Overview

Beginning in 2020, Leanpath partnered with UK-based WRAP (Waste Resources Action Programme) and P4G (and other stakeholders) on a new initiative known as FLAWLESS (Halving Food Loss and Waste by leveraging Economic Systems).  The goal of the project was to accelerate the scaling of food waste prevention technology in emerging (or less developed) regions by overcoming the barriers to adoption – chiefly the upfront and monthly cash outlays.  Through this project, we developed a Pay As You Save model which would allow cash-constrained foodservice operations in emerging regions to deploy our technology with no upfront outlay, instead paying for the product and ongoing service through a shared savings program (where the savings achieved through food waste reduction are split and paid in arrears).    

Alignment with the EAT-Lancet Commission 

The Pay As You Save Model aligns with Strategy 5 of the 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission report, which calls for halving (at least) food loss and waste by 2030 in accordance with SDG Target 12.3 

To date, the exciting part is that development of the model was completed over many months following several interviews with food system stakeholders including NGOs, financial institutions, and foodservice organization.  We are now in discussion with prospects to test the model, which we feel can be a significant unlock for accelerating food waste tracking in developing regions.

Lessons Learned

While food waste prevention technology has had limited adoption to date in less developed countries, (largely due to limited funding) we believe this will change in the future as the costs of food waste become more untenable.  Thus, our model, which de-risks engagement for food service operations in such regions by eliminating the need to an upfront cash outlay and incorporating a shared savings model (with payments in arrears from calculated savings from food waste reduction achieved) can be a viable model to accelerate wider adoption.