Delivering farm-to-fork collaborative action
The Courtauld Commitment 2030 is a voluntary agreement that enables collaborative action across the entire UK food chain to deliver farm-to-fork reductions in food waste, greenhouse gas emissions and water stress that will help the UK food and drink sector achieve global environmental goals.
These are supporting quotes from some of the organisations involved in the agreement.
Marcus Gover, WRAP CEO:
"I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved under the Courtauld Commitment 2025 during the last 5 years. But with COP26 fast approaching, the new Courtauld Commitment 2030 has been refreshed to build on this success and meet newer demands of climate action head on. Courtauld has always addressed the most significant sustainability challenges that the sector faces – carbon reduction, improved water stewardship and food waste. Climate change is the biggest threat we all face, and fixing food is vital. I believe Courtauld has never been more important as only fundamental change can reset our fragile global food system into a sustainable model that will feed us in the future, and cut greenhouse gas emissions towards net zero."
Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow:
"Our food and drink industry has a hugely important role to play in addressing the urgent challenges of climate change and sustainability. The UK is a world leader in combating food waste, which fell by 480,000 tonnes between 2015 and 2018. But we must go further; not only by stopping more food being chucked away needlessly, but also by slashing the resources consumed by the sector, to help us achieve net zero. The Courtauld agreement has been a great success in bringing organisations together to create a more sustainable industry, and these new, far-reaching goals for 2030 will take this to the next level as we head into COP26."
Food Surplus and Waste Champion for Defra, Ben Elliot:
"From farm to fork, our food and drink sector is hugely reliant on natural resources, which means it also has a significant environmental footprint. Not only do we need to drastically reduce our food waste both before and after it has been plated up, but we also need to reduce the reliance on those resources from the outset to better protect the planet. The Courtauld agreement is central to achieving this vision. I strongly encourage food and drink businesses to get behind these ambitious targets for 2030 to reaffirm the sector’s commitment to creating a greener and more sustainable food system."
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, Michael Matheson:
“This year as we look ahead to COP26 it’s more important than ever that we work together to tackle food waste and its role in the climate crisis. Collaboration is essential for reducing food waste and it’s great that the Courtauld Commitment and WRAP are bringing people together to maximise their impact. By connecting governments, manufacturers and retailers to share knowledge, experience and successes, the Courtauld Commitment 2030 will play in a big role in helping Scotland deliver our ambitious food waste target."
Tesco CEO, Ken Murphy:
“It is unacceptable that good food goes to waste when there are so many people going hungry. In addition, food waste is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is a major contributor to loss of biodiversity. We’re helping to address this important issue in lots of ways. For many years, we have been working as a part of The Courtauld Commitment to meet UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 and halve global food waste by 2030. We also know that what gets measured gets managed, so we urge all retailers and suppliers to disclose their levels of waste so we can tackle this issue together in an open and transparent way.”
Nestlé UK&I Head of Value Chain Sustainability, Andrew Griffiths:
"Food waste is a critical issue, both in terms of its environmental and social impact. Nestle UK & Ireland has been a member of WRAP’s Courtauld commitment on food waste since its inception and has also committed to both the UK Food Waste Roadmap and SDG 12.3, targeting a 50% reduction in our operational food waste by 2030 and supporting both our suppliers and consumers to take action on food waste. We have worked closely with our partners, including Company Shop, Fareshare and FoodCloud to develop and apply a food waste audit process across our sites. This process has helped us to identify and address causes of food waste within our processes and increase opportunities to redistribute surplus food. Since 2016, we have reduced our operational food waste by 41% and in 2020 alone, redistributed the equivalent of more than 2.6 million meals.”
Nadiya Catel-Arutyunova, Sustainability Policy Adviser, British Retail Consortium:
“The Courtauld Commitment has proved highly effective at reducing food waste and supporting our economy’s transition to net zero. Retailers have undertaken major efforts to cut the waste in stores and engage their customers to reduce waste in their homes. Preventing waste is a critical priority and BRC members are working closely with redistribution organisations and charities across the UK to ensure that any useable surplus food goes to the people who need it most.”
Chief Commercial Officer, Cranswick, Jim Brisby:
“There is no doubting the scale of change required in the food industry and we are fully supportive of the new Courtauld 2030 targets announced today. We have been involved with WRAP and the Courtauld Agreement since 2018 and are proud to continue to support key initiatives such as the “Meat in a Net Zero World” project, supporting industry wide initiatives to support the reduction of GHGs. This has allowed us to help shape the roadmap required for the industry with other businesses and provides a consistent framework for us to commit to.”
Director of Supply Chain, Pizza Hut Restaurants, Steve Packer:
"This is such a major undertaking (addressing Scope 3 supply chain GHG emissions) that we can really only make a difference if we work together. We are hugely supportive of WRAP’s focus on tackling supply chain emissions, the expertise they bring, and the unique convening power of Courtauld. It is vital to maintain strong links between the range of actors and initiatives needed to address this complex challenge."
Senior Director Sustainable Supply Chains, ASDA Stores, Chris Brown:
"I am very supportive of WRAP’s leadership in this area (Scope 3 supply chain GHG emissions). Without your assistance I feel the UK sector would have fragmented into sectoral interests and we would be unable to progress."
Julie Finch, Agriculture Governance & Compliance Manager, Kepak, Julie Finch:
"We work with over 5,000 livestock farmers across the UK, and whilst most of the water they use falls naturally as rainfall we are keen to work with them to ensure none of their farming production practices impact on water quality. We became members of the Tamar Water Stewardship Board back in 2018 and are already seeing the benefits of what we can do by working together. There is a huge opportunity to work collaboratively to try to reduce water stress and by joining together you create much greater momentum, particularly if it’s done regionally or nationally."
Matt Dight, Head of Sustainability at Pilgrim’s UK
“As one of the UK’s biggest food and farming businesses and Britain’s leading higher welfare pig farmer, we know we have a responsibility to work with the wider industry to lead the way when it comes to environmental standards. The efforts of WRAP and the Courtauld Commitment has brought the industry together to helps us collectively go further and faster towards reducing our impact on the environment, and as signatories we welcome the ambitious new targets for greenhouse gas emissions, food waste and water management. These are in line with Pilgrim’s UK’s own commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2030, eradicating food waste and protecting water sources. It will help us and our fellow signatories to set an example for other businesses here in the UK, and across the world, to follow.”