Symposium Reducing Food Waste: The Transition From Excess to Enough

Programme

After a joint lunch, Sanne Stroosnijder (chairperson of the day) and Erica van Herpen (project lead) will welcome you, followed by keynote speeches from Toine Timmermans (Food Waste Free United) and Christian Scheffler (COO, HelloFresh).

Toine Timmermans (Food Waste Free United)

Towards halving food waste in Europe, a collaborative effort

Toine Timmermans is the managing Director of the foundation Food Waste Free United, the National private-public partnership in the Netherlands, www.foodwastefreeunited.com. He is also program manager Sustainable Food Chains at Wageningen University & Research. He coordinated both EU projects FUSIONS and REFRESH (www.eu-refresh.org), focusing on innovation and research in food waste prevention at EU-level. He is member of the EC-Food Loss and Food Waste platform and Non-Executive Director at the Board of End Food Waste Australia.

Christian Scheffler (HelloFresh)

Christian Scheffler is responsible for Food Safety, Quality Assurance, Health & Safety, Sustainability, and Packaging at HelloFresh, the world’s largest meal-kit provider. The teams within his remit focus on bringing safe, high-quality, healthy, and sustainable food solutions to HelloFresh customers across the globe. Food waste reduction at HelloFresh merges commercial and consumer interests with positive sustainability impact. A previous life-cycle-analysis has demonstrated the food waste reduction potential of the meal kit business model and this will be an interesting area for similar research in the company’s growing ready-to-eat business.

Various pitches will bring you up to speed on the latest insights from research and practice. These include:

Jenny van Doorn (University of Groningen)

Package size swaps make good providers waste less food

Jenny van Doorn is professor of Service Marketing at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. As a researcher, she strives to be on the forefront of new developments and is passionate about discovering consumers’ reactions to societal transitions. She is intrigued by the transition to a more sustainable society, in particular reducing food waste and the use of plastic. Currently, she is also fascinated by the use of technology, in particular social service robots, as the next frontier of societal transitions. Her work has appeared in, amongst others, the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Service Research. She has been awarded for her work with, among others, the Weitz Winer O’Dell Award, the MOA insights scientist of the year award and SAGE’s 10-Year Impact Award.

Lilou van Lieshout (Netherlands Nutrition Centre)

Dutch approach to preventing household food waste

Lilou van Lieshout holds an MSc degree in Human Nutrition (Wageningen University). For 10 years she translates science into practice for consumers and professionals with respect to the protein transition, food waste, sustainability labels, fruit and vegetables and food environments. She is the primary researcher on consumer food waste in the Netherlands.

Daphne Ribbers (University of Groningen)

Morals over money: the surprisingly powerful link between moral motivations and consumers’ food waste

Daphne Ribbers is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Groningen, where she dives deep into the world of consumer food waste. With a Master’s from Wageningen University and a PhD from Ghent University, Daphne has turned her passion for sustainability into action. In her dissertation "Motivations (and) Matter," she explored consumer motivations and multi-use products in reducing food waste. Her findings have not only appeared in journals like Global Environmental Change and the Journal of Environmental Psychology, but they have also ignited discussions at international conferences and fostered meaningful engagement with organizations such as the US EPA and WRAP.

Yi Zhang (Wageningen University)

Novel concepts to reduce food waste: surprise bags and food sharing

Yi Zhang is a PhD researcher at Wageningen University & Research, specializing in consumer psychology and decision-making. Her research is dedicated to understanding sustainable consumer behavior, particularly at the post-purchase stage, such as within households. Yi’s PhD work focuses on consumer adaptability to less desirable food (e.g., surplus, close to expiration, damaged packaging) in both retail and household contexts. This work aims to provide both theoretical and practical insights into mitigating the waste of less desirable food. Relevant findings have been published in journals such as Journal of Cleaner Production and presented at various international conferences.

