The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, a new body set in place by the European Commission on Monday 8 August, will hold its inaugural meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 29 November.
The new platform, which is made up of 70 member organisations from the public and private sectors, aims to optimise all players' contributions to the EU's successful transition to a circular economy. It also aims to work towards one of the universal sustainable development goals (goal 12.3): that of halving the volume of food waste from retailers and consumers per head of population between now and 2030 and reducing food waste throughout the entire production and consumption chain.
In order to do this, the platform will be responsible for supporting all players to define the actions needed all along the value chain, promote inter-sectorial cooperation, share best practice and evaluate progress made over time.
The platform's members include 37 representatives from the world of academia, NGOs and industry. These were "selected based on their experience in food waste prevention, capacity for stakeholder outreach and coverage of activities and interests in the food value chain", the Commission states in a press release.
The creation of the platform was one of the measures announced in the EU's new action plan for the circular economy presented by the Commission in December 2015 (see EUROPE 11444). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)