Interministerial Coordination Office
Reducing food waste is an urgent, complex, and global problem. In its government program "Out of Responsibility for Austria. Government Program 2020–2024," the Austrian Federal Government has given food waste prevention a pioneering role and is committed to a more sustainable approach to food use. This reaffirms the implementation of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which, in its Goal 12.3, calls for halving per capita food waste in retail, out-of-home consumption, and in private households, as well as reducing food losses in agriculture and during processing, by 2030.
With the establishment of the Interministerial Coordination Office for Food Waste Prevention in September 2021, a decisive step forward was taken towards implementing the global Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 in Austria. Through the collaboration of five ministries (BMLUK, BMWET, BMB und BMASGPK) from the fields of agriculture, economy, education, and health, under the chairmanship of the Environment Section of the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, knowledge and experience will be pooled to jointly reduce the proportion of avoidable food waste. The issue is understood as a challenge for society as a whole, which should be addressed in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders from business, science, administration, and civil society.
The strategy for preventing food waste developed by the interministerial coordination office provides the framework for this common goal in close cooperation with domestic stakeholders. Further activities of the coordination office, such as the action plan "Food is precious!" currently being developed and the initiation of working groups, will make a significant contribution to identifying barriers and obstacles to preventing food waste along the entire value chain and to developing concrete solutions and assistance for pressing issues.
Government program (BKA) (in German only)
Sustainable Development – Agenda 2030 (BKA) (in German only)