262 J. Szulecka et al.
• Spring 2015: First food waste restaurant (KUTT Gourmet) at the
University of Oslo (civil society driven)
• 7 May 2015: The ‘Agreement of Intent to reduce food waste’, signed by
the food industry and authorities (industry driven)
• 4 January 2017: ‘KuttMatsvinn2020’ cut food waste by 20% by 2020
(industry driven)
• 23 June 2017: Finalisation of ‘Industry Agreement on reduction of food
waste’ (industry driven)
• 22 September 2017: The evaluation of the food waste law was negative
because of the Industry Agreement (public agency driven)
13.4.2 Food waste governance in Sweden
Food waste in Sweden is defined as ‘avoidable food waste – food that is discarded but could have been eaten had it been handled properly’ (Naturvårdsverket, 2013, p. 29). Examples of avoidable food waste are bread, food
leftovers, fruit and vegetables. Avoidable food waste was sometimes referred
to as food wastage. In 2014, 1,278,000 tons (equivalent to 134 kg/person
3
) of
food waste was generated in Sweden (see Table 13.1 in Elander, Sternmarck
& Ostergren (2016)). The total volume of food waste was calculated along
the food value chain from primary production, food producers, distributors,
retailers and consumers.
In the last few years, Sweden has paid increasing attention to the food
waste issue. The EU Directive (2008/98/EC) on waste (the Waste Framework Directive) required European Union member states to establish waste
prevention programmes. As of June 2018, Sweden has not yet implemented a
specific strategy or national plan for food waste management and reduction.
Nevertheless, it embedded proposed milestone targets for food waste in
several national plans such as the Swedish Waste Management Plan
2012–2017 and the Swedish Waste Prevention Programme 2014–2017
(Elander et al., 2016). The first had important provisions on energy and
nutrient recovery from food waste as it assumed that by 2018, 50% of food
waste from consumption would be collected separately and treated biologically (Naturvårdsverket, 2012). The other assumed a waste reduction by
2020, at least 20% compared to 2010, throughout the entire food value chain
(except for primary production) (Naturvårdsverket, 2014). A separate action
plan has been developed for food wastage reduction in primary production.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was commissioned by
Sweden’s government to create ‘interim objectives for decreasing avoidable
food waste, and to suggest measures for reaching the target’ (Naturvårdsverket, 2013, p. 31).
Food waste reduction in Sweden was also targeted together with CO 2
emission reductions at the municipal level, for example through the Klimatsmart campaign, which aims to reduce food waste in school canteens (Klimatsmart, 2018).
• Spring 2015: First food waste restaurant (KUTT Gourmet) at the
University of Oslo (civil society driven)
• 7 May 2015: The ‘Agreement of Intent to reduce food waste’, signed by
the food industry and authorities (industry driven)
• 4 January 2017: ‘KuttMatsvinn2020’ cut food waste by 20% by 2020
(industry driven)
• 23 June 2017: Finalisation of ‘Industry Agreement on reduction of food
waste’ (industry driven)
• 22 September 2017: The evaluation of the food waste law was negative
because of the Industry Agreement (public agency driven)
13.4.2 Food waste governance in Sweden
Food waste in Sweden is defined as ‘avoidable food waste – food that is discarded but could have been eaten had it been handled properly’ (Naturvårdsverket, 2013, p. 29). Examples of avoidable food waste are bread, food
leftovers, fruit and vegetables. Avoidable food waste was sometimes referred
to as food wastage. In 2014, 1,278,000 tons (equivalent to 134 kg/person
3
) of
food waste was generated in Sweden (see Table 13.1 in Elander, Sternmarck
& Ostergren (2016)). The total volume of food waste was calculated along
the food value chain from primary production, food producers, distributors,
retailers and consumers.
In the last few years, Sweden has paid increasing attention to the food
waste issue. The EU Directive (2008/98/EC) on waste (the Waste Framework Directive) required European Union member states to establish waste
prevention programmes. As of June 2018, Sweden has not yet implemented a
specific strategy or national plan for food waste management and reduction.
Nevertheless, it embedded proposed milestone targets for food waste in
several national plans such as the Swedish Waste Management Plan
2012–2017 and the Swedish Waste Prevention Programme 2014–2017
(Elander et al., 2016). The first had important provisions on energy and
nutrient recovery from food waste as it assumed that by 2018, 50% of food
waste from consumption would be collected separately and treated biologically (Naturvårdsverket, 2012). The other assumed a waste reduction by
2020, at least 20% compared to 2010, throughout the entire food value chain
(except for primary production) (Naturvårdsverket, 2014). A separate action
plan has been developed for food wastage reduction in primary production.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was commissioned by
Sweden’s government to create ‘interim objectives for decreasing avoidable
food waste, and to suggest measures for reaching the target’ (Naturvårdsverket, 2013, p. 31).
Food waste reduction in Sweden was also targeted together with CO 2
emission reductions at the municipal level, for example through the Klimatsmart campaign, which aims to reduce food waste in school canteens (Klimatsmart, 2018).