A Participatory Approach to Minimizing Food Waste in the Food Industry—A Manual for Managers

Christina Strotmann, Christine Göbel, Silke Friedrich, Judith Kreyenschmidt, Guido Ritter and Petra Teitscheid
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Christina Strotmann: Institute of Sustainable Nutrition (iSuN), Münster University of Applied Sciences, Corrensstr. 25, 48149 Münster, Germany
Christine Göbel: Institute of Sustainable Nutrition (iSuN), Münster University of Applied Sciences, Corrensstr. 25, 48149 Münster, Germany
Silke Friedrich: Institute of Sustainable Nutrition (iSuN), Münster University of Applied Sciences, Corrensstr. 25, 48149 Münster, Germany
Judith Kreyenschmidt: Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences, Cold Chain Management Working Group, University of Bonn, Katzenburgweg 7-9, 53115 Bonn, Germany
Guido Ritter: Institute of Sustainable Nutrition (iSuN), Münster University of Applied Sciences, Corrensstr. 25, 48149 Münster, Germany
Petra Teitscheid: Institute of Sustainable Nutrition (iSuN), Münster University of Applied Sciences, Corrensstr. 25, 48149 Münster, Germany

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: Based on their experiences gained in 15 companies in the catering sector and the bakery industry, the authors present a participatory concept to reduce food waste in the food industry. This five-phase concept, adapted to the PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) cycle applied in the Total Quality Management, involves a participatory approach where employees are integrated into the process of developing and implementing measures to counteract food waste. The authors describe how the participatory approach can be used to raise awareness of the topic of food waste to improve employee commitment and responsibility. As a result, the authors further offer a Manual for Managers wishing to reduce food waste in their respective organizations. This manual includes information on the methodologies applied in each step of the improvement cycle. It also describes why the steps are necessary, and how results can be documented. The participatory concept and the Manual for Managers contribute to reducing food waste and to enhancing resource efficiency in the food industry.

Keywords: food waste; change management; resource efficiency; sustainability; food value chain; PDCA cycle (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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