Sustainable bread supply chains in Sweden : examining scenarios for reducing or lowering the impact of surplus bread

Abstract: Food waste has significant environmental, social, and economic implications, demanding actions toward a sustainable food system. In Sweden's bread supply chain, approximately 14% of produced bread is wasted, with 9% attributed to unsold bread in stores. Take-back agreements (TBAs), covering over 90% of pre-packaged bread, hold suppliers responsible for the entire chain, including surplus management. While prior studies have identified TBAs as potential waste generators, this paper examines four scenarios to address the bread supply chain from various perspectives. Prohibiting TBAs reveals the potential to reduce the retail-interface surplus by 50%, leading to a 30% overall reduction in waste annually. Improved stakeholder cooperation and inventory management can effectively decrease surplus at the production stage and the supplier-retail interface, resulting in a 33% reduction annually. By enforcing the Swedish Environmental Code and promoting the food waste hierarchy or adopting the French approach of mandatory surplus food donation by retailers, 30% to 64% of the surplus could be diverted from less desirable energy recovery to preferred reuse options every year. Additionally, this study highlights the underutilized potential for increasing donations of surplus bread. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates that Sweden can enhance its bread supply chain through a combination of regulations and market-based mechanisms. By implementing these measures, Sweden can optimize surplus management, minimize waste, and progress toward a sustainable food system.