Environmentalist and social rights campaigner Harriet Lamb has become the newest United Nation’s Champion 12.3, in her role as CEO of international climate action NGO WRAP.
Harriet said of her appointment, “We need total transformation of our food and drink systems to stand any chance of achieving zero carbon and limiting the worst impacts of the climate crisis. This is the challenge of our generation. We have taken big strides in reducing food waste, and while we’re breaking new ground improving water efficiency and reducing GHG emissions from food, we still have a mountain to climb to make our food system sustainable, and some companies are not yet even at base camp. I am eager we share our latest insights with colleagues around the globe and learn from fellow Champions at our September annual meeting.”
Champions 12.3 is an international coalition of executives from across governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farming groups and civil society dedicated to “inspiring ambition, mobilizing action and accelerating progress” to deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3.
Liz Goodwin, Senior Fellow and Director, Food Loss and Waste at World Resources Institute (WRI) said, “I’m delighted that Harriet is joining as a Champion for SDG 12.3. It is vital that we accelerate progress in tackling food loss and waste globally if we are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a sustainable food system. I look forward to working with Harriet on this important agenda.”
The ambitious SDG 12.3 target aims to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level and reduce food losses across production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030.
WRAP recently published a landmark plan setting out how to transform the UK food system through coordinated food waste prevention work, a water stewardship programme and widescale Scope 3 emissions mapping. The plan, Food System Transformation through the Courtauld Commitment 2030, gives action-orientated guide to actors across the value chain on exactly where the food and drink sector needs to act to achieve Courtauld 2030 targets.
Through this collaborative action across the UK food chain, WRAP is helping deliver farm-to-fork reductions in food waste, limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reducing water stress and helping the sector achieve both the UK ambitions, and shared global environmental goals around food. The NGO also recently announced its collaboration with WWF and eight supermarkets to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from UK food and drink sector under the Retailer Net Zero Collaborative Action Plan.
