• Waste management company Suez has taken a 20 per cent equity stake in social enterprise. Pictured: Suez CEO Mark Venhoek & Yume CEO Katy Barfield.
    Waste management company Suez has taken a 20 per cent equity stake in social enterprise. Pictured: Suez CEO Mark Venhoek & Yume CEO Katy Barfield.
  • Yume CEO Katy Barfield.
    Yume CEO Katy Barfield.
  • Lise Walbom is the CEO of Danish public-private partnership, Food Nation.
    Lise Walbom is the CEO of Danish public-private partnership, Food Nation.
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A partnership between online surplus food marketplace Yume with waste and recycling company Suez has delivered major waste reductions. The two joined forces to encourage more food manufacturers to use the marketplace rather than send surplus to landfill.

More than 450,000 kilograms of high-quality surplus food has been sold through Yume, returning almost $700,000 to businesses that were previously not using the platform.

Yume CEO Katy Barfield.
Yume CEO Katy Barfield.

Yume founder Katy Barfield said several multinational companies which were also Suez customers were now listing product with the company.

Barfield said: “We are working with them to ensure those products find a new avenue to market and are consumed as intended. These companies join our network of over five hundred food manufacturers, wholesalers and importers that list and sell quality stock through our online marketplace.”

The partnership has also saved a water and carbon dioxide equivalent to saving the water of 519,560 showers and taking 195 cars off the road for a year.

Suez ANZ chief customer officer Justin Frank said the company was committed to working with customers to ensure as much waste as possible is recovered, recycled and treated.

“The benefits of the partnership assist Suez’s customers in reducing waste and achieving greater sustainability. Our partnership with Yume aligns with Suez’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – SDG 12 – by promoting responsible production and consumption” Frank said.

Yume is focused on delivering a commercial solution at the top of the food waste hierarchy: avoiding waste and reusing food wherever possible, Barfield said. To date Yume has provided a new route to market for close to two million kilograms of food returning more than $6 million to Australian businesses and farmers.

“This is an innovative partnership in the fight against commercial food waste, we are looking to prevent 4.1 million tonnes of surplus food from going to waste in Australia every year.

“In 2016-17, a massive fifty-five percent of food waste was associated with primary production, Manufacturing and Wholesale sectors. This food, produced by Australian farmers and manufacturers, is wasted even before it reaches supermarkets, restaurants or homes.”

The second webinar in a series presented by Yume and Suez to reframe the approach to food waste in Australia is scheduled for 12 August. Food & Drink Business is the media partner.

Series presenter will be presented by the CEO of Danish public-private partnership Food Nation, Lise Walbom.

Lise Walbom is the CEO of Danish public-private partnership, Food Nation.
Lise Walbom is the CEO of Danish public-private partnership, Food Nation.

Walbom will discuss the latest food waste innovation and ideas coming out of Denmark including notable case studies and what Australian businesses can learn from their Danish counterparts.

Topics covered will be:

  • Food loss and waste in a global perspective;
  • Danish initiatives for minimising food loss and waste; and 
  • The $1.2 trillion business opportunity in food loss and waste: case studies from the value chain. 

It will be followed by a Q&A session.

Series 2: Denmark’s fight against food waste

When: Wednesday, 12 August

Time: 4-5pm

Cost: Free

Registration: Click here

 

 

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