WRAP’s latest report looks at how the G7 countries can turn commitments into action and drive a shift in the way food and goods are consumed – a critical step in the drive to net zero. Head of Policy and Insights, Keith James, spotlights the seven ways to success.
In our new report, we lay out how the G7 countries, as arguably the leaders of the developed world, can turn their stated commitments to tackle the emissions from the way we consume food and goods into action. By adopting our blueprint, they could reduce these emissions by around 7%, or 0.8 billion tonnes CO2 per year, and help to make net zero a reality.
The emissions generated by the unsustainable way we consume food and goods account for almost half of the total which are being pumped into the atmosphere which protects the Earth. This is creating the extreme climate events which we are all feeling the effects of. The demand for more and more resources is also causing losses of biodiversity at home and globally.
We need to reduce these emissions and consume differently if we are to have any chance keeping temperature rises below a level considered dangerous and achieving net zero. In the early days, governments focussed on energy generation and efficiency, but that is not enough – our food system on its own could push the world over the threshold considered dangerous.
Many industries have been ‘off-shored’, with the most polluting activities shifting to less developed countries. Whilst the Paris Agreement compels countries to report and act on the emissions generated within their own borders, it excludes those embedded in the goods they import. So too often, these consumption emissions are displaced elsewhere.
There has been an awakening to the need to tackle consumption emissions and this is welcome. We believe, starting with G7 countries, which are collectively responsible for a quarter of the world’s GHG emissions, this urgently needs to be converted into action. This needs to be done by monitoring and setting targets to reduce them, giving them equal weight to the drive to tackle their territorial emissions.
G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers, May 2022:
“We highlight the need to move away from fossil fuel based, linear economic systems and towards circular and regenerative systems, which value nature as an asset and in which resources remain in the economy as much as possible.”
The report reveals that the difference between territorial emissions of the G7 and the emissions from their imported goods is a staggering 1.8 billion tonnes CO2e. The good news is that we have calculated that through deploying a combination of seven distinct resource efficiency measures, grouped under three main areas – food, products and materials – these can be significantly reduced.
By achieving this shift in our consumer culture, we can protect our planet, but also build in resilience against future cost of living crises, and help to build a fairer, healthier world. What’s not to like?
Tackling food waste
In our 2020 report with UNEP, we revealed that in 2019 nearly a billion tonnes of food was thrown away globally. This is economic and environmental madness; especially against a backdrop of growing hunger and food scarcity.
We want governments to redouble their efforts to reduce food waste in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 12.3. This can be done through introducing mandatory food waste reporting and active support for businesses and citizens. We want businesses, like those already part of WRAP’s voluntary agreements, to work collaboratively across their entire supply chain to Target, Measure and Act on food waste.
Sustainable healthy diets
In 2021, over 800 million went hungry; and over 3 billion can’t afford a healthy diet. This figure is likely to rise as climate change bites. At the same time, most of the world’s population lives in countries where obesity kills more people than being underweight. All G7 countries, apart from Japan, have a population calorie intake higher than national recommendations. Shifting to more sustainable diets make sense on many levels.
We want governments to support public health campaigns which help people increase the proportion of lower carbon food in their diet and promote healthy foods through public procurement requirements.
We want businesses, such as the hospitality sector, to rethink the carbon footprint of meals, to consider how their product offering remains appealing to people, and to take action on pack/portion sizes.
Switching from goods to services
We need to encourage a culture which persuades people to give the products they buy a second life, or to embrace leasing models so the need to produce goods using natural resources decreases. This has been proven not only to ease pressure on our planet, but also stimulate jobs and boost economies.
We want governments to promote this shift in new business models through policies such as the introduction of product specific Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes or through fiscal or other policy incentives.
We want businesses to continue to rethink how to meet their customers’ needs by offering services rather than goods.
Making better use of existing products
Our linear make-take-throwaway culture means many products are discarded or recycled despite the fact they still have life in them. Product lifetimes can be extended could be significantly extended through making more use of them or passing then on to others. Remanufacturing, repairing and re-use are all ways we could ease demand for materials.
We want governments to encourage this shift in consumer culture by considering policy measures like EPR schemes, minimum stands in supporting longer-life production and support for businesses in engaging in remanufacturing and repair.
We want businesses to drive the shift to a model which reduces the material demand for their products but is also profitable. This could include second hand retail or take-back schemes.
Designing lightweight products
Because in most cases the carbon impact of a particular material is broadly proportionate to weight, lightweighting products is therefore a straightforward way to both reduce resource uses and carbon footprint.
We want governments to promote product lightweighting through resource efficiency requirements, similar to those relating to energy efficiency.
We want businesses to actively engage in agreeing a standard for the ‘whole life’ carbon footprint of product categories and populating a database to allow ease of access to this information.
Recycling more domestically
Recycling materials are one of the most effective ways to reduce emissions and conserve resources and has been a global success story. We all need to recycle more of our own waste on our own shores.
We want governments to see waste materials as a feedstock for industry. This could be enabled by integrating policies relating to waste and industry.
We want businesses to review their supply chains for opportunities to increase recycled content.
Substituting materials
The possible magnitude of the effect of substituting materials for ones which are lower carbon intensity such as wood and other biomaterials is enormous. This is particularly the case in sectors such as construction, vehicles, and packaging.
We want governments to work with industry to develop a standard for the whole-life carbon footprint of buildings and infrastructure to consider how building regulations, planning policies and public sector procurement requirements can support the use of low carbon materials. More specifically, we want governments to encourage the creation for wood products through initiatives like woodland creation and markets for wood products.
We want businesses to include carbon considerations in the design of products and material choices.