Inside Lidl GB’s Strategy to Slash Food Waste by 70%

Lidl GB's ambitious food waste reduction strategy is creating meaningful change for communities across Great Britain, with charitable partnerships at the heart of its sustainability efforts.

The retailer's expanded collaboration with organisations including Neighbourly and WRAP could demonstrate how corporate environmental goals can directly benefit those in need while protecting the planet.

As part of the Schwarz retail group, Lidl GB first established itself in 1994, with stores across England, Scotland and Wales. The company has more than 382,400 employees globally, operating around 12,600 stores and more than 230 logistics centres and warehouses in 31 countries.

Through its network of stores, each connected to local charitable causes, Lidl is positioning itself to drive sustainability in the food and drink retail sector while expanding community support.

Charitable partnerships drive progress

After exceeding its goal of achieving a 40% reduction in food waste by March 2025, Lidl GB has revealed a new food waste reduction target to line up with Food Waste Action Week.

The company has raised its five-year target from 50% to 70% by 2030, with community-focused initiatives playing a central role in reaching this goal.

To help achieve this target, Lidl is extending its partnership with the charity Neighbourly, trialling its Surplus Saviours initiative in the Midlands between June and August 2024. This scheme allows charity volunteers and customers to collect unsold surplus food, helping people to support their local communities.

The trial is expected to redistribute more than 5,000 tonnes of food to those in need, providing fresh and chilled items that are approaching their use-by dates.

Matt Juden-Bloomfield, Head of Sustainability at Lidl GB, says: "At Lidl, we set ambitious targets that challenge how we operate and inspire innovation when it comes to food waste.

"We've made good strides, but we know we can do more. With that in mind, we have increased our targets to ensure we remain accountable and also introduced some exciting new trials to take things to the next level."

"We remain committed to accelerating our progress in this space and collaborating closely with our industry peers to drive lasting impact for both the environment and the communities we are at the heart of."

Supporting communities through food redistribution

Each Lidl store across Great Britain is linked to local charitable causes through its Feed it Back scheme, which works by redistributing high-quality surplus food delivered in partnership with Neighbourly. This localised approach allows the company to benefit as many people as possible nationwide.

Since 2016, Lidl GB has donated 50 million meals, demonstrating the scale of impact that corporate food redistribution programmes can achieve.

The retailer's in-store initiatives also support its community-focused waste reduction efforts. In January 2024, Lidl updated its in-store bakery operations, working on aligning the amount of products to the level of demand throughout the day, which has helped reduce bakery-related food waste by 30% in the financial year ending March 2025.

The Lidl Plus app gives customers a 20% discount on in-store bakery items after 7:00pm, further reducing the levels of food waste produced by the supermarket.

Collaborative approach strengthens impact

Lidl GB is also working in partnership with WRAP, a global environmental action non-governmental organisation. This collaboration aims to identify practical and data-driven ways to cut waste in the supermarket while supporting broader community benefits.

Estelle Herszenhorn, Director of Food System Transformation at WRAP, says: "For the past 10 years, Lidl GB has been an active and engaged signatory of WRAP's UK Food & Drink Pact.

"It has been fantastic seeing them offer loose fruits and vegetables and adopting best practice labelling. Both practices help shoppers reduce their household food waste."

"In-store, Lidl GB's initiative on matching bakery products with demand aligns with WRAP's priority of preventing food waste before it occurs. We are delighted to see increased paths for redistribution where food is surplus – a move WRAP also encourages."

Beyond food redistribution, Lidl is also trialling a new animal feed in the Peterborough region, aiming to strengthen the circular economy. This will involve the retailer repurposing unusable fresh bakery products, including croissants and loaves of bread, to create animal feed.

These initiatives combined could signal a comprehensive approach to reducing waste while maximising community benefit across multiple channels.