Bank DBS Indonesia supports sustainable food security through "Food Rescue Warrior"
Indonesia, 18 Mar 2024 - Bank DBS Indonesia launched the "
Food Rescue Warrior
" campaign to honour its commitment to supporting sustainable food security. The programme aims at raising public awareness as well as developing collaboration with hotel, restaurant and café (horeca) industry players to tackle the problem of food surplus that leads to food waste. The programme launch was attended by Head of Group Strategic Marketing & Communications at PT Bank DBS Indonesia
Mona Monika
, Founder & CEO of Jangjo Indonesia
Joe Hansen
, Co-founder of FoodCycle Indonesia
Herman Andryanto
, and representatives of SCBD Park.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2020 data show that Indonesia is the fourth largest producer of food waste in the world, at 20.94 million metric tonnes. In addition, 2023 data from the National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) show that food waste accounts for the bulk of the total waste generated, at 41.6 percent. This calls for urgent action.
To learn about the public's perspective on this issue, Bank DBS Indonesia surveyed the opinions of 3,055 respondents across Indonesia. The following are the insights gathered from the survey:
About
84 percent
of respondents expressed concern about the problem of food waste in Indonesia.
Interestingly, by generation, Gen Z is more concerned about food waste (
86 percent
) than millennials (
82 percent
). This means that the younger generation is increasingly concerned about sustainability and has a high sensitivity to social and environmental issues.
Another interesting finding of the survey was respondents' willingness to support food waste management programmes. About
80 percent
of respondents said they would recommend such programmes to their relatives/acquaintances. Moreover,
63 percent
of respondents would use a brand's products or services only if the brand embraces sustainability.
About
22 percent
of respondents said they would still buy products from the brand even if the price was increased.
Head of Group Strategic Marketing & Communications at PT Bank DBS Indonesia
Mona Monika
said, "Food waste is a ticking time bomb for climate crisis, at the same time many people are facing hunger due to climate change. These are two sides of the crisis that we must address together for the sake of future generations. Food waste and food security cannot be solved by individuals as it requires collective efforts. Through the
Food Rescue Warrior
programme initiated by Bank DBS Indonesia and DBS Foundation, we invite partners and the wider community to work together to combat food loss and support food security in Indonesia."
Food Rescue Warrior helps tackle food surplus and create sustainable food security
Commercial centers, including food and beverage (F&B) industries such as hotels, restaurants, and cafes, contribute around 17.8 percent to Indonesia's waste, after household waste (38.8 percent) and traditional markets (20.6 percent), according to 2023 data from SIPSN KLHK. This means F&B players need to adopt sustainable food waste management and promote food security.
To that end, Bank DBS Indonesia launched the #MakanTanpaSisa campaign in 2020 to support the Towards Zero Food Waste vision. Through the campaign, Bank DBS Indonesia managed to save 554,822 kilograms of food impact (or food that was prevented from going to landfills) in 2023. To increase the reach and impact of the campaign on the community, in 2024, Bank DBS Indonesia and DBS Foundation collaborated to launch the
Food Rescue Warrior
programme.
The Food Rescue Warrior programme is held in collaboration with FoodCycle Indonesia, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that focuses on food rescue and food waste management, and Jangjo, a startup that also focuses its efforts on food waste management. To facilitate customers in supporting businesses that manage their food waste responsibly, participating partners will be listed on the online restaurant and hotel directory at
https://go.dbs.com/id-tzfw
.
Jangjo manages food waste from restaurants, cafes, and malls in Jakarta, such as Ashta, Pantai Indah Kapuk Avenue, Mall of Indonesia, fX Sudirman, Plaza Indonesia, and SCBD Park. The waste is then processed using the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) bioconversion technology. This process produces dried larvae that can be used in farms as well as compost that can be used in plantations. In 2023, the No Food Left Behind food waste processing programme organised by Bank DBS Indonesia and Jangjo involved 83 restaurant tenants.
So far this year, more than 24 partners have joined the new
Food Rescue Warrior
programme, most of them participants of the previous year's programme such as fX Sudirman. A number of new tenants have also joined the programme, including Kopitagram and SCBD Park. The latter is a strong proponent of sustainability initiatives.
Founder & CEO of Jangjo Indonesia
Joe Hansen
said, "Tackling food waste requires collective efforