February 6, 2025
In this blog: Retailers lead industry collaboration | Industrials to increase operational resiliency | Policy adoption across U.S. | Improved permitting to accelerate infrastructure
Summary: As food industry businesses seek ways to prevent and reduce their unsold food from going to waste, here are some actionable insights on how to make progress in 2025.
With 2025 fully underway, the food industry is poised for significant progress in preventing and reducing food from going to waste. We asked experts at Divert to weigh in on how this progress will take shape in the year ahead, and how the industry can work together to bring it to fruition. With retailers taking the lead in fostering collaboration across the supply chain, we can expect stronger commitments to sustainable practices that benefit both businesses and consumers. Efforts to combat food waste will gain momentum as policies aimed at prevention and reduction become more widely adopted. At the same time, improvements in permitting processes will be essential to expanding the infrastructure needed to support these changes. Amidst a changing economic and political landscape, 2025 is ripe with opportunity to make progress on the fight to end food waste.
Retailers will lead collaboration with supply chain partners to establish sustainable practices that reduce costs, mitigate climate impacts, and best support the communities they serve.
“It can be challenging to balance costs with sustainable decisions, especially when food prices are still uncomfortably high for most people, but retailers have the ability to innovate and collaborate with their supply chain and sourcing partners to create scalable, cost-sensitive solutions that benefit their shoppers, providers and our planet. It won’t be easy, but focusing and aligning on high impact, cross-industry efforts with support from for-profit and non-profit experts will ensure the momentum continues. Large retailers with footprints covering multiple regions and states, all with varying regulations and incentives, will need to drive the demand for these changes, reshaping the supply chain for others to follow.” —Ben Kuethe Oaks, Vice President & General Manager, Retail
Food manufacturers and distributors will increase their focus on operational resilience.
“In 2025, food manufacturers and distributors will face heightened uncertainty due to the potential for volatile food and commodity prices, global fiscal policy fluctuations, and geopolitical tensions. As external factors become less predictable, companies across the food value chain will invest in strategies that reduce risk within their own operations.
The need for more reliable and professional partners will be paramount, with a growing demand for those who reliably deliver on their commitments. This shift will prompt companies to reevaluate their sustainability strategies, ensuring their partners can support ambitious goals without introducing new risks—particularly around safety, operations, and regulatory compliance.
Expect growing demand for circular economy solutions that also reduce operational volatility and support resiliency, particularly around capacity utilization, labor planning, waste diversion, and resource recovery.” —Andrew Johnston, Vice President & General Manager, Industrials
States and municipalities across the U.S. will increase adoption and implementation of policies on wasted food.
“In 2025, more states and localities will begin adopting and implementing policies related to reducing wasted food. More specifically, we expect to see an increase in organic waste bans and similar legislation in states like Washington, Rhode Island, Illinois, Oregon, and elsewhere. This type of legislation has been discussed in at least 15 states, and we’ll see more progress on it in the next year.” —Holly Yanai, Senior Manager, Public Affairs
Improved permitting will enable more infrastructure to better manage wasted food.
“Permitting impacts every new infrastructure project, including the facilities needed to handle unsold food. Currently, the permitting process in many jurisdictions is prohibitive, slow-moving and delays projects. Improvements in permitting will drive forward the infrastructure that’s needed to prevent food from being wasted and achieve energy transition emissions goals.
Without this necessary infrastructure, the U.S. is rapidly running out of landfill space and needs alternatives to handling waste. We need improved public processes that ease the siting, permitting, and development of privately funded facilities that help to divert food from becoming wasted. From the federal level, down to state and local governments, policymakers are recognizing that cumbersome processes are delaying the implementation of domestic energy and climate solutions, and we will see progress here in 2025.” —Chris Thomas, Vice President, Public Affairs
