The tax imposed on restaurants/cafes is designed to be proportional to the result of the rating system based on food waste, giving the grade A/B/C/D evaluation. The less waste restaurants will produce, the higher their rating and the smaller the tax will be. This pilot policy proposal is designed for the region of Ile de France.
This policy proposal includes the implementation of a new food waste tax in order to achieve food waste reduction. The tax imposed on restaurants and cafes is designed to be proportional to the result of the rating system based on food waste, giving the grade A, B, C or D evaluation for a food catering company. The less waste restaurants will produce, the higher their rating and the smaller the food waste tax will be. The goal of this project is to encourage less food waste and a better food distribution in France. This pilot policy proposal is designed for the region of Ile de France. In case of success, it could be applied to France on the national level.
According to National Geographic, “if food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind the US and China”. In France, 15% of food waste comes from collective catering, or in other terms - restaurants. Food waste is an important concern nowadays regarding the social, economic and environmental impacts it leaves along.In order to limit the extensive amounts of food waste, restrictive measures should be taken by governments.**
As defined in the National Pact against Food Waste in France enacted in June 2013, food waste is defined as “any food intended for human consumption that is at a stage of the food chain lost, discarded, degraded” . This definition also takes into account the organic waste that is produced during the steps of the food chain such as the animal feeding and methanation according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). What is more, it is important to distinguish the food waste that could be avoided from the ones that are inevitable such as bones, peelings or shells. Finally, the waste of beverages is not included in the food waste definition.
1.3 billion tons of food are discarded or lost each year globally, which corresponds to 1/3 of the food produced on the planet! In Africa and Asia, food losses and waste from producer to consumer are between 6 and 11 kg per person per year, while in Europe and North America they are between 95 and 115 kg. With what Europe throws away each year alone, 1 billion people could be fed, the entire world’s malnourished people.
Every year in France, the amount of food waste amounts to: 2,3 million tons in the retail sector (hypermarkets and supermarkets, hard-discount stores, grocery stores and convenience stores); 1.6 million tons in catering (collective and commercial) 5.2 million tons in households (80 kg on average)
Hence, in total: 9 million tons of food are wasted in France each year, and restaurants and cafes are responsible for 15% of the this waste in France. This is why it is important to concentrate this project on collective catering institutions.
In French households, out of the 80 kg of food waste discarded each year by each individual, all can not easily be limited (bones, peelings, etc.), but 20 kg could easily be avoided if we agreed to modify the margin of behavior. In fact, this corresponds to 13 kg of uneaten meal leftovers, fruits and vegetables (ie 845 000 tons in France), and 7 kg of food even if not unpacked (ie 455 000 tons in France). In total, it is therefore every year in France 1.3 million tons of food that are simply wasted in French homes, which corresponds to 38 kg of consumable food discarded every second.
The ADEME (Agence de l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie, or Agency for Environment and Energy Control) estimates the value of food wasted each year in France at 108 euros per person, which would form the total cost for all France superior to 7 billion euros. In Ile-de-France, the most populated French economic and administrative region with 12 millions inhabitants, the total cost of food waste is around 1,3 billion euros per year.
Given those alarming facts, this policy proposal was developed, based on reducing food waste in restaurants which engages every actor of society. The policy presented in this proposal focuses on the small-scale area - restaurants and cafes in the French region Ile-de-France. This is a viable and concrete policy which will benefit to citizens, consumers, businesses and the government altogether.
To show the rising awareness of this subject, every year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food participates in the National Day Against Food Waste on October 16th. On this day in 2013, the National Pact of fight against food waste has been signed with the aim to encourage a 50% reduction in waste across the entire food chain by 2025.
Also, in 2015 the city of Paris has adopted a plan to fight against food waste by raising the awareness of each actor of the society, and concrete measures have been implemented on the subject since then.
Concerning Ile de France, the region has approved in June 2011 a regional plan of action to reduce food waste (PREDIF) from 2011 to 2014. The new PREDIF is in realisation right now. This plan presents different actions that should be taken.
First, the goal of the plan is to engage restaurants of the Parisian collectivity in the implementation of “good practices” to fight against food waste. For example, by engaging the managers of restaurants into a chart and by monitoring the actions implemented once a year to check the progress of food waste. Second, its aim is to develop a specific training on food waste and sustainable alimentation for the kitchen staff working in restaurants that would be held by La Ferme de Paris. Third, the plan helps food suppliers that deliver to restaurants by limiting the losses and food waste linked to the time of transport and by identifying better the food demand of restaurants to avoid food waste. Finally, the plan supports the actors of the restauration to do operations of food donation.
