Türkiye is emerging as a leading force in the global fight against food waste, with its Zero Waste initiative and international outreach drawing praise from Dana Gunders, head of US-based nonprofit ReFED.
Speaking to Anadolu on the sidelines of the UN climate summit COP31 in Türkiye on Monday, Gunders commended the country’s efforts to bring nations together around the issue and highlighted First Lady Emine Erdogan’s role in raising its international profile.
“I think with COP and with the Zero Waste Foundation, Türkiye is really showing a lot of leadership,” Gunders said, pointing to the annual Zero Waste Forum, which brings together participants from around the world.
She also credited Erdogan with helping push food waste higher on the international agenda.
“I think the attention to this topic has really risen with the help of the First Lady for sure,” she said.
Technology offers new ways to prevent food waste
Gunders made the remarks after taking part in a COP31 session titled “Preventing Food Waste Before Consumption: Supply Chains and Surplus”, organised by WRAP in collaboration with ReFED.
She said artificial intelligence could help grocery stores forecast consumer demand more accurately, allowing retailers to avoid buying excess food in the first place.
“I think one good solution has been using AI to forecast sales better,” she said.
She also highlighted mobile applications that allow restaurants and grocery stores to sell surplus food at discounted prices before it is thrown away.
Employee engagement is another key factor, Gunders said, warning that company policies aimed at reducing waste are not always put into practice effectively.
Founded in 2015, ReFED provides businesses with data and resources to identify effective ways to reduce food waste. Gunders said more than 300,000 people had used the organisation’s website to access its resources.
She also pointed to the US Food Waste Pact, a collaborative initiative involving more than half of American grocery stores, alongside numerous restaurants and food service businesses. By sharing and comparing data, participating companies have been encouraged to reduce waste, with annual decreases recorded, she said.
Call for climate plans to address food waste
Turning to global climate negotiations, Gunders urged countries to include food loss and waste reduction in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), the climate action plans submitted under the Paris Agreement.
She called for negotiated climate texts to recognise waste reduction as major opportunity for climate action.
Gunders also urged international climate finance institutions, including the Green Climate Fund, to dedicate more funding to measures that prevent food waste.
Emphasising that practical solutions are already available, she said the main challenge was securing the resources needed to expand them worldwide.
“I think the good thing about food waste is we know how to solve it, but it will take a lot of financing, so we need that to come,” she said.
