Industry Leadership to Reduce Food Waste

Jerry Lynch VP, Chief Sustainability Officer General Mills NCSL Webinar September 20, 2013

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Agenda

• General Mills – Nourishing the Planet

• Defining the Problem of Food Waste

– Scope; Organics to Landfill

– Addressing Food Security

• Industry Leadership: Food Waste Reduction Alliance Update

• General Mills Commitments to Reducing Food Waste

– Continued leadership in source reduction

– USDA Challenge

– Looking forward

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General Mills Brands

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Nourishing Our Planet

Began using recycled materials

for paperboard cartons

(1930s)

Purchased

in 2000

Early crop

rotation

adopters Early pesticide

management

adopters

1945

General Mills

Foundation

1954

100% vitamin-fortified

cereal in 1961

Green Giant

Integrated Pest

Management

1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

First vacuum-pack

corn in 1929

First

Global

Sustainability

Officer

in 2007

Commits to

100%

Sustainable

palm oil by

2015

5

2015 Goals

Energy, water usage and greenhouse gas emissions

Transportation fuel *

Solid waste generation

Packaging improvements

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Alleviating Hunger

Foundation Grants: Nearly $11 million to hunger relief organizations in GMI communities around the world PDAT: Cross-functional team working in partnership with Feeding America to maximize product donations and reduce destruction Food Drive: F12 Record Breaking Drive +126,000 pounds/dollars donated by GMI employees and retirees

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Food Waste is BIG Issue

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

tho

us

an

ds

of

ton

s

GHG generated from landfills (est)

food waste

Packaging waste

Paper and paperboard

15% Glass

5%

Metals 0%

Ferrous 7%

Aluminum 2%

Other non-

ferrous 0%

Plastics 18%

Rubber and

Leather 4%

Textiles 11%

Wood 8%

Other 4.4%

Other wastes

0%

Food Scraps 21%

Yard Trimmings

9%

Misc Inorganic Wastes

2%

2011 MSW discard data from EPA Organic materials continue

to be the largest component

of municipal solid waste in

the U.S.

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Occurs when an edible item goes unconsumed as a result of human action or inaction and is often the result of a decision made by business, government, or consumers.

Food Weight (US Tons)

N/A

550,000

13,187,555

3,300,000

4,043,489

39,686,955 Total Disposal

60,767,998 Total Generation

Food Waste Diversion

Assessment: Defining Food Waste Generation Vs. Disposal

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Food Waste Disposal

The portion of food waste that is

sent to landfill or incineration

Source Reduction Reduce the volume of food waste generated

Feed Hungry People Donate extra food to food banks, soup kitchens and shelters

Feed Animals Divert food scraps to animal feed

Industrial Uses Provide waste oils for rendering and fuel

conversion; and food scraps for digestion to recover energy

Composting Create a nutrient-rich

soil amendment

Landfill/ Incineration

Last resort for disposal

Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy

This data is an estimate of estimates. Numerous data gaps exist and a

number of assumptions and extrapolations have been made in order to

derive these numbers. The calculation is based on a combination of

secondary data from multiple sources.

Note: the scope is only from processor to consumer

21,081,044 Total Diversion

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Food Waste is a Global Issue

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Industry Leadership: Food Waste Reduction Alliance

Goals Outcomes

1. Reduce Food Waste to Landfill 1. Best Practices Identification & Training

2. Increase Food Donation to Hungry 2. Emerging Solutions Pilots

3. Efficient Policy Support

www.foodwastealliance.org

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FWRA Strategy

Best

Identify and Share

Best Practices

And Emerging

Solutions

Work With All

Stakeholders on

Solutions

Assess

State of Industry,

Opportunities

Barriers

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Internal & external barriers limit food waste diversion

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Are there barriers, either internal

or external, that prevent your

company from donating more

unsalable food?

Yes: 77% No: 23%

Are there barriers, either internal

or external, that prevent your

comp reusing and recycling

more food waste?

Yes: 88% No: 12%

Manuf.1 Ret/Whol.1

Transportation

constraints

63% 42%

Liability concerns 50% 67%

Insufficient storage/

refrigeration at food

bank

50% 50%

Regulatory

constraints

50% 17%

Insufficient storage/

refrigeration onsite

38% 33%

Manuf. 1 Ret/Whol.1

Insufficient

recycling options

91% 83%

Transportation

constraints

73% 75%

Liability concerns 55% 50%

Food safety

concerns for

collection and

storage

36% 50%

1 among respondents who indicated that barriers are present

Transportation constraints, liability concerns & insufficient recycling

options are the most common barriers to greater donation & recycling.

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Top 3 Best Practices

• Conduct waste characterization assessment -

what resources are being wasted and what are

the root causes (policy, process, practices).

• Establish standard procedures (SOP's) related to

donations and diversion - clear process and

procedures for food safety, quality and quantity.

• Develop/Strengthen relationships with donation

agencies & diversion partners - move beyond

transactions to collaborations (solutions for non-

traditional material streams).

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2014 FWRA Goals

• Complete and share best practices toolkit with the industries

• Share second industry assessment on food waste for

retail/suppliers

• Complete and share first industry assessment on restaurants

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A cross-functional team of employees working in partnership with Feeding America to maximize product donations

Manufacturing

Community Action

Fire Sale

Logistics

QRO

Warehousing

Tax & Finance

Objectives: Alleviate Hunger. Reduce Product Destruction, Waste & Associated Costs. Maximize Tax Deductions/Credits. Raise Awareness of Policies & Feeding America Partnership.

General Mills: Committed to Action Product Donations Action Team

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General Mills: Committed to Action

• 42% reduction in solid waste generation since 2005

– 2/3 of our solid waste is food

– Recycle more than 90% of food waste

– All food waste either donated, recycled or composted

• Next steps:

– Enhanced food donation: streamline and mitigate destruction

– Enhanced zero loss process: standardized for waste reduction

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Opportunity Review

• Continue to educate on scope of food waste and

opportunities to change

• Industry leadership offers opportunities for engagement

• USDA/EPA food waste challenge a model for local efforts?

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