UAE: Abu Dhabi’s new food sustainability programme aims to deliver results over many years

“Through a series of collaborations with local, regional and international agencies, our goal is to directly target food loss and waste reduction, whether at farms, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, restaurants or households. This understanding with Accuro The memorandum will help us uncover the root causes behind current behaviours and allow us to develop a pilot ‘nudge’ of strategies to build new social norms around responsible food purchasing, storage, preparation and consumption,” said Ahmed Talib Al Emirates Fund Chief Executive Shamsi.

Al Shamsi explained that establishing a UAE-wide baseline for food loss and waste will provide the means to quantify issues, identify potential hotspots and make informed decisions to better address food loss and waste.

“The Ne’ma initiative aims to raise public awareness of the issues that arise and change current waste-related behaviours, promoting more positive and sustainable habits that help protect our precious food resources, in line with the UAE halving The National Food Security Strategy for Food Waste by 2030. Accuro will support Ne’ma by providing a range of strategies aimed at reducing food loss and waste in employee canteens and cafeterias, including selection of pilot project locations, mentoring and training for key employees As well as measuring and recording food waste data during the pilot, we expect our collaboration will bear fruit in the years ahead, supporting the behavioral changes we aspire to achieve.”

Scott Duran, CEO of Accuro, said: “Our dedicated team of professionals provides in-depth expertise and understanding across healthcare, corporate and education. Our success has been and will continue to be built on our passion for what we do. Positive It’s this passion and focus that sets us apart from other suppliers in the market.”

The MoU between the Emirates Foundation and Accuro ensures that the Ne’ma programme will benefit from their shared strategic goals and recognised expertise in promoting the development of the UAE community by addressing over-consumption and building a UAE-wide commitment to social responsibility seeking more sustainable solutions.