To establish this new project, it is important to be aware on how much taxes restaurants and cafes already pay in France. Here are the taxes for food paid in France in 2017: → dishes served in traditional restaurants = 10% → dishes served in cafeterias, bars, cafes = 10% → dishes served in fast-foods = 10%
The fight against food waste is one of the major issues of the XXI century, because it defends three fundamental values for the global society in transition towards more sustainable development: ecological, ethical and economic.
• Ecologically, the fight against food waste tends to limit overconsumption of resources and environmental pollution, including the emission of greenhouse gases, as well as the negative effects of human actions on ecosystems.
• Ethically, it is to refuse that hundreds of millions of tons of food are thrown away every year in the world, while so many men, women and children are starving, and others (including a part of the French population) are struggling to feed themselves properly.
• Economically, this fight aims at optimizing the food chain and limiting costs for all the actors of the economic ecosystem. As mentioned before, food waste in Ile de France food waste constitutes around 1,3 billion euros yearly.
The ecological tax will apply within the all the Ile de France region. It will concern all businesses and establishments where meals may be purchased and consumed by their clients. This includes gastronomic restaurants, cafes, brasseries, bistros, tables d’hôtes, fast food restaurants, bakeries, hotels.
In order to identify and adopt the best possible strategies against food waste, it is important to measure and track the food waste arising from three types of waste: from stocks, from preparation, and from customer returns. To measure the food waste and to give a specific rating (A, B, C or D) for a restaurant/cafe/hotel, “Food Waste Bins” will be introduced to the kitchens.
Material required
The amount of waste will be recorded by its weight. All restaurants will need to buy and own “Food Waste Bins”: three connected bins and scales, that have the capability to weight and directly send the data to computer devices through the “Cloud”. It is strongly advised to purchase this type of material. Each bin is allocated to one type of waste : bin 1 for the waste from stocks, bin 2 for food preparation waste and bin 3 for customer returns.
In order to comply with the policy, all businesses concerned by the food waste tax will have 6 months to purchase “Food Waste Bins”. The government understands that this might represent an unplanned investment for some businesses thus, financial help can be provided for the purchase of the equipment. Thus, the equipment can be purchased as non-taxable material, therefore costing less money.
Food waste measurement process
Food waste has to be measured every day. The data collected from “food waste bins” is entered on a “food waste report”, indicating the name of the company and the date, for example “Food waste report. Brasserie Divine. 29 January 2017”. Every week a new folder is created. The information is entered daily on the report and every week the file is saved into the food waste report folder. All measurements have to be entered on the food waste report in the correct categories. When the connected bin system is used, reports can automatically be downloaded from the system and copied on the food waste report. Every trimester, the food waste report folders have to be uploaded on the government website.
Informing staff and assigning responsibilities
Businesses have to inform their staff members of the new policy and require them to put the waste in the correct bins. All staff members have to take an active part in measuring waste. Responsibilities can be assigned every day, such as allocating a staff member to the inspection of bins, to ensure that the right measurement process is followed. The staff member would also be responsible to produce the report and check it together with the manager.
Results
All results have to be entered on the food waste report and an analysis of the results has to be made every week, showing the weak sides of the specific company, related to food waste. General recommendations on how to reduce food waste can be applied by every business, and the individual recommendation package can be received once in a year (see more in the “Benefits for businesses” part, further in this proposal).
Getting the official rating and the amount of food waste tax
The rating system will include grades A, B, C and D. The rating percentages are based according to the average food waste in the restauration system of 20%.
→ The amount of food wasted
A- 1-7% of food production wasted
B- 8-14% of food production wasted
C- 15-20% of food production waste
D- More than 20% of food production wasted
→ The amount of food waste tax
A- No tax
B- B- 1,5% of annual turnover
C- C- 2,5% of annual turnover
D- D- 3,5% of annual turnover
The waste will be measured every day and filled in a report, uploaded on the government website every trimester. The government will then calculate and give a preliminary rating which will enable the company to see where they stand. Preliminary ratings are given, as listed further:
February : Rating for the previous year and payment due (30 days to pay)
May : Preliminary rating identified for current year
August : Update on the preliminary rating after 6 months
November : Final update for the year, 3 months left to change
If a business is close to achieving a better rating and proposes an action plan for the year to come, the better rating can be awarded, provided that the plan is correctly set up and results arise the following year.
