As an official partner of Too Good To Go’s “Oft länger gut” campaign in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, we are committed to clearing up misunderstandings surrounding best-before dates. The “Oft länger gut” label on our packaging reminds consumers to check products individually: look, smell, taste – rather than throwing them away unnecessarily. This label can be found on our Activia and Alpro ranges and helps to reduce food waste in households in the long term.
Improving our supply chain
Tackling food waste throughout the supply chain
Food waste can occur at each stage of the supply chain, including processing, shipping, and use by customers. At Danone, we identified the key contributions to food waste and designed a toolkit of proven best practices to target those losses. This led to the development of our Battle Against Waste program.
The program focuses on assessing waste at each stage in the end-to-end supply chain, engaging with stakeholders, suppliers, and external partners to reduce food waste. Each production site is tracked by a robust reporting system and has financial and environmental targets to optimize processes and reduce waste.
"Often good for longer"
Understanding the best-before date
A lot of food ends up in the bin because the best-before date is misunderstood. It indicates the date until which a product is guaranteed to remain in good condition – not the date on which it automatically goes off. Together with retailers and partners, we are raising awareness that many products are often good for longer.
Food waste: a global concern
According to the United Nations (UN), an estimated 735 million people go hungry globally, food loss and waste generate 8 to 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, acting as methane hotspot. See UN 2024 Food Loss and Waste Reduction | United Nations
-50%
By 2030 we aim to halve food waste compared to 2020 levels in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3
Food waste: a global concern
According to the United Nations (UN), an estimated 735 million people go hungry globally, food loss and waste generate 8 to 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, acting as methane hotspot. See UN 2024 Food Loss and Waste Reduction | United Nations
-50%
By 2030 we aim to halve food waste compared to 2020 levels in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3
Find out more about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 here.
Holistic approach
Efficient use of resources in production and distribution
In addition to our high hygiene standards, careful attention and a high level of professionalism are required to ensure that as little waste as possible is generated during production. Even seemingly ‘minor’ changes can have a significant impact here.
In order to guarantee the freshness of the products on offer, retailers require a minimum remaining shelf life for deliveries. Surplus edible products that cannot be supplied to retailers due to a short best-before date are sold via our secondary market for clearance sales to bulk buyers such as barracks, hospitals or other canteens.
In addition, we donate Danone products with expiry dates approaching to food banks, to Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen e. V. and to the German Caritas Association, where they are distributed to people in need. As well as food banks in Germany, we also support those in Austria and Switzerland, and have been recognised in Germany on several occasions with the ‘Tafel-Teller’ award as one of the largest donors.
In Austria, we support food banks not only through donations of goods for people affected by poverty in social institutions, but are also involved in awareness-raising initiatives such as the Sensorik-Labor. As a member of the Advisory Board in Austria, we work together on solutions for the rescue and distribution of food.
Food Waste Study by Danone and Too Good To Go
Study on food waste among consumers in the DACH region
In collaboration with Too Good To Go in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Danone conducted a study in 2021 on food waste among consumers.
The study’s specific focus on the entire DACH region sets it and its findings apart from previously published food waste studies. Among other things, the study examined the reasons for throwing food away, the product groups most frequently discarded, the role of the best-before date, and the solutions and measures consumers would like to see.
Further initiatives in the area of food waste
- Support for medical and humanitarian aid campaigns
For almost 15 years, we have been supporting ‘Wings of Help – Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen e.V.’ by providing food for children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. In addition, we donate medical nutritional supplements and tube feeds, as well as products for people in crisis-hit areas. These help to address nutritional deficiencies among people in precarious food security situations in crisis-hit areas.
- Signing of the agreement to reduce food loss (Switzerland)
In 2022, Danone Switzerland joined forces with other companies and associations from the food industry to sign an agreement aimed at reducing food loss. The shared goal is to halve food loss by 2030 compared to 2017.Through meetings and close contact with the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU), the signatories come together to review progress and develop the next steps in the action plan for a more sustainable future.