Kathelijn van Elk (Too Good To Go)

Empower consumers to make a difference; small actions, big impact

Kathelijn van Elk is leading the global impact programmes at Too Good To Go - the world’s largest B2C marketplace for surplus food. One of the impact programmes she is responsible for is the ‘Look-Smell-Taste’ initiative. This initiative is encouraging people to trust their senses before they throw away a product past its Best Before date. With over 500 brands in 14 countries they jointly communicate on this need, both on- and off pack.

Hannah Goss (TU Delft)

Designing for adaptable consumption

Hannah Goss is pursuing her PhD at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology. Her main research interests are exploring the contribution of design expertise in fostering complex societal challenges and how designers can be supported in staging this expertise effectively. Specifically, she investigates how designers envision alternative futures, frame system dynamics, and design short-term innovations that promote long-term systemic change. Currently, Hannah is working on transitioning the Dutch food system to ensure sufficient food for all while minimizing food waste. She is involved in the Food & Eating Design Lab at TU Delft, where designers and researchers strive to improve people’s interactions with food. Additionally, she is involved with the Systemic Design Lab at TU Delft, a cross-departmental lab dedicated to developing and applying knowledge about the role of design in the generation of systemic change.

Join our partners HelloFresh, Iglo, Hak, Netherlands Nutrition Centre, and Food Waste Free United in interactive table discussions. These will offer a unique opportunity to explore how insights from research and our future vision can inspire practice. 

How to empower consumers to reduce household food waste by optimising food storage behaviour and checking food quality - Netherlands Nutrition Centre & Too Good To Go

In this table session we will discuss how the food industry can empower consumers to reduce household food waste by optimising behaviour concerning food storage and checking food quality - both tomorrow and in coming years. We will brainstorm around questions like: which information is needed on pack? How can open shelf-life help? How to empower consumers to trust their senses to check food quality?

This session is interesting for manufacturers, retailers and policy makers.

How to reduce food waste with a food waste aid kit box – HelloFresh

In this table session, we will explore how the Food Waste Aid Kit Box can assist consumers in minimizing food waste. A key issue we aim to address is the common fear among consumers of potentially having unexpected guests, leading them to purchase additional products in the supermarket (in addition to their normal groceries and meal boxes). The Food Waste Aid Kit Box can provide solutions by offering non-perishable products that extend or enhance existing meals, thereby reducing unnecessary purchases. We will brainstorm critical questions such as: How can we alleviate the fear of running out of food at home, which often results in redundant shopping? What types of products should be included in the box to ensure maximum flexibility and efficiency? Additionally, we will discuss potential challenges and seek solutions for the successful implementation of this intervention. This includes addressing logistical issues, influencing consumer behavior, and fostering collaborations with supermarkets and other retail partners. This session is of interest to manufacturers, retailers, and researchers.

How to stimulate consumers to reduce food waste by using products with a long shelf life more often – Hak & Iglo

In this table session we will discuss how the food industry can empower consumers to reduce food waste by switching from perishable items to ambient and frozen products. We will brainstorm around questions like: What’s the key barrier holding consumers back from switching? How can we stimulate and inspire consumers to cook with non-perishable items more often, for example by replacing perishable ingredients with similar non-perishable products? How to convince consumers of the benefits of ambient and frozen food towards preventing food waste in the whole value chain?

Coalitions & partnerships - Food Waste Free United

So now how to move from scientific insights towards impactful action? What is needed to translate science to practice and how can we act scalable and replicable? Coalitions and partnerships have proven to be pivotal. Join this interactive table discussion with the Dutch Food Waste Free United Foundation. They bring together over 120 stakeholders from the full food supply chain, working closely together to deliver SDG 12.3 and reduce food loss and waste in the Netherlands by 50% in 2030. We will talk about what is needed for an impactful coalition, share examples of good practice, and explore new ideas for future partnerships.

Are you keen on hearing how the latest research insights can be used in practice? Would you like to be inspired by innovative ideas? Are you looking to connect with others dedicated to reducing food waste? 

If your answer is yes, we warmly invite you to register for the symposium. Let’s take a step together towards a food-waste-free future.

We look forward to seeing you in person! If you are not able to come to Wageningen, there is an option to follow the plenary part of the symposium online.