Controls
Food waste inspectors, sent by the government, can control food waste measuring and reporting processes at any time, at any food catering company in Ile de France.
Public awareness
Ratings have to be shown to customers outside the cafe/restaurant/hotel once they have been given.
From when is the tax applicable and how is it paid?
The date from which the ecological tax will be applicable is the 1st of February 2019. It will be possible to pay on government website as any other taxes. The companies will have to pay a proportion of the tax every year, based on the rating that they acquire. The tax implemented is a proportional percentage of the annual turnover of the company. Since the annual turnover in France is declared on 31st January, restaurants will have to pay the tax on 1st February.
Sanctions and recovery in case of non payment
Fiscal rules developed by the French government are applicable in terms of sanctions and litigation for the food waste tax. These rules are described on the “Code General des Impots” page on the government’s website.
The payment amount is provided to businesses on the 1st of February every year. Businesses have 30 days to pay the tax. As per the French fiscal rules, a payment delay can be requested. If this is approved by the French administration, a penalty can be avoided, but an interest of 0.40% of the tax per delayed month has to be paid. If the delay is not approved but payment late, the business will be subject to a penalty amounting 10% of the tax amount + 0.40% interest per delayed month.
Businesses will have to pay a 40 % penalty if nothing has been paid or if a requested document has not been clarified to the french administration after 30 days of “mise en demeure”. Businesses will have to pay an 80 % penalty if they exercise an occult activity. If still not received payment, sanctions will be applied.
Sanctions
The French fiscal law applies to any fraudulent activity such as
not declaring documents
organising insolvency
any maneuver attempting to a non-payment of tax.
As a reminder, anyone attempting fraud in France is facing : 500 000 EUR fine and 5 years incarceration
How to announce the new tax
Announcing a new tax is a tough subject. The first threat to the food waste tax is not the difficulty of implementation but the unpopularity of this kind of measure as it can easily be seen as just a new way to “steal” money from ratepayers. Indeed, restaurants already pay taxes and could be reluctant to a new one.
In order to avoid this, the government should focus its communication on the struggle against food wastes and integrate this new tax within a wider campaign of sensitization about this subject. In doing so, the government should demonstrate that this new tax doesn’t come from nowhere. Paris City Hall could advertise and organize awareness campaigns and public meetings on the subject. Implementation of the good practices in public institutions, like public schools and universities, could be a good way to show that the government cares for this subject and set an example. Increasing public awareness would also have an interesting side effect : it would minimize the cost for the restaurants to implement the tax. Indeed, the most the consumers care about food waste, the more they will be sensitive to the grade obtained by the restaurant. It would therefore increase the turnover of restaurants which take into account the new government’s recommendations and decrease the turnover of the others. For this reason, it is essential that restaurants put their grade on a public and visible place, like on the front door or on the exterior wall.
It is also important to show that the government doesn’t only have a punitive and moralistic approach on the issue by linking the new tax implementation with the promotion of alternative to food wasting like ‘doggy bags’ and indicating possible partnerships with associations dedicated to food waste recycling. It would show that the government really wants to act effectively to decrease food waste. It could be linked with free sensitization training in order to help restaurateurs understanding the best practices and the alternatives to food wasting.
The owners of the restaurants and cafes have to be shown that the government understands that reduction of food wasting will have a financial cost. Acquiring connected bins, for example, could be quite expensive. In order to reduce this cost, the government could develop partnerships with companies which will provide the tools needed by the restaurant at a medium-price and set a tax deduction for collective catering companies in order to purchase these items for the first time.
In all the process of implementation, dialogue with the restaurateurs will be the key to check that the tax is accepted in the best possible way.
Benefits for society
This policy proposal against food waste in collective catering companies offers the advantage of being an accessible and concrete mean of action for citizens as a well as an efficient way of transforming the consumption habits of the citizens of France.
Transparency of information is a key element of this policy. Consumers can knowingly choose a responsible and sustainable way of buying and consuming. As mentioned before, once a restaurant/cafe/hotel is rated, its rating appears publicly (outside, at the entrance and also on the online page and social media accounts of the business) and every citizen can have an access to this information. Citizens and communities can therefore have an access to the rating and choose better rated, more environmentally responsible restaurants.
