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Recent study says food wastage can be reduced by improving logistics





A recent Swedish study says food wastage can be reduced by improving logistics. The the logistics system, through which food is transported from one place to another, may be one way to reduce food wastage.

Food waste refers to disposal of food even though it is fit for human consumption. Its affects the environment by increasing resource usage and the consumption of energy.

In Australia, people waste 4 million tonnes of food each year with a cost of $8 billion. In the European Union about 88 million tonnes of food is discarded and the costs associated with food wastage are estimated at 143 billion Euros. Every year, nearly a quarter of a million tonnes of food is wasted in Sweden, so Swedish researcher, Kristina Liljestrand, decided to do something about it.

Through Liljestrand’s research, she worked out a way for the logistic and transport industry to reduce their environmental impact in terms of food wastage and carbon emissions from transport.

Her research is unique as there are no previous studies to suggest improvement in logistic actions to combat waste problems. Liljestrand delivers nine improvement actions in her dissertation through an extensive study of Swedish producers, wholesalers, and retailers.

Her study addresses the transport systems impact on climate and food waste and places emphasis on all actors involved in the food supply chain (FSC). Liljestrand concludes that collaboration is necessary to establish improvement actions as there are several stages in the supply chain and it’s hard for just one company to work alone to reduce the impact.

The research focuses on two aspects of the FSC that can affect the environmental impact of an established logistics system and can hinder the establishment of improvement actions.

These are: 1) FSC characteristics such as shelf life, temperature regime and specific food characteristics which help create conditions for a logistics system; and 2) performance variables such as requirements around lead times and flexibility which can conflict with individuals or companies within the FSC to reduce environmental impact.

Liljestrand’s thesis is a result of five separate studies and the compilation of empirical data collection from case studies and analysis which delivers nine characteristics regarding supply chain flow and products.

Two important frameworks were developed to explain how all players in the FSC can reduce transport’s impact on climate: one framework was for evaluating the shipments potential to lower the impact of transport on climate; and another framework was developed to aid in selecting improvement actions that can mitigate that impact.

Because there are many factors involved in transporting food, the logistics system can be complex and huge. The two frameworks provide a starting point and a tool for companies to be able to see where and how they can reduce food waste and associated environmental impact while decreasing carbon emissions.

Liljestrand also incorporated an economic factor in her study and says that by making changes in load factor and inter-modal transport, people can reduce the environmental impact and thus reduce costs.

While individuals can helpt to reduce food wastage, companies can also design logistic systems that can do the same.

https://www.wellbeing.com.au/at-home/planet/food-wastage-and-environmental-impact-can-be-reduced-by-improving-logistics.html

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).


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