Annually, South Africa discards more than 10 million tonnes of food, about a third of all production, while millions of households remain food insecure. (Photo: Food Tank / Wikipedia) 
South Africa has made noticeable strides in climate policy. Environment Minister Dion George has engaged the international stage, from leading the delegation to the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial to steering the execution of the Climate Change Act at home.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has shared its progress report, rolled out Renewable Energy Development Zones and launched the Coastal Adaptation Plan. Yet, among this impetus, one of the country’s speediest and most inexpensive climate levers is still missing from our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC): food loss and waste.
The missing lever
Annually, South Africa discards more than 10 million tonnes of food, about a third of all production, while millions of households remain food insecure. Worldwide, wasted food contributes 8% to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, including nearly 12% of methane.
At home, the work of Food Forward South Africa (FFSA) shows what is possible: in 2023/24 the organisation recovered 21,760 tonnes of surplus food, avoiding more than 113,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and redistributed it as 87 million meals.
Despite these proof points, food loss and waste is not explicitly included in South Africa’s draft NDC. Leaving it out is a missed opportunity to cut methane fast, reduce hunger and create green jobs in logistics, redistribution and organics processing.
Strategy under development
To its credit, the DFFE is developing a national Food Loss and Waste Strategy. It promises circular economy models, investment in composting and anaerobic digestion, and stronger municipal capacity to divert organics from landfills.
The Western Cape has already set a 2027 goal to eliminate organic waste from landfill. But without embedding food loss and waste targets in the NDC, South Africa risks keeping this agenda siloed from our core climate commitments.
A framework for integration
What would integration look like? Three steps:
- Recognise food recovery as climate mitigation: Food redistribution avoids methane and should be recognised in carbon credit frameworks and climate finance eligibility;
- Set measurable, sectoral targets: Mirror SDG 12.3 by halving food waste at retail and consumer level by 2030, and reducing upstream losses along supply chains, with sectoral milestones through 2035; and
- Build a multistakeholder platform: Link the DFFE, municipalities, business, NGOs and academia to pilot recovery hubs, share measurement tools and report annually.
The business case
For companies, food waste is inefficiency and wasted inputs, energy and capital. Globally, leading retailers and manufacturers are already disclosing waste and setting halving goals. Locally, the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa has a voluntary agreement to halve food loss and waste by 2030. The NDC can give that momentum regulatory weight, levelling the playing field and making disclosure the norm rather than the exception.
The time is now
Minister George has emphasised climate finance, just transition and adaptation in agriculture and oceans. Adding quantified food loss and waste targets to the NDC would complement this agenda with a mitigation tool that is fast, visible and affordable.
This is not charity, it is disciplined climate action with multiple dividends: methane avoided, jobs created, supply chains tightened and hungry people fed. The strategies and pilots exist. The policy window is open. What is needed is ambition in our NDC.
The prize is a cleaner atmosphere, and a South Africa where food feeds people, not landfills.
Food loss and waste is the elephant in the room of our climate commitments – visible, urgent and entirely addressable. It’s time we acknowledged it in our NDC. DM
This op-ed draws extensively from the NDC document submitted to Minister Dion George by FFSA CEO Andy du Plessis.
Ravi S Pillay is a board member of Food Forward South Africa and co-founder of the Food Safety Leadership Initiative. He is a former adviser to the chairperson of Nestlé East and Southern Africa and is currently a Gordon Institute of Business Science faculty member.