It empowers citizens and consumers to make a comparable study of all restaurants based on their efforts at reducing their food waste amounts. Therefore people can finally engage actively in society by their choices of food consumption. This policy project gives people the power to change things with their wallets.
Benefits for businesses
The rating system offers an undeniable financial advantage to businesses that are highly rated. Indeed, all the businesses rated low in the system would have to pay the food waste tax, as explained in this policy paper, whereas in case of the A grade, the tax will not have to be paid, when a restaurant/cafe/hotel wastes only up to 7% of its food production.
Generally speaking, this policy would give a marketing advantage to restaurants. Thanks to this rating system, restaurants have an incentive to get good grades in order to increase their visibility on the market and raise their competitiveness. On a public policy level, it is also a way to engage businesses into the process of ecological transition. Businesses are more and more aware of the importance of corporate social responsibility. The food waste rating system thus gives a key part to businesses in the safeguard of the planet and societies.
Moreover, in case of a bad grade, the restaurants can benefit from an individualized recommendation plan advising the key changes to implement in order to improve their behaviour related to food waste. The restaurants ranked B, C and D, may receive individualized plans focusing on several aspects : first, how to improve the inventory management. Second, how to better stick to clients’ needs. Third, how to eventually use a digital strategy in order to optimize the management of waste.
Helping restaurants find sustainable solutions to food waste is indeed an essential part of this policy, so besides the possibility to get an individual recommendation plan, some general recommendations for all restaurants in France will be distributed publicly. Here are some general recommendations that could help to reduce the food waste :
Identify which meals generate the most leftovers and eventually decrease its quantity;
Replace an ingredient with a short use-by date by another one allowing less waste, or buy it in smaller quantities;
Organize staff trainings in order to educate them on the food waste problem;
Adapt the kitchen equipment for less food waste during the preparation time (special knives, peeler..);
Reduce the size of the plates in order to reduce the size of portions, if the identified problem is customer leftovers;
Use such applications as “Mummyz” or “Too good to go”, which enable restaurants to sell their unsold food to customers for a very cheap price and in a very short period of time.
If possible, get involved with local and regional associations collecting food waste. However, collecting food waste from restaurants can be more difficult to deal with for associations because of sanitary rules and specific processes of meal redistribution. It is also more difficult for restaurants as it requires a special logistic organization for the conservation of meals.
Adapt the ‘doggy bag’ solution:
The innovation in the customer relation and education of clients can also benefit the food waste reduction goal of France and Ile de France. The Anglo-saxon concept of the ‘doggy bag’ is thus an idea that should be promoted among all restaurants. Since January 2016, it has become part of the final aspect of the 2011 law on biowaste. It is now compulsory for restaurants in the UK serving more than 180 meals a day to offer the ‘doggy bag’ option to their clients. Such solution should be brought to all restaurants, including the smallest ones, thanks to a partnership with TakeAway, a food packaging start-up selling customizable take away boxes in France. Such a solution would both reduce restaurants’ food waste volume and promote their businesses. This is something that the association L’Union des métiers et des industries de l’hôtellerie is also trying to incite. In April 2015, it signed an agreement with TakeAway in order to promote the use of doggy bags in France.
With respect to the inventory of fresh products, a frequent reason for excessive waste lies in an inappropriate storage policy. Hence the restaurants are strongly advised to reconsider their storage, especially for fruits and vegetables.
Depending on the type of restaurant, its size and number of clients, each restaurant will be suggested an inventory management software specifically tailored to their needs. Furthermore, a few selected restaurants will be offered to participate in the development and testing big data analysis using artificial intelligence and the subsequent forecasts on the activity of clientele. By aggregating multiple data sources (weather, specific events, historical client attendance daily), the artificial intelligence will be able to produce a pattern of client attendance for the restaurant and therefore help the restaurants plan their food purchasing and production more accurately.
Benefits for the government
As mentioned in the introduction, in France the annual cost of food waste represents 108€ per person. The food waste rating and tax system is designed in such a way that the financial amount of taxes that companies will be obliged to pay should exceed the every year evaluated cost of food waste in Ile de France (1,3 billion euros per year).
This solution would allow the government to spend less on garbage treatment and more on proactive and creative environmental policies such as the promotion of green energies and the education of citizens as well as the employees of restaurants/cafes/hotels to the environment preservation. With regards to these figures, this project can be an asset for the government’s environmental policy and for a balanced budget.