net zero strategy and sustainability reporting. She supports global brands in unlocking business value through decarbonization, water stewardship, and climate action, and is particularly passionate about food waste and climate adaptation. Previously, she has also contributed to sustainability research at the Capgemini Research Institute.