Together, we can achieve Target 12.3
The United Nations’ Sustainability Goal 12.3 calls on the world to cut its food waste in
half by 2030. To achieve this ambitious goal we are all called on to increase our efforts in
preventing food waste from occurring.
Since 2004, Leanpath has helped foodservice organizations cut their food waste by an
average of 50 percent. With the Leanpath 12.3 Initiative, we are expanding the reach of
this work by helping selected resource-constrained educational and non-profit
organizations around the globe accelerate and deepen their efforts toward food waste
prevention. We recognize that there are many small organizations in need of some
assistance (financial or knowledge-based) to enable them to achieve measurable impact
in reducing food waste.
Specifically, the Initiative offers Leanpath’s expertise, as well as free or reduced-cost
hardware and software, to a limited number of highly-qualified educational and non-
profit applicants who share Leanpath’s vision of ensuring a sustainable future by
eliminating global food waste, and who cannot advance their projects without
assistance.
Leanpath 12.3 Initiative grants and
partnerships are available for:
To ensure the next generation of foodservice leaders prioritize food waste prevention, the Leanpath 12.3 Initiative and the James Beard Foundation are offering free food waste prevention software to culinary educators
The Leanpath 12.3 Initiative will evaluate a small number of hardware and software donation opportunities to mission-aligned non-profits annually.
To ensure Leanpath’s food waste data set, photography and expertise is leveraged for greater understanding of the food waste crisis, the Initiative will coordinate sharing information with qualified research organizations.
James Beard Foundation
Leanpath 12.3 Initiative Partner
Leanpath is the James Beard Foundation’s official food waste tracking partner and is providing tracking technology and analytics for their “Creating a Full-Use Kitchen” curriculum for culinary professionals.
The Leanpath 12.3 Initiative formalizes Leanpath’s history of partnering to further food waste prevention with groups including:
FAQs
We minimize our impact on the world by making mindful decisions at work, at home, and by educating others.
In late 2015, the United Nations launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focused on addressing key global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. Our food system is critically linked to these three themes and all 17 goals, and sharp reductions in food waste would benefit all of them.
The SDGs include a broad range of goals for sweeping positive change by 2030, including Target 12.3, which seeks to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns by cutting food waste at the retail and consumer levels in half while reducing food losses along production and supply chains.
The Leanpath 12.3 Initiative takes its name from this UN Target.
The focus of the Leanpath Initiative is to help catalyze the global effort to achieve Target 12.3 by expanding the reach of food waste prevention technology and research.
The Leanpath 12.3 Initiative is not a non-profit, but is a distinct arm of our organization focused on giving back to the global community by accelerating food waste prevention efforts among qualified needs-based, mission-aligned organizations.
Culinary educators, mission-aligned non-profits and mission-aligned research institutes. There are a limited number of grants per year.
Already have an idea in mind? We’d love to hear the details. Complete the Application form and apply today!
For general questions about the Initiative, and how you might partner with us in working to cut global food waste and loss in half by 2030 in accordance with Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, please contact us at initiative@leanpath.com.
Apply online anytime. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year.
Applications are reviewed by the Leanpath 12.3 Initiative executive team, which has sole approval authority. The number of annual awards is limited, so while we support a wide range of projects, unfortunately, we can’t approve all applications that we receive. Upon review of your application, we’ll get back to you promptly.
Leanpath 12.3 Initiative – Contact Us
The Leanpath 12.3 Initiative is led by Executive Director Steven Finn. Steven is
a member of the Leanpath leadership team and teaches Innovation for
Sustainability with a focus on food, water, and energy nexus issues at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Steve has extensive expertise in food waste reduction and prevention
strategies, and speaks frequently at global industry events and provides
strategic insight for Leanpath clients.
He has conducted extensive research into the problems of food security and
global food waste, developing innovative public-private partnerships to
capture and redistribute excess food. He has served on several nonprofit
boards focused on food security, and is the author of the blog Food for
Thoughtful Action.