The anti-food waste label conquers store windows
Around thirty establishments have been awarded the anti-food waste label following an audit by a certification body such as AFNOR Certification. The initiative will be extended to the catering industry.
Food safety
Nine months after its launch at the 2023 Paris International Agricultural Show, is the anti-food waste label catching on among retailers? The answer: not yet. It's a start: 31 establishments had been awarded the label as of November 15, 2023, a minority within the network of food retailers in France. according to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion , which has enshrined this project in the AGEC law of 2020 (Anti-waste and Circular Economy). The wave is expected to be even bigger in 2024.
The AGEC law requires a 50% reduction in waste tonnage from 2025 or 2030 (depending on the stakeholders) compared to 2015. This is because food waste in France has reached record levels: 9 million tons per year from producer to consumer, or 30 kg per person per year! AFNOR Certification is one of the certification bodies authorized to issue the label—based on an audit—to the first stakeholders concerned: retailers, wholesalers, and food service professionals. Very soon, the restaurant industry will join these professions, with a tailored standard (also in AFNOR Spec format, currently under development).
Anti-food waste: 27 exemplary establishments
"The approach involves acting on three pillars: procurement and purchasing, food marketing, and management of unsold items and donations, with staff awareness-raising in each case," explains Béatrice Poirier, head of the Environmental Energy Performance range at AFNOR Certification. This requires a management system approach, which is easier to implement if you are already committed to an ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 process. The vast majority of certified establishments are doing well: the ministry's list includes 27 stores certified at level 3 ("exemplary") compared to three at level 2 ("proficiency") and one at level 1 ("commitment").
Most report an approach that "makes perfect sense," with actions that flow naturally, "sometimes actions that already existed, but that we have formalized in a document to maximize their effect," as described by Karine Besse, CSR manager at Coop Atlantique, a network of 194 stores in central-western France. And actions that inevitably lead to real savings: "30 to 50% for us," says Dominique Combeau, director of Hyper U in Saint-Junien (Haute-Vienne). Not to mention the €80,000 in tax savings! We've gone from 10 tons of waste to 2 tons in a year." Among the solutions: sending unsellable fruit and vegetables to a pig farmer, meat products to a dog breeder. And, like many other retailers, listing the store in an app that sells unsold items at low prices in the morning for the evening, in this case Phénix.
Stéphane Dolique, an assessor for AFNOR Certification, confirms that the approach is met with great satisfaction in the stores he visits on assignment. The only weak point: "Many candidates initially underestimate the importance of having a dedicated IT tool," he says. This sometimes warrants the services of a consultant. This will only improve the return on investment. Reminder: the follow-up audit takes place twelve months after the initial (remote) assessment audit, and the renewal audit thirty-six months later. Watch the replay of the web conference November 24, 2023, featuring certified brands.
