FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Canadian and international experts gathered at the Canada Pavilion to show how measurement turns climate commitments into real reductions in food loss and waste.

ANTALYA, Türkiye, Nov. 12, 2026: Second Harvest brought a national measurement standard, a food rescue model that works at scale and proven results to COP31’s Canada Pavilion on Wednesday, making the case that food waste is a practical climate solution the world can act on now.

When food ends up in landfill, it breaks down and releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide in the near term. In Canada alone, avoidable food waste generates an estimated 25.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year. The panel took place the same day as the Global Methane Pledge ministerial; Canada is a co-convenor of the Pledge.

“Our goal is to prevent food waste at the source. That means understanding where it happens, why it happens and what we can change. We need to measure the environmental impact across the whole food system, not just what ends up in the bin,” said Second Harvest CEO Lori Nikkel.

Canada has the tools. CSA K100, the national standard for measuring food loss and waste, gives governments and businesses a common way to count. Nikkel credited Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for making food waste reduction and food rescue a consideration in allocating funding under the new National Food Security Strategy, and for its work with Statistics Canada to strengthen data collection. Her message at COP31: measure it, set a target and monitor it. Build a common national methodology on CSA K100 with provinces, territories and industry, establish a baseline and then, with consultation, set measurable national reduction targets.

Second Harvest’s 2026 results show the benefits at scale. During its fiscal year the organization rescued and redistributed 126 million pounds of food, preventing an estimated 402 million pounds of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere and 85 billion litres of water from going to waste. Its research puts Canada’s avoidable food waste at $58 billion a year, with nearly a third of it in processing and manufacturing, before food ever reaches a store.

The panel, From Measurement to Impact: Reducing Food Loss and Waste for Climate and Food Security, was convened by Second Harvest and moderated by Sophie Beecher, director general at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, with Adam Kehler (Farm Credit Canada), David Rogers (WRAP) and Angela Ruttledge (FoodCloud). Nikkel vice-chaired the committee that developed CSA K100 and was a Canadian delegate to ISO 20001, the international standard for food loss and waste management.

Lori Nikkel is available for interviews, in person or by video, for the remainder of COP31.

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About Second Harvest

Second Harvest is Canada’s largest food rescue organization. Our mission is to keep food where it belongs: on plates and out of landfills. Learn more at secondharvest.ca.

Media contact

Vanessa Morcom, Interim Vice President, Marketing and Communications
vanessam@secondharvest.ca | 647-407-4570