These pledges form part of Cranswick’s new Second Nature sustainability programme. As part of the zero-waste commitment, Cranswick will work alongside WRAP’s Courtauld 2025 Commitment, which sets signatories a voluntary goal to collectively report and reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions by 20% across the sector.

The firm has also become an official friend of Champions 12:3 – a partnership of key government, nosiness and society leaders aiming to progress the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to have food waste and reduce food losses by 2030.

“We want to be agents of change, addressing key environmental and social issues from farm to fork,” Cranswick group commercial director Jim Brisby said.

“Second Nature is not just a project; it is a movement whereby we fully intend to change the world we operate in. We aim to lead sustainability across agriculture and food production on a global scale by integrating sustainability as second nature to what we do, how we work, and why we do it.”

The pledges follow last month’s commitment from Cranswick to halve plastic packaging use by 2025. At the time, the company called for industry stakeholders to collaborate with them to address the plastics issue as a matter of urgency.

Commenting on the news that Cranswick has joined Friends of Champions 12.3, World Resources Institute (WRI) senior fellow and director food loss and waste Liz Goodwin said: “It’s great to see the commitment they are making to reducing food loss and waste in their operations and that they have already taken steps in the right direction.

“We need more organisations to step up like Cranswick in order to achieve the SDGs.”

Championing food

Cranswick’s announcement comes hot off the heels of a pledge to halve food waste by 2030 from discount retailer Aldi, which has also signed up to the Champions 12.3 initiative.

Cranswick and Aldi have joined the likes of Tesco, Nestlé and Ikea in signing up to Champions 12.3, which is being chaired by Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis. Lewis previously told edie increased collaborative efforts to tackle food waste need to be matched by greater transparency from businesses.  

A report from the Champions scheme found that for each dollar invested into food waste reduction methods, the average company site would generate $14 in return, creating a “triple win” for the economy, food security and the environment.

George Ogleby

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