China-Europe Cooperation Partnership Dialogue

CCI FRANCE CHINE's president, Mr. Christophe Lauras had the opportunity to represent both Accor and the French Chamber of Commerce in China while meeting China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to discuss the important issue of food waste in China during the China-Europe Dialogue on Green Development.

While recognizing that the 2021 China Food Waste Law helped make a lot of progress, he pointed out that current measures mostly target food professionals. Therefore, he recommended to the government to take further steps by issuing regulations that help change the actual cultural habits and mindset of end-users, i.e. the consumers.

He proposed to the NDRC to issue regulations such as mandating a maximum number of items that can be ordered in a restaurant or a banquet, as well as setting strict limitations on the amount of food that can be displayed on buffets, while setting a roadmap to phase them out. I also proposed granting subsidies to help restaurants and hotels equip themselves with digital food waste control tools.

Food waste represents 6% of all carbon emissions, and in China, more than 350 million tons of food are lost or wasted every year. Adopting stricter food waste policies and regulations would not only improve food security in China in the long run but also help contribute to the country’s efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060.

The NDRC is one of the highest-ranked executive departments of the State Council of the People's Republic of China.