Lidl GB has set a new target of reducing the amount of food waste it produces by 70 per cent over the next five years.

The discount supermarket chain was originally aiming for a 50 per cent decrease in food waste by 2030. But it decided to increase the target after it reduced food waste by 40 per cent in the last financial year.

According to Lidl, one of the reasons it achieved its 50 per cent target so early was due to changes made to the layout of its bakeries. Bakery product levels now vary at different times of the day in accordance with customer demand. This change resulted in a 30 per cent reduction in bakery products being wasted in 2024.

For the past decade, Lidl has also prevented good surplus food from being wasted through a meal redistribution programme called Feed it Back. Run in partnership with community impact and giving platform Neighbourly, the scheme has seen 50 million meals donated.

This partnership is now being expanded to help Lidl achieve its new food-reduction target. In the summer, Lidl will team up with Neighbourly on a Midlands-based trial of the charity’s Surplus Saviours programme.

The scheme provides people registered with the charity, such as volunteers and customers, with access to unsold, surplus meals. Over 5,000 tonnes of food are expected to be redistributed, not thrown into a skip, through this trial.

In another new effort to prevent food wastage and to expand its circular economy footprint, Lidl is working on a new Peterborough-based project that will see unsold bakery stock - such as croissants and bread - turned into animal feed.

Matt Juden-Bloomfield, head of sustainability at Lidl GB, commented on these efforts: “At Lidl, we set ambitious targets that challenge how we operate and inspire innovation when it comes to food waste. We've made good strides, but we know we can do more. With that in mind, we have increased our targets to ensure we remain accountable and also introduced some exciting new trials to take things to the next level.

“We remain committed to accelerating our progress in this space and collaborating closely with our industry peers to drive lasting impact for both the environment and the communities we are at the heart of.”

When it comes to finding ways to reduce food waste, Lidl continues to draw on practical data and insights provided by the team at global environmental action non-profit organisation WRAP. It’s already a signatory of WRAP’s UK Food & Drink Pact.

Estelle Herszenhorn, director of food system transformation at WRAP, said: “It has been fantastic seeing them offer loose fruits and vegetables and adopting best practice labelling. Both practices help shoppers reduce their household food waste. In-store, Lidl GB's initiative on matching bakery products with demand aligns with WRAP's priority of preventing food waste before it occurs. We are delighted to see increased paths for redistribution where food is surplus – a move WRAP also encourages.”

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