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SOURCE OF ENGINEER

2. Identifying Improvement Priorities Level 3: Recycling
Once organizations understand which stages generate When waste cannot be directly reused, recycling offers
the greatest impacts or losses, they can prioritize investments an opportunity to recover its remaining value. For example,
and process improvements more effectively. vegetable scraps, fruit peels, and production residues can be
3. Supporting ESG and Net Zero Goals processed into compost or soil conditioners. Such practices
Data generated through LCA can be used to calculate a align closely with the principles of the circular economy.
product’s carbon footprint, providing essential information for Level 4: Recovery
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting and Waste that cannot be reused or recycled may be converted
for developing greenhouse gas reduction strategies aligned into thermal energy or electricity. This approach helps reduce
with Net Zero commitments. waste volumes, decreases reliance on fossil fuels, and
improves resource efficiency within organizations.
Managing Food Loss and Food Waste through Level 5: Disposal (Least Preferred Option)
the Food and Drink Material Hierarchy Incineration and landfill disposal should be considered
One internationally recognized framework for waste only as a last resort because they permanently eliminate the
management is the Food and Drink Material Hierarchy, which value embedded within resources and generate the greatest
prioritizes waste management options according to the value environmental impacts. In addition to disposal costs, landfill
they create, from the most preferred to the least preferred practices reflect the loss of raw materials, water, energy, and
approach. The hierarchy consists of five levels: labor that have already been invested without generating
Level 1: Prevention (Most Preferred Option) additional value. Organic waste in landfills can also produce
Preventing waste at its source is the most effective and methane, a greenhouse gas with approximately 28 times the
cost-efficient strategy because it keeps resources within the global warming potential of carbon dioxide (IPCC, 2014).
value-creation process instead of turning them into costs Therefore, disposal should not be viewed as a solution to
that must be managed later. Businesses should therefore waste management but rather as the final option after all other
focus on production planning, inventory management, the alternatives have been exhausted.
application of the First Expired, First Out (FEFO) principle, As the food industry faces increasing costs and more
and quality control throughout the supply chain. Every stringent sustainability requirements, organizations that
kilogram of waste prevented represents profit retained from systematically reduce food loss and food waste will gain
the outset. advantages in cost management, production efficiency, and
Level 2: Optimisation corporate reputation. Ultimately, the best waste is waste that
Even with effective prevention measures, some never occurs, and every remaining resource should be utilized
by-products and surplus materials are unavoidable. This to create the greatest possible value. This principle lies at the
approach focuses on maximizing the value of remaining heart of sustainable growth in the modern food industry.
resources. Examples include transforming cosmetically
imperfect raw materials into new products, utilizing
by-products as inputs for other industries, or redirecting
materials to animal feed. The key principle is to convert
“leftovers” into valuable resources, thereby reducing disposal More Information Service Info C012
costs while generating additional value.

เอกสารอ้างอิง / References
FAO. (2019). The state of food and agriculture: Moving forward on
food loss and waste reduction. Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations.
IPCC. (2014). Climate change 2014: Synthesis report. Contribution
of Working Groups I, II and III to the fifth assessment report of the
intergovernmental panel on climate change (Core Writing Team,
R. K. Pachauri & L. A. Meyer, Eds.). IPCC.[https://www.ipcc.ch/
report/ar5/syr/]
Scialabba, Nadia. (2015). Food Wastage Footprint & Climate Change.
United Nations Environment Programme & Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. (2021). Prevention and reduc
tion of food and drink waste in businesses and households: Guid
ance for governments, local authorities, businesses and other
organizations (Version 1.0). https://www.greenpolicyplatform.org/
guidance/prevention-and-reduction-food-and-drink-waste-busi
nesses-and-households
ภาพที่่� 1 ลำำ�ดัับค์วิ�มสำำ�ค์ัญของแนัวิท�งก�รจััดัก�รอ�ห�รแลำะเค์ร่�องดั่�ม สำำ�นัักง�นัพััฒนั�ก�รวิิจััยก�รเกษตร (องค์์ก�รมห�ชนั). (2564). การสููญเสูีย
Figure 1 Food and drink material hierarchy อาหารและขยะอาหาร (Food Loss, Food Waste). https://www.arda.
ที่่�มา / Source: United Nations Environment Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization or.th/detail/6545
of the United Nations (2021)
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