Two New Reports Examine EU’s Progress in Food Waste Prevention Every year, Europe generates millions of tonnes of waste—yet preventing it remains a challenge. As the International Day of Zero Waste was marked on March 30, two new reports shed light on how European Union (EU) Member States are tackling waste prevention with a special focus on food waste. Waste prevention is at the heart of the circular economy, offering the most effective strategy to reduce environmental impact, improve resource efficiency, and cut carbon emissions. The EU Waste Framework Directive (WFD) recognises this, placing prevention at the top of the waste hierarchy. However, effective prevention policies require a systemic approach, integrating multiple policy areas and moving beyond voluntary initiatives. In the context of the ETC/CE project, CSCP topic experts co-authored two new reports that take a closer look at these efforts. The European Environment Agency (EEA) report, Preventing Waste in Europe: Progress and Challenges, with a Focus on Food Waste, evaluates the EU’s progress in waste prevention policies, supporting this. The ETC/CE report, Ambitions Towards Food Waste Prevention in the EU-27 Member States, provides a detailed assessment of national efforts in 2023. A key objective of EU waste prevention programmes is decoupling economic growth from waste generation. Encouragingly, waste intensity—waste per unit of economic activity—has declined by 13% since 2010, with 8% of this reduction occurring between 2020 and 2022. However, while progress is visible, stronger action is needed to accelerate this trend across all sectors. The EEA report highlights that most waste prevention policies still rely on voluntary measures (81%), while market-based instruments (6%) and extended producer responsibility schemes (2%) remain underutilised. A shift towards stronger economic incentives and regulations could significantly enhance waste prevention efforts. Food waste prevention efforts show similar patterns. The ETC/CE report analysed 332 food waste prevention actions collected in 2023. It found that at the time 62% of initiatives focus on awareness-raising and education, while only 4% involve economic measures and just 1% use regulatory interventions. Moreover, few countries integrate food waste prevention into biodiversity and climate strategies—missing key opportunities for greater impact. “Reliable data is key to driving change. We see that Member States have made significant progress in monitoring, closing data gaps, and improving accuracy since mandatory reporting began in 2020. This foundation should greatly enhance efforts to identify and address sector-specific hotspots with targeted prevention policies – a necessity to meet upcoming binding food waste targets.”, says Nora Brüggemann, CSCP Senior Project Manager. Ultimately, both reports provide practical insights for policymakers, businesses, and organisations looking to strengthen waste prevention strategies. Moving from waste management to true prevention requires ambitious policies, robust data, and better integration with climate and biodiversity goals. As Europe works towards a zero-waste future, these insights will be key to ensuring meaningful progress. Please go to our library to download the report Ambitions Towards Food Waste Prevention in the EU-27 Member States. Please go to the European Environment Agency website to download the report Preventing Waste in Europe: Progress and Challenges, with a Focus on Food Waste. For further questions, please contact Nora Brüggemann. © Yan Krukau, Pexels