Corporate Initiatives on Food Loss
In recent years, interest in food loss has been increasing globally. This article explains the definition of food loss, developments in different regions, with Japan presented as a representative case, and key considerations for companies engaging in initiatives related to food loss.
Table of Contents
Business Initiatives Related to Food Loss
In the early 2020s, corporate initiatives aimed at utilizing food loss became increasingly active. For example, Asahi Group Holdings (hereinafter ‘Asahi GHD’) released a craft beer called Kuramae WHITE in late October 2021, which incorporated bread crusts at approximately 12% of the total ingredient composition, contributing to the product’s flavor profile (*1). Within this design, Asahi GHD positioned the product as an ‘upcycled beer’ initiative and explored the potential to apply similar approaches to local craft beer production across different regions.
Another example from the same period is Ethical Spirits, a distilled spirits startup that produces gin using sake lees and other materials discarded at sake breweries. The company’s products received international recognition, including awards at global competitions, and sales volumes increased significantly compared with the previous year (*2). These examples illustrate early-stage efforts by companies to utilize food loss not only as a waste-reduction measure, but also as a source of differentiation and value creation.
Definition of Food Loss
Although the term ‘food loss’ is widely used, several related terms, including ‘food waste,’ are also commonly used. This section outlines the definition of food loss.
According to SOFA (The State of Food and Agriculture, 2019) published by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), food loss and food waste are defined separately (*3). Food loss is defined as follows:
Food loss is the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by food suppliers in the chain, excluding retailers, food service providers and consumers.
Empirically, it refers to any food that is discarded, incinerated or otherwise disposed of along the food supply chain from harvest/slaughter/catch up to, but excluding, the retail level, and does not re-enter in any other productive utilization, such as feed or seed.
Food loss, as reported by FAO in the FLI, occurs from post-harvest up to, but not including, the retail level.
Accordingly, food loss refers to a reduction in the quantity or quality of food resulting from the decisions and actions of food suppliers within the supply chain, excluding retailers, food service providers, and consumers.
In contrast, food waste is defined as follows:
Food waste refers to the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers and consumers. Food is wasted in many ways:
・Fresh produce that deviates from what is considered optimal, for example in terms of shape, size and color, is often removed from the supply chain during sorting operations.
・Foods that are close to, at or beyond the “best-before” date are often discarded by retailers and consumers.
・Large quantities of wholesome edible food are often unused or left over and discarded from household kitchens and eating establishments.
Accordingly, food waste refers to a reduction in the quantity or quality of food resulting from the decisions and actions of retailers, food service providers, and consumers, who are actors excluded from the definition of food loss. Typical examples include fresh produce removed from the supply chain during sorting because it does not meet preferred standards of shape, size, or appearance; food discarded by retailers or consumers because it is close to or past its best-before date; and edible food that is discarded in households despite being fit for consumption.
Growing Global Awareness of Food Loss
Awareness of food loss has increased worldwide, particularly since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the United Nations Summit in 2015. Within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), food loss and food waste are explicitly addressed under Goal 12, “Responsible Consumption and Production” (*4)
Target 12.3 calls for halving per-capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030 (*5). This target clearly distinguishes between food loss and food waste, recognizing that losses occurring at different stages of the value chain require different measurement approaches and policy responses.
To support this distinction, SDG Indicator 12.3.1 consists of two components. SDG 12.3.1.a, the Food Loss Index, focuses on losses occurring from production up to, but not including, the retail level and measures changes in loss rates across key commodities by country. SDG12.3.1.b, the Food Waste Index, focuses on losses at the retail and consumption levels and serves as an important reference point for national reporting and international comparison. Together, these indicators provide a structured basis for assessing progress toward SDG Target 12.3.
In parallel, international conferences such as the Food Waste Solution Summit, convened by nonprofit organizations and industry stakeholders, have brought together food companies, investors, policymakers, and innovators to accelerate the adoption of solutions aimed at significantly reducing food loss and waste by 2030 (*6).
Case Study: Rising Awareness of Food Loss in Japan
Japan provides a representative example of how national governments and industry bodies have translated global objectives into concrete measures. In 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, together with other government agencies and industry associations, launched initiatives encouraging consumers to select products placed at the front of store shelves, a practice known as temaedori, to reduce food loss at the retail stage (*7).
In addition, Japan enacted the Act on Promotion of Food Loss and Waste Reduction, which came into force in 2019. The law clarifies the responsibilities of national and local governments, businesses, and consumers, and establishes a framework for systematically promoting food loss reduction (*8).
Under this framework, businesses are encouraged to actively engage in food loss reduction efforts and to cooperate with public-sector initiatives, while consumers are encouraged to deepen their understanding of the importance of reducing food loss and to voluntarily act through improved purchasing and food preparation practices (*9).
The Role Expected of Companies Regarding Food Loss
As global attention to food loss continues to increase, companies are increasingly expected to integrate food loss reduction into their ESG strategies.
For publicly listed companies, changes in investor expectations and disclosure practices have increased the importance of transparent reporting on waste and resource efficiency. Sustainability reporting frameworks such as GRI require companies in sectors including agriculture and food services to disclose information related to food waste, reinforcing the link between food loss management and corporate accountability (*10).
At the same time, companies in the food sector, whether listed or unlisted, maintain particularly close relationships with consumers. In this context, how companies communicate their efforts to address food loss plays a critical role in shaping trust and brand value.
However, a persistent challenge is that corporate efforts related to food loss are often difficult for consumers to perceive. Communication limited to corporate websites or investor-facing reports can reduce visibility and make it harder for consumers to understand how products differ in terms of environmental impact.
To address this challenge, services such as our My Eco Ruler evaluate initiatives across each stage of a product’s supply chain using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and translate them into quantitative scores. By visualizing environmental efforts in a standardized and accessible manner, such approaches help make corporate sustainability initiatives easier for consumers to understand.
Life Cycle Assessment, defined by international ISO standards, is a method for quantitatively evaluating the environmental impacts of products across their entire life cycle, from raw material procurement through manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal (*11). By modeling each stage of a product’s life cycle, LCA estimates resource use, emissions, and waste generation, and supports environmental declarations and sustainability-oriented marketing strategies (*12).
By obtaining LCA-based evaluations, companies can objectively understand how their products are positioned from an environmental perspective within the food market, including relative to competing products, and communicate this positioning to stakeholders with greater credibility.
While this article has introduced trends related to food loss, “cuoncrop” provides services such as “ESG/SDGs Management Maturity 360° Diagnostic & Improvement Support” and “My-Eco-Ruler,” which leverage a team of ESG management data analysis specialists—primarily composed of professionals from global strategy consulting firms—as well as proprietary analytical systems and know-how, to help each company identify and improve the ESG activities that are necessary and sufficient to be “chosen.”
These services can be utilized not only to improve analytical efficiency for companies that already have internal teams dedicated to ESG management and are actively promoting ESG initiatives, but also by relatively smaller companies that currently do not have ESG management analysis teams yet recognize the need to shift toward ESG management going forward.
Companies interested in a scientific and efficient analytical approach to accelerating ESG management are encouraged to contact “cuoncrop” at their convenience.
cuoncrop ESG Global Trend Research Division
References
(*1) https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC255BB0V20C22A1000000/
(*2)https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUC255BB0V20C22A1000000/
(*3) https://www.fao.org/3/ca6030en/ca6030en.pdf
(*4) https://sdgs.un.org/goals
(*5) https://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/indicators/1231/en/
(*6) https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/iderumi/20220608-00298143
(*7) https://www.gov-online.go.jp/hlj/en/october_2025/october_2025-08.html
(*8) https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/consumer_policy/information/food_loss/promote/
(*10) https://www.globalreporting.org/publications/documents/english/gri-306-waste-2020/
(*11) https://www.hhc.earth/knowledge-base/guides/lca-life-cycle-assessment