One of the most important challenges we are called to manage nowadays is the waste of food, which is often thoughtless and causes economic, social and environmental impacts on the entire planet, said the Minister of Agriculture Kostas Kadis on Tuesday, in a greeting at the ceremony awards for Green Public Contracts, Life Food Print awards and EMAS certificates.
Mr. Kadis said that according to the latest research, the food that ends up in the trash can meet the needs of all the undernourished people worldwide, at least four times and that at the European level, the annual food waste amounts to almost 179 kg per inhabitant, which equates to an economic waste of 140 billion euros a year.
In environmental costs, he continued, this waste corresponds to 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions related to the supply chain.
“It is therefore obvious that the transition to sustainable food systems is a necessity. For this reason, the European Union adopted the 'Farm to Fork' strategy, which aims at a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly system of food production, distribution and consumption”, he said.
Regarding the serious issue of organic waste management, Mr. Kadis said that the Ministry has promoted and is implementing the establishment of systems for sorting at source and separate collection of municipal waste, including organic waste, as well as the implementation of the system “I pay as much as I throw”, as an incentive for citizens to reduce and properly sort their waste for reuse and recycling.
What are the prizes
The awards for Green Public Contracts are an institution organized by the Department of Environment, in collaboration with the Cyprus Energy Office and were awarded for the first time in 2014.
The “Life FoodPrint” project contributes significantly to the effort both for the drastic reduction of food waste and for the rational management of organic waste.
The certificates of the European Union's Ecological Management and Environmental Audit System, EMAS, are awarded to companies and organizations that aim, among other things, to reduce the costs associated with resource and waste management, to minimize environmental risks , in improving relations with their staff and strengthening their credibility, transparency and reputation vis-à-vis their customers.
The role of Central Banks
< p>The governor of the Central Bank, Constantinos Herodotou, in his own greeting said that Cyprus and most of the countries of the European Union have adopted national plans to promote green public contracts, i.e. contracts that include environmental criteria for the public sector to choose goods, services and projects with less negative environmental and health impacts.
He said that green public procurement provides real incentives and opportunities for the production of new products and services, environmentally friendly and more energy efficient, which is particularly important today in the face of the global energy crisis as well as the intensifying climate crisis.
The commander also referred to EU and global food waste and the Paris Agreement goal of limiting temperature increase to 1.5 °C.
“The central banks' responsibility is certainly not limited to improving their own environmental footprint. As part of their mission to maintain price stability, supervise banks and ensure financial stability, central banks are now obliged to deal with the climate crisis, since it affects the economy, inflation and the financial system.” he said.
