FAB-B.07.A - Food Loss and Waste Reporting
Does the company report on its food loss and waste?
About the data
The WBA Food and Agriculture Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential food and agriculture companies on their efforts to transform global food systems, tracking how companies work towards food that is healthy and nutritious, produced sustainably within planetary boundaries, and accessible and fairly produced for all. The 2026 edition assessed 350 companies spanning the entirety of the food and agriculture value chain, from agricultural inputs and commodities through to manufacturing, retail, and food service. Companies were scored on 23 food and agriculture-specific indicators and 18 core social indicators across four measurement areas: governance, sustainable food systems, healthy food systems, and inclusive food systems. The benchmark is developed in close collaboration with an Expert Review Committee and is designed to incentivise the most influential companies in the sector to adopt sustainable business practices across their own operations and supply chains, addressing critical issues including greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, freshwater use, nutrition, and living incomes for farmers, with human rights and social equity at its core. More information can be found here.
Methodology
In 2022, the world wasted 1.05 billion tonnes of food at the retail, food service and
household level. This is in addition to the 13% of the world’s food lost in the supply chain, as
estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), post-harvest up to and excluding retail.
Moreover, food loss and waste generates 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and takes up the
equivalent of nearly 30% of the world’s agricultural land (UNEP 2024). This level of inefficiency also
has significant social impacts, such as increasing food insecurity. Investing in efforts to reduce food
loss and waste can ease the food system’s pressure on the environment, help mitigate climate change
and increase food availability. At the same time, it can boost economic benefits for companies,
farmers and households (Champions 12.3, 2022).
Research Guidance:
We adopt the WRAP Roadmap‚s definition of FLW, which excludes any material that is sent for: Redistribution to people (e.g. through a charity or commercial redistributor); Animal feed; Bio-based materials / biochemical processing (e.g. feedstock for other industrial products). Reporting on inedible FLW is only accepted when edible FLW is also reported.
As per the FLW Protocol‚s Accounting Standard, the company must report on four dimensions of FLW:
The total weight of food loss and/or waste (metric tons) OR food loss and/or waste as a proportion of total food produced/ handled (%)
Destination (see eligible list of destinations in Definitions tab, WRAP Roadmap guidance here. This should also include volumes / % of FLW per destination)
Timeframe (reporting period, including start and end date)
Scope/ Boundary (food category, lifecycle stage, geography, organisation). See FLW Protocol Table 2 p. 9 or WRAP Reporting Template
Two exceptions are made from the FLW Protocol‚s Accounting guidance:
1\. Material type: We deviate from the FLW Standard and instead follow the WRAP Roadmap: Reporting on inedible components of FLW are only accepted if edible FLW is also reported. Therefore, we follow WRAP‚s definition for FLW, which excludes any material that is redistributed to people, used as animal feed, or used for bio-based materials or biochemical processing (e.g. feedstock for other industrial products see the WRAP Roadmap Definitions tab for more information.
2\. Destination: We also follow the WRAP Roadmap‚s list of destinations. Unlike the FLW Standard, this list does not include animal feed or bio-based materials or biochemical processing, although these may be reported as long as categories in the eligible list of destinations are also reported.
This indicator is not applicable to agricultural inputs companies.
household level. This is in addition to the 13% of the world’s food lost in the supply chain, as
estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), post-harvest up to and excluding retail.
Moreover, food loss and waste generates 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and takes up the
equivalent of nearly 30% of the world’s agricultural land (UNEP 2024). This level of inefficiency also
has significant social impacts, such as increasing food insecurity. Investing in efforts to reduce food
loss and waste can ease the food system’s pressure on the environment, help mitigate climate change
and increase food availability. At the same time, it can boost economic benefits for companies,
farmers and households (Champions 12.3, 2022).
Research Guidance:
We adopt the WRAP Roadmap‚s definition of FLW, which excludes any material that is sent for: Redistribution to people (e.g. through a charity or commercial redistributor); Animal feed; Bio-based materials / biochemical processing (e.g. feedstock for other industrial products). Reporting on inedible FLW is only accepted when edible FLW is also reported.
As per the FLW Protocol‚s Accounting Standard, the company must report on four dimensions of FLW:
The total weight of food loss and/or waste (metric tons) OR food loss and/or waste as a proportion of total food produced/ handled (%)
Destination (see eligible list of destinations in Definitions tab, WRAP Roadmap guidance here. This should also include volumes / % of FLW per destination)
Timeframe (reporting period, including start and end date)
Scope/ Boundary (food category, lifecycle stage, geography, organisation). See FLW Protocol Table 2 p. 9 or WRAP Reporting Template
Two exceptions are made from the FLW Protocol‚s Accounting guidance:
1\. Material type: We deviate from the FLW Standard and instead follow the WRAP Roadmap: Reporting on inedible components of FLW are only accepted if edible FLW is also reported. Therefore, we follow WRAP‚s definition for FLW, which excludes any material that is redistributed to people, used as animal feed, or used for bio-based materials or biochemical processing (e.g. feedstock for other industrial products see the WRAP Roadmap Definitions tab for more information.
2\. Destination: We also follow the WRAP Roadmap‚s list of destinations. Unlike the FLW Standard, this list does not include animal feed or bio-based materials or biochemical processing, although these may be reported as long as categories in the eligible list of destinations are also reported.
This indicator is not applicable to agricultural inputs companies.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Not Applicable
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report