Food waste reduction in Swedish food retail : Understanding barriers and incentives

Abstract: In Sweden, the retail sector is responsible for 8% of the total supply chain waste. Although the number is relatively small, the retail sector is of key importance for food waste minimization since retail stores collect large amounts of food and connect with consumers and producers in a limited, clearly defined number of places. Therefore, initiatives or policies implemented in retail may have major implications. The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) concludes that prevention of food waste and redistribution to humans are the only actions that contribute to Target 12.3, aiming to halve food waste per capita from both retail and consumer levels as well as reduce food losses in the production and supply sectors by 2030. Also, research concludes that the median benefit-cost ratio for reducing waste in the supply chain is 14:1, and that unawareness of this business case is a reason for insufficient implementation of food waste reduction. In the latest years, authorities and researchers have increased focus and emphasized importance of industry collaboration to reduce supply chain food waste; however, there are more scarce findings in literature on incentives for food waste reduction from a retailer perspective. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to understand barriers and incentives for prevention of food waste and price reduction, conversion and donation of surplus food from a retailer perspective, and thereby identify opportunities to increase incentives. A multiple case study of nine retailers from the three major Swedish retail corporations was chosen as methodology, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers working in each store. The results show internal and external barriers for reduction, the major ones being the business objective to always ensure consumer satisfaction and variability in demand (prevention); inefficient label creation due to health and safety regulations (conversion) and lack of available partnerships (donation). In terms of initiative prioritization, financial benefits are found to be the major driving force for waste reduction, why food waste prevention is the most favourable option and reduction initiatives prioritize expensive products. Also, the incentive for food waste reduction depends strongly on business case awareness and integration efficiency, where the study identifies opportunities to increase incentives when: i) retailers are aware of the business case of reducing food waste, but discouraged by certain constraints; ii) retailers are unaware of the business case; and iii) there is no existing business case