Using social innovation to

reduce food waste

Sophie Easteal, WRAP

4th June 2014, session 4.2

Overview

• Tackling food waste in the UK

• Using social innovation to drive

behaviour change

• Evaluating and scaling up impact

Tackling food waste in the UK

• Food waste reduction is core strategic focus

• The sector produces 15Mt of food waste

• Almost half from households (7.0Mt)

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Taking action along the food supply chain

Edible food waste from households

• Detailed waste analysis

& food waste diaries

• 1.1Mt reduction (21%)

• Partnership working

• Individual actions

5

FUSIONS is helping achieve a more resource

efficient Europe by reducing food waste

• Runs between August 2012 to July 2016

• 21 project partners from 13 countries

→ FUSIONS will test how social innovation can

reduce food waste

6

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Social innovations

are new ideas…

…that meet

social needs…

…and create new

social relationships

“We simply describe it as innovations that are both

social in their ends and in their means” (1)

(1) http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/social-innovation/index_en.htm

By way of example – redistributing food

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Extend ‘company’

shop concept,

introduce new

systems…

…reduce waste

of food surplus &

food poverty…

…effective

alliance

between food

businesses and

charities

Using social innovation to drive change

• Widening gap between scale of the problems we

face and scale of solutions on offer

• Social innovation can improve society’s capacity

to act

• Complements actions - research, technology,

communications etc.

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Improving our capacity to act

→ Compelling new social relationships

Environmental problems are:

• Dynamic

• Complex

• Individual & global

• Immediate

• Challenging

Social innovation is:

• Adaptive, reflective

• Crosses boundaries

• Inclusive

• Action-focused

• Courageous courage

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Deliver, evaluate and scale up

• Potential of social innovation tested through

feasibility study

11 www.eu-fusions.org/social-innovations

Evaluating impact

• Quantitative metrics – e.g. number participants,

volume food waste avoided

• Qualitative insights – real-life processes,

challenges and impacts in

context

• Proactive, flexible and

ongoing

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Summary

• Tackling food waste is a priority

• Extensive national experience being

shared

• New mechanisms to effect change

being tested

• Find out what’s happening near you

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Thank you!

Find out more

• www.wrap.org.uk/food

• www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

• www.eu-fusions.org