I’m Nico Janssen, the Program Manager of Agricultural Livelihoods at the IKEA Foundation, and I’m excited to share a new roadmap released at COP28. “Reducing Food Loss and Waste – a Roadmap for Philanthropy” is a guide for how philanthropy can spur significant reductions in food, loss and waste, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve food security, nutrition, and consumers’ incomes.

In a world where over one-third of globally produced food never reaches our tables, the consequences are profound. Food loss and waste causes at least 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, because food decaying in landfills produces methane; energy is used to grow, transport, cool, and cook food; and native ecosystems are converted into agriculture. Recognizing the urgent need for change, this roadmap highlights proven solutions ready to catalyze global progress and spotlights seven pivotal countries—Brazil, China, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States— which together are responsible for 30% of food, loss and waste emissions and which are poised for making significant strides in reducing food loss and waste.

Here at the IKEA Foundation, we invest in reducing food loss and waste from both a climate and a livelihoods perspective. We are in the process of considering what more we can do on this topic and welcome a conversation with other funders interested in exploring together.

Nearly 50 expert organizations contributed to this new roadmap, which was led by the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), ReFED, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Susan Bell & Associates. We, at the IKEA Foundation, are proud to be part of the collaborative funding effort behind this roadmap, alongside the Bezos Earth Fund, the Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation, and the Robertson Foundation.

Join us in navigating this transformative roadmap towards a more sustainable, resilient future and read the full roadmap.

Banner photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash.