Netto weighs in to cut food waste

Supermarket chain aims to help consumers and reduce costs

Stephen Gadd

According to figures released by the Ministry of Environment, every year Danes throw 700,000 tonnes of food away, which could have been eaten.

Shops account for 163,000 tonnes of this food waste, whilst households account for 260,000 tonnes.

Additionally, figures from the Danish Agriculture and Food Council from 2014 indicate that wasting food costs 11.6 billion kroner, including VAT and tariffs.

READ MORE: The app-titude to fight food waste in Denmark is strong

Raising the bar
Netto is the first supermarket chain in Denmark to disclose the amount of food wasted, which in 2016 turned out to be 17,632 tonnes.

At the same time, the company has set a goal for 2023 to reduce this amount by more than half to 9,729 tonnes.

Brian Seemann, the director for Netto in Denmark, told TV2 that “it is typically food that we don’t sell before the final sales date that is thrown out,” which amounts to around 48 tonnes per day.

READ MORE: Reducing Food Waste: Moving Beyond Compliance

Food should be eaten
Last summer, Netto took first steps to fight the food waste problem by launching a free mobile app ‘Mad skal spises’ (‘food should be eaten’) that enables consumers to find and buy food nearing its expiry date at significantly reduced prices.

The supermarket chain has also set up an ‘idea bank’, where customers can contribute to the discussion and put forward their own ideas, and established a task force that educates staff in shops on how to reduce waste.

“Since 2014, we’ve reduced our food waste by 10 percent,” said Seemann.

As well as Netto, Dansk Supermarked also owns Føtex, Bilka and Salling and has 1,300 shops in Denmark.

Several of the supermarket chains in the group are also expected to release figures for food waste in the course of 2017.

TOP STORIES

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

  • Jacob Mark had it all coming in rising SF party – now he quits

    Jacob Mark had it all coming in rising SF party – now he quits

    SF became Denmark’s largest party in the EP elections in June. In polls, the left-wing party is breathing down Socialdemokratiet’s neck. It is a tremendous place to be next in line in Danish politics. But today, 33-year-old Jacob Mark announced he is quitting politics at the threshold of the door of power.

  • EU leaders toughen stance on return of irregular migrants

    EU leaders toughen stance on return of irregular migrants

    EU leaders agreed last week to speed up returns of migrants irregularly entering the bloc. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is pleased, describing Denmark’s previous attempts to pitch a stricter asylum and migration policy to the EU as “like shouting into an empty handball hall in Jutland”. But not all leaders are enthusiastic.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs