CoP #7 Food Policy Overview: Scale-up Efforts in Reducing Food Lost & Waste

The CoP #7 Food Policy and Circular Food Solutions completed two (2) CoP meetings on the 23rd of February and 18th of March. On the 26th of March, they completed the first deep dive webinar on food loss and waste reductions in partnership with Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the IURC programme.

The key outcome of this joint initiative launched by Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, FAO, and IURC is to help Asia-Pacific cities move from awareness to action on food loss and waste reduction through an 8-month capacity-building program (March-October 2025). Cities must register to receive all communications and materials, with full participation requiring completion of baseline survey by April 20th.

Program Structure

There are three organizational objectives:

1. Build understanding and analytical capacity through surveys and knowledge webinars.
2. Strengthen planning and implementation capacity via in-person training and project work.
3. Contribute to shared knowledge base through reports and scaling-up roadmaps.

Timeline and activities

• March 2025: Introductory webinar and survey launch.
• April 20: Webinar 2 – Co-Creating Change: Participatory Pathways (governance and stakeholder engagement)
• May 18: Webinar 3 – Digital Tools and Data Systems for evidence-based planning
• June 8-12: In-person training in Seberang Perai, Malaysia (core event)
• September-October: Webinars 4-5 focused on pilot project refinement and funding scouting

In-Person Training Details in Sebrang Perai

This four-day intensive workshop with city officials and national government representatives will be divided into several topics:

• Understanding food loss and waste as systemic challenges; policy landscapes
• Policy design covering intervention categories with stakeholder mapping exercises
• Hands-on drafting of city policy proposals with facilitator support; field visits to local practices
• Additional field visits showcasing Seberang Perai’s food system approaches

Diverse Webinar Formats

Knowledge-building webinars:

1. Introduction of FAO analytical framework on food loss and waste
2. Best practice showcases from Milan Pact Awards, focusing on Asia-Pacific region
3. Small group activities for peer engagement and challenge identification

Implementation webinars:

1. Cities present pilot projects for peer feedback
2. Focus on sustainability, funding mechanisms, and financial resource identification

Project Work Deliverables

Each participating city will develop concrete output in flexible formats. From policy proposals, strategic roadmaps, or pilot projects, including grounded in city-specific context, challenges, and capacity. This is al built on survey analysis, webinar knowledge, and in-person workshop sessions. All of this will be refined through Webinar 4 with structured peer and facilitator feedback. These elements have a clear target: Every city has actionable proposal with implementation pathway by end of October.

Partnership Framework

FAO’s South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) approach:

• Enables technology and knowledge transfer across multiple countries simultaneously with same resources
• Involves partners from all global regions (north, south, east, west) though beneficiaries primarily southern countries
• Applied to disseminate food loss and waste knowledge globally at scale
• Parallel program planned for Latin American and Caribbean cities (5-7 countries, ~10 cities)

IURC program integration:

• Part of EU Urban Initiative with results shared in European Urban Initiative knowledge library
• Aligned with EU’s New Urban Agenda commitments and European Green Deal
• Previous collaboration with Milan Pact resulted in Bangkok policy implementation
• Leverages Food Policy and Circular Solution Project funded by European Union

The Second webinar is scheduled for April 20, 2025 based on Co-Creating Change – Participatory Pathways to Reduce Food Loss and Waste.