Ornua halves food waste by 2030 as part of Tesco initiative

As a major supplier of cheese and butter to Tesco, Ornua will publish food waste data for all of its global operations, including those in Ireland and the UK, within 12 months.

It has also committed to take the steps needed to reduce food waste in its supply chain, as well as innovating to make it easier for consumers to reduce waste in their homes.

The move by Ornua is part of an initiative by Tesco, which will see 24 of its largest food suppliers – that represent over £17 billion of Tesco sales – sign up to tackle the issue of food waste at retail and consumer level.

A move in line with the Champions 12.3 group’s objective of accelerating progress towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Target 12.3 by 2030*.

The supplier agreement is the first struck between a major retailer and its food suppliers.

It follows agreements over the last 12 months made at the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) and Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), with branded suppliers to align efforts around Champions 12.3 goals.

New partnership

Commenting on Ornua’s commitment, Jeanne Kelly, head of sustainability, said: “We are delighted to be working with Tesco on what is an incredibly important and progressive initiative by them.

“As a dairy business we are already focused on reducing food wastage across all our operations, as such, our partnership with Tesco is highly complementary to this and our wider sustainability goals.

“Ornua has devised a framework called ‘Our Way Matters’, which sets out the positive steps we are taking to reach our sustainability goals.

“Aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the framework contains three pillars which contain positive initiatives, such as our partnership agreement with Tesco, that will benefit the environment, our business and our community.”

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