Timed to coincide with the start of Food Waste Action Week, Lidl GB is unveiling a series of initiatives aimed at accelerating its food waste reduction capabilities in the wake of its ambitious new target.
As part of its updated plans, the supermarket chain will extend its current partnership with Neighbourly to trial the charity’s ‘Surplus Saviours’ initiative this summer in the Midlands. This project enables registered individuals - including charity volunteers and customers - to collect unsold surplus food.
By leveraging extended collection times and access to fresh and chilled items approaching their use by date later in the evening, the scheme expected to redistribute more than 5,000 tonnes of food across the region.
The discounter also works closely with global environmental action NGO WRAP, to identify practical, data driven ways to cut waste.
“At Lidl, we set ambitious targets that challenge how we operate and inspire innovation when it comes to food waste,” said Matt Juden-Bloomfield, head of sustainability at Lidl GB.
“We’ve made good strides, but we know we can do more. With that in mind, we have increased our targets to ensure we remain accountable and also introduced some exciting new trials to take things to the next level. We remain committed to accelerating our progress in this space and collaborating closely with our industry peers to drive lasting impact for both the environment and the communities we are at the heart of.”
Improved efficiencies in Lidl’s baking section have also helped drive down food waste, by better aligning the amount of products with demand throughout the day; bakery-related food waste was reduced by 30% last year.
To further help prevent food waste, the Lidl Plus app currently offers customers 20% off all in-store bakery items after 7pm.
The retailer also claims to have further strengthened its circular economy credentials with a new animal feed trial taking place in the Peterborough region. The trial will see Lidl divert inedible fresh bakery lines to create animal feed.
“For the past 10 years, Lidl GB has been an active and engaged signatory of WRAP’s UK Food & Drink Pact. It has been fantastic seeing them offer loose fruits and vegetables and adopting best practice labelling,” Estelle Herszenhorn, director of food system transformation at WRAP added.
“Both practices help shoppers reduce their household food waste. In-store, Lidl GB’s initiative on matching bakery products with demand aligns with WRAP’s priority of preventing food waste before it occurs. We are delighted to see increased paths for redistribution where food is surplus – a move WRAP also encourages.”
