Law for Change welcomes DEFRA U-turn on food waste reporting policy after backing legal challenge

Food industry environmental campaigners have welcomed a government U-turn that means the government will reconsider whether the food industry will be required to report how much food is going to waste.

Feedback had launched a legal challenge, backed by Law for Change, to a decision by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to stick with a voluntary system for food waste reporting.

The campaign group said the costs of a mandatory system would prove cheaper for shoppers and dramatically cut food waste which currently amounts to at least 9.5 million tonnes a year. More than two-thirds of that waste is edible, and 165,000 tonnes is suitable for redistribution.

The current voluntary approach to food waste reporting has collectively saved 251,000 tonnes of food from going to waste, worth £365 million, since 2005. This figure could only be improved if the measuring and reporting were mandatory, says Feedback.

Feedback wrote to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with a pre-action protocol letter, signalling the start of the judicial review process after DEFRA responded to a consultation on mandatory reporting of food waste with a decision to keep the process voluntary because of the anticipated high costs. Feedback then launched a legal challenge of that decision.

DEFRA responded in November 2023 to Feedback’s legal challenge, indicating that they would be changing tack and considering deploying a mandatory system after all.
Feedback was represented in its legal challenge by law firm Leigh Day.

Impact of the legal challenge on the public good:

The legal case has ensured that mandatory food waste measurement remains on the table as a key policy for the government to adopt to reach climate targets. It may not sound like an urgent policy, but tackling food waste is key for addressing our emissions.  

As the issue is now still on the table, a group of Conservative MPs are calling for mandatory reporting. Furthermore, we are continuing our advocacy with Labour MPs who are also supportive. Our case keeps mandatory reporting within reach. Furthermore, the case shows that the government must listen to its climate experts; it cannot hold consultations and then willfully ignore the responses. All the evidence supports the case for mandatory food waste reporting.

The Government’s climate and waste experts recommend it, the impact assessment shows it will result in cost savings, and the vast majority of consultation respondents, including the majority of businesses, are in favour. The case shows that NGOs are willing to challenge the government if it ignores its own climate experts and consultation findings.

Carina Millstone, Executive Director of Feedback, said about Law for Change’s support:

“I am beyond grateful to Law for Change for their support for this vital case, without which we would not have been able to launch legal proceedings and secure this result. It’s vitally important the government heeds the advice of its own climate experts and of the concerned public, and the decision to re-open plans for introducing mandatory food waste reporting for big businesses is a step in the right direction."

Read more here.