Lincolnshire Co-op says it managed to save 1.8 million tonnes of food waste over the past year by optimising its waste management process, in partnership with in-store software provider Retail Insight.
The retail society says food waste reduction is a key lever in reducing its total emissions, and is using Retail Insight for its data-driven waste management solution, WasteInsight.
Last year, Lincolnshire implemented an enhanced version of Retail Insight’s Waste Trim feature, which uses a data-led model to optimise stock assortment, minimise overstocking and further cut food waste. Waste Trim analyses historical data, sales patterns and expiration dates to highlight and identify products or ranges that are regularly wasted.
Lincolnshire Co-op says this helps it to optimise stock assortment and minimise overstocking on frequently wasted items, which means less produce is entering the Reduced To Clear (RTC) process in the first place, and ultimately reducing the volume of wasted food generated.
Last year, by using WasteInsight, Lincolnshire says it avoided nearly 1.8 million tonnes of food waste, a rise of +6.8% compared to 2023, which equated to stopping 1,785 tonnes of food wastage. This saved 4,818 tonnes of CO2e from being emitted, the society adds, which equates to enough energy to power ~5,726 UK homes for a year.
“It’s been great to work alongside Retail Insight to further reduce food waste,” said head of food operations Craig Adamson, “and we’re already seeing a remarkable impact. We’re committed to looking after our local environment, and this applies to everything we do; from the way our outlets are designed, to how we source electricity. All of this, combined with our efforts to reduce waste, helps us to work towards our sustainability goals.”
Kieran O’Brien, VP customer success EMEA at Retail Insight, added: “Lincolnshire Co-op is coming at its food waste reduction efforts from all angles – as well as preventing RTC items from entering landfill with dynamic markdowns, it’s using data and insights to optimise stock, cutting the volumes of produce even entering its RTC process with the Waste Trim feature.
“This holistic approach to food waste management is evidenced in the significant progress it has made in food waste reduction over the last year.”
