Reducing Food Waste for People, Planet and Profit

Summary

In 2025, Waste and Action Resources Programme (WRAP) committed to reducing food waste in India through a series of targeted, context-specific interventions across key sectors. India is the world’s most populous country that continues to suffer from hunger and malnutrition yet is one of the world’s largest producers of food waste. WRAP will tackle the key barriers – limited data, fragmented supply chains, low public awareness, and minimal business engagement. The hospitality, restaurant, and catering industry will be engaged to develop a food waste strategy. Micro, small, and medium enterprises will be surveyed to map out food waste hotspots and develop reduction strategies. Levers of change from government to business will be identified to clarify food donation guidelines. By 2028, WRAP aims to reduce 5,000 tons of food waste, equip more than 2 million citizens with knowledge and behavioral change education and strategies, and cut 4,360 tons of indirect carbon emissions in value chains.

Approach

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) commits to reducing food waste in India by scaling a proven, internationally recognised model through tailored, context-specific interventions across key sectors. The program will engage large hotels to reduce sourcing and kitchen waste, promote guest behavior change, and increase food donation. It will partner with major fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to set waste reduction targets, influence supply chains, and implement citizen behavior change campaigns. It will also contribute to food waste policy development and survey micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in food manufacturing, retail, and hospitality to identify waste hotspots and pilot targeted reduction strategies.
This commitment builds on WRAP’s Food Pact Network—a global initiative supporting national-level public-private partnerships, or “Pacts.” These Pacts unite businesses, ecosystem enablers, policymakers, and communities to set collective targets, reduce food loss and waste, and strengthen food and water security. The India-based program will be a modular adaptation of this framework, informed by international best practices and tailored to local needs. Partners and projects in India will be integrated into the Network.
WRAP’s approach has already demonstrated impact. In the United Kingdom, the Food & Drink Pact, convened by WRAP, includes over 400 organisations, representing 97% of the market. In 2022 alone, UK Pact members prevented 19,000 tons of food waste, saving £62 million. The model’s success has led to its replication worldwide, and has also received $15 million from the Ballmer Group to scale to five countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Targeting food waste offers India a scalable opportunity for rapid emissions reduction aligned with 2030 climate goals. The program in India will create the ecosystems, mechanisms, and ambition for systems-level change, enabling long-term impact, addressing key barriers across the value chain, and supporting cross-border knowledge sharing.

Action Plan

Year 1 (November 2025 – November 2026) : Mobilization and Fast-Tracked Impact In the first year, the focus will be on securing project delivery partners and local staff, defining scopes of work, and signing memoranda of understanding (MOUs) in India. A strategy for the hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) sector will be developed in collaboration with major partners, alongside the launch of a pilot project. Mapping of waste hotspots in the micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector will also begin. An engagement strategy will be designed to work with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. Additionally, the Food Pact Network’s first impact report will be developed and published to elevate the issue of food loss and waste (FLW) on a global stage.
Year 2 (November 2026 – November 2027) : Broadening and Scaling Impact During the second year, HoReCa interventions will expand to a wider group of businesses in the sector. Citizen behaviour change initiatives will be implemented, and the most effective government and business policy levers will be assessed and implemented. The MSME program will be rolled out more broadly, and major FMCG companies will be actively engaged in food waste reduction efforts. Indian partners will be integrated into the Food Pact Network to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration.
Year 3 (November 2027 – November 2028) : Delivering and Evaluating Results, Legacy Building In the final year, the outcomes of citizen behavior change initiatives will be evaluated. Activities across the HoReCa, MSME, FMCG, and policy areas will be scaled and consolidated. A comprehensive impact report will be produced and published, with results embedded in the Food Pact Network’s reporting. Planning for legacy, sustainability, and long-term transition will begin to ensure enduring impact.

Background

Each year, 2.5 billion tons of food is wasted worldwide, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The United Nations reports that this wasted food uses 66 trillion gallons of water, emits 8–10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions (compared to 6% from aviation) , and requires 1.4 billion hectares of farmland—all for food that is never eaten.
India is among the world’s largest producers of food waste, according to the World Resources Institute, generating an estimated 78.2 million tons annually—enough to feed 377 million people. Yet every day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , 189.2 million people in India go to bed hungry, and 35.5% of children under five are stunted.
Despite the scale of the issue, India has yet to adopt a national target aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 12.3, which calls for halving food waste by 2030. Without urgent action, India risks falling behind in this critical area. Key barriers include limited data, fragmented supply chains, low public awareness, and minimal business engagement.
While much progress is being made to reduce food loss on farms, food waste remains largely overlooked. Few targeted interventions exist, and reliable data is scarce. As India’s urban middle class grows, so does food waste—yet national-level action remains limited. This gap presents a major and novel opportunity for impact.
With context-specific action, India can emerge as a global leader in reducing food loss and waste (FLW) , while delivering significant environmental, economic, and public health benefits.
The world urgently needs to accelerate food systems change at scale—and for this, action within India’s vast population is essential.
Addressing food waste offers a proven solution to the greatest existential threat facing the planet—while also improving lives and securing a better future for generations to come.

Progress Update

Partnership Opportunities

WRAP is seeking partners interested in funding work on reducing food waste in India, partners interested in supporting to elevate the issue of food waste nationally and internationally, and partners with deep community ties and knowledge to support the delivery of certain projects in underserved regions of India.,WRAP will bring technical support and best practices from countries around the world as well as 24+ years of expertise in waste management and design for circularity to deliver a robust and multi-faceted program for food waste reduction in India that will connect and convene actors from across the value chain to enable collective action.