Food Waste Reduction Alliance webinar hosted by EPA

Posted by admin on January 13, 2015

Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a Unique Industry Collaboration

Sustainable Materials Magement (SMM) Web Academy Webinar Series:

January 15, 2015, 1:00 – 2:30 pm (EST)

Details:

The issue of food “waste” is a hot topic among sustainability professionals, government agencies, media and the general public. Stresses on food production systems due to multiple social, economic and environmental factors have revealed alarming statistics about the amount, causes and consequences of wasted food in the United States and globally. This presentation will dive into the wasted food problem and share information about the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a unique collaboration working to address it.

Presenters:

Gail Tavill, Vice President of Packaging and Sustainable Productivity, ConAgra:

Gail Tavill is Vice President of Packaging and Sustainable Productivity at ConAgra Foods, leading strategies that influence packaging, product, process and policy design for long term sustainability of the business and the industry. She plays a leadership role on the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, contributing to the recent publication of the Best Practices Toolkit and currently chairing the policy committee. Gail is also a strong advocate for the packaging industry as a founding member and immediate past president of AMERIPEN, an organization that proactively influences packaging policy in the US. Gail joined ConAgra Foods in 2000, holding progressive leadership roles in Packaging, Product Development and Sustainability. She earned a BS in Packaging from Michigan State University where she remains active, leading the MSU Alumni Club of Nebraska and serving more than a decade on the Packaging Alumni Association Board. She also earned an MS in Environmental Management from the Stuart School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Jason Wadsworth, Sustainability Manager, Wegmans:

Jason Wadsworth is Wegmans Sustainability Manager and has been with the company for 25 years and is a third generation Wegmans employee. Jason is responsible for the development and implementation of sustainability programs by partnering with leadership and key functional areas, focused on outcomes that are good for the environment, people and Wegmans. Jason is a founding member of the Food Marketing Institute’s Sustainability Executive Committee and is also active in FMI’s Animal Welfare Committee and the Joint FMI/GMA/NRA Food Waste Reduction Alliance.

About the Food Waste Reduction Alliance:

These are the goals of the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA), an initiative of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (representing food and beverage companies), the Food Marketing Institute (representing food retailers), and the National Restaurant Association (representing the foodservice industry). Established in 2011, the FWRA has already engaged more than 30 leading companies and stakeholder partners, including Feeding America and Waste Management, Inc. With a record one in six Americans receiving food assistance and landfills that are increasingly over-burdened, the need to tackle the challenges of food waste has never been more urgent. Working collaboratively across sectors, the FWRA seeks to:

Goal #1: reduce the amount of food waste generated,
Goal #2: increase the amount of safe, nutritious food donated to those in need, and
Goal #3: recycle unavoidable food waste, diverting it from landfills.

Sources:

US EPA

Food Waste Reduction Alliance

SWIX Blog