The sixth International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) will be observed on Monday, 29 September 2025. This year’s theme calls for expanding and strengthening stakeholder efforts to reduce food loss and waste, as a critical element of securing a sustainable food future for all.
About the day
The United Nations General Assembly designated 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW). The day is co-convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the day’s events are led jointly by the two organisations.
The goal is to raise awareness to the importance of the problem and its possible solutions at all levels, and to promote global efforts and collective action towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3, which targets to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030 and reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains.
The European Commission welcomes this initiative and joins FAO, UNEP and other relevant organisations in the global call to action against food loss and waste.
Webinar
On the day, the European Commission and FAO will host a webinar (16:00-17:30 CEST | online via Webex), entitled “Driving Food Waste Reduction: The Power of Stakeholder Engagement”.
Targeted and active stakeholder engagement is key for effective actions to prevent and reduce food loss and waste and appear in many forms depending on specificities in each country. Stakeholder engagements, through public-private partnerships or voluntary agreements, are powerful tools to bring together policy makers, food businesses, civil society, and academia in coordinated efforts to prevent and reduce food waste. As documented in the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste report on voluntary agreements (VAs), such commitments help establish trust, encourage knowledge exchange, and support practical behaviour change.
By aligning stakeholders around shared goals and enabling flexible, context-specific solutions, stakeholder engagements accelerate progress toward SDG Target 12.3 and the future EU food waste reduction targets.
To spotlight these efforts, a webinar will be held to highlight the vital role that stakeholder engagement, including public-private partnerships, voluntary agreements, and collaborative and multisectoral platforms, play in advancing food waste reduction. The event will share practical insights and inspire stakeholders looking to start or strengthen their own partnerships and agreements, whether in Europe, South America or other parts of the globe.
