The story behind SAVE FOOD

Prof. Toepfer

On 27 January 2011 in Berlin, Germany SAVE FOOD was introduced to the public by the partners Messe Düsseldorf and the FAO. SAVE FOOD put the issue of global food losses onto the political and economic agenda. Prominent supporters, such as Professor Klaus Töpfer, publicly endorse the concept of the initiative, assuring a broad media impact right from the start.

SAVE FOOD celebrated its premiere as a cooperation between Messe Düsseldorf and FAO at interpack 2011: an international congress focusing on the packaging industry.

A presentation by Werner M. Dornscheidt, Chairman of the Board of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, at the United Nations in New York paved the way for the international success of the SAVE FOOD initiative.

Among other things, two FAO studies provided the basis for discussion at the congress in May 2011. The SAVE FOOD exhibition was presented to a professional audience for the first time. In addition, SAVE FOOD initiated the "Sustainable Food Court" at interpack and illustrated how the principles of sustainable development can be implemented in catering practice.

The foundation of the initiative

The positive response to the first steps led to the decision to set up SAVE FOOD as a long-term initiative that is open to sponsorship by companies and aims to network actors from business with politics, civil society and research.

To establish the initiative in the contexts of politics and business, SAVE FOOD sought expert contacts at World Food Day and an interested public at German Sustainability Day. The aim was to stimulate dialogue and help develop solutions along the food value chain. In the future, too, SAVE FOOD's own projects are to be initiated and promoted with the support of the industry.

Networking and presentation

Since the end of 2011, the SAVE FOOD initiative has found numerous members and supporters in the business community and, together with them, has tackled further concrete projects. In doing so, SAVE FOOD wants to act as a networker, agent provocateur and provider of ideas.

In addition to the entrepreneurial focus, raising consumer awareness is another concern. The aim is therefore also to present the initiative to a broader public through the SAVE FOOD exhibition. The exhibition has been travelling around the world since the end of 2011 and made stops at the FAO (Rome), World Water Week (Stockholm), the IK General Assembly (Leipzig), UPAKOVKA/UPAK ITALIA (Moscow), the UNEP General Assembly (Nairobi), Packology, Rimini (Italy) and at PROCESS EXPO (Chicago).

Development of the SAVE FOOD project

SAVE FOOD Partner

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

United Nations Environment Programme

World Packaging Organisation (WPO)

interpack - Processing & Packaging

Messe Düsseldorf