Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Foundation has signed an agreement with food and support services provider Accuro to test behavioural changes that can contribute to reducing food loss and waste.
The agreement aims to further the goals of Ne’ma, the National Food Loss and Waste Initiative that aims to align and catalyse national efforts to reduce food loss and waste by 50 per cent by 2030, in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Ne’ma was launched earlier this year by the Emirates Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Abu Dhabi Prince’s Court.
“Through a range of collaborations with local, regional and international bodies, we are aiming to directly target food loss and waste reduction, whether at farm, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, restaurant or household. This MoU with Accuro will help us to uncover the root causes behind current behaviour, and allow us to strategise the piloting of ‘nudges’ to create a new social norm around responsible buying, storing, preparation and consumption of food,” said Ahmed Talib Al Shamsi, Emirates Foundation’s CEO.
Identifying hotspots
Al Shamsi explained that establishing a UAE-wide baseline for food loss and waste will give the means to quantify the problem, identify potential hotspots, and enable informed decision-making in order to better tackle food loss and waste.
“The Ne’ma initiative is about increasing public awareness of the issues arising and enabling a change in current waste related behaviour, promoting more positive and sustainable habits that contribute to preserving our precious food resources in line with the UAE’s national food security strategy of halving food waste by 2030. Accuro will support Ne’ma by delivering a range of strategies designed to reduce food loss and waste in staff canteens and cafeterias, including the selection of sites for pilot projects, providing orientation and training to key staff and measuring and recording food waste data during the pilot, and we anticipate that our collaboration will bear fruit for years to come that support the behavioral change we aspire to achieve.”
Scott Duran, CEO of Accuro, said: “Our dedicated team of professionals provide in-depth specialist knowledge and understanding in healthcare, corporate and education sectors. Our success has been, and will continue to be, founded upon our passion for what we do. It is this passion and focus which sets us apart from other providers in the market.”
The MoU between Emirates Foundation and Accuro ensures that the Ne’ma initiative will benefit from their joint strategic objectives and recognised expertise, thus contributing to the development of the UAE community by addressing over-consumption and building a UAE-wide social commitment to be responsible for more sustainable solutions.
