Mandatory Reporting of Food Waste and Surplus Knowledge Account

Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030 stated that, based on this 2021 data, Scotland was not on track to meet its goal to reduce food waste by 33% by 2025 against 2013 levels (Scottish Government, 2024c). However, the Scottish Government has also noted methodological inconsistencies with the approaches used to set and evaluate these targets, which may limit their suitability for measuring progress towards Scotland’s food waste reduction goals (Scottish Government, 2022b; 2022c).

This indicates a need to strengthen existing food waste monitoring and reduction approaches. MRFWS may support such efforts by generating more comprehensive data on the scale and drivers of food waste and surplus and enable businesses to identify hotspots and implement targeted reduction strategies. These insights may also inform the development and implementation of wider interventions that contribute to achieving food waste and emissions reduction targets.</p>