SDG 2 for business: practical steps towards zero hunger

This article relates to Goal 2: Zero hunger, one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Goal icon by the United Nations. Emberoot is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the UN.

Any business that buys, cooks, sells, moves or throws away food is already part of SDG 2, whether it plans to be or not. For most small and growing firms, the useful SDG 2 business steps are practical: waste less, pass on safe surplus, pay farmers and suppliers fairly, and feed staff well. None of this needs a sustainability department. It needs a few weeks of measurement and a willingness to change habits. This guide sets out what restaurants, cafés, caterers, shops, hotels and food brands can do, with a realistic sense of scale.

Why food businesses matter for SDG 2

UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2024 estimated that 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted in 2022: 631 million tonnes by households, 290 million by food service and 131 million by retail, according to UN News. That is about 19% of food available to consumers. FAO estimates that a further 13% is lost between harvest and the shop. Meanwhile the UN Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 counts about 645 million chronically undernourished people. Waste does not cause hunger directly, but it wastes the money, land, water and labour that went into growing the food.

Practical SDG 2 business steps

1. Measure your waste for four weeks

Put separate bins for kitchen prep waste, spoilage and plate waste, and weigh them at the end of each day. Four weeks of numbers usually show where most of the waste comes from. Fix the biggest source first, whether it is over-ordering, portion size, poor storage or a menu item that rarely sells.

2. Order and prep to demand

Use sales history to forecast orders by day of the week, buy little and often for fresh items, and prep in smaller batches. Many point-of-sale and inventory tools can export the data you need; a simple automated report each morning saves guesswork.

3. Redistribute safe surplus

Edible food you cannot sell can go to a food bank, a charity kitchen or a surplus food app. Too Good To Go, founded in Copenhagen in 2016, says it has saved over 500 million meals across 20 countries by letting businesses sell surplus at a lower price. Rules on donating food, labelling and liability differ by country and city, so check with your local food safety authority before you start.

4. Buy fairly from small producers

Target 2.3 aims to double the incomes of small-scale food producers. A business can help by buying some produce direct from farmers or cooperatives, agreeing prices and volumes in writing, and paying quickly. A predictable order matters as much as the price, because it lets a farmer plan planting and borrow less.

Say a small restaurant group in Dubai agrees a weekly order of herbs and leafy greens with a local farm, fixed for a season and paid within seven days. The restaurant gets fresher produce and less spoilage from long transport; the farm gets reliable income.

5. Feed your own people well

Shift workers, delivery riders and low-paid staff can easily end up skipping meals or eating poorly. Staff meals made from good ingredients, or a meal allowance, cost relatively little and support target 2.2 on nutrition inside your own business.

6. Protect the cold chain

For distributors and grocers, much loss happens in storage and transport. Temperature monitoring, better packaging, first-in first-out stock rotation and faster delivery routes all cut spoilage. Sensors that alert staff when a fridge drifts out of range are widely available.

Learning from the UAE’s approach

In November 2023 the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and ne’ma, the National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, set out a roadmap to cut food loss and waste by 50% by 2030, Gulf News reported. Hotel groups including Jumeirah, Hilton and Rotana, along with Expo City, signed agreements to make reduction a priority. The model, public targets plus voluntary commitments from big kitchens, is one smaller businesses can borrow by joining local programmes rather than working alone.

What realistic looks like

A single café will not end hunger. It can cut its own waste meaningfully in a few months, put surplus to use and pay its suppliers fairly. Track three numbers: kilograms of food waste per week, kilograms donated or sold as surplus, and days to pay small suppliers. Review them each quarter and share them with staff.

If you want waste and stock reports to run themselves, our automation page explains how we connect tills, inventory and spreadsheets. The Goal 2 page has the full targets, and the Global Goals hub covers every goal.

Frequently asked questions

How can a restaurant support zero hunger?

Start by measuring waste for a few weeks and fixing the biggest sources, usually over-ordering, portions or storage. Donate or sell safe surplus through a food bank or surplus app, buy some produce directly from small farmers on fair terms, and make sure your own staff eat well. Check local food safety rules before donating.

Is it legal to donate leftover food?

In many countries it is, and some have laws that encourage it, but the rules on what can be donated, how it must be labelled and stored, and who is liable vary by country and city. Cooked food usually has stricter rules than packaged goods. Ask your local food safety authority or partner food bank before starting.

How much food do businesses waste?

UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2024 estimated that in 2022 food service wasted about 290 million tonnes and retail about 131 million tonnes, while households wasted about 631 million tonnes. Together that is about 19% of the food available to consumers, on top of roughly 13% lost between harvest and retail.

This is general information, not professional legal or food safety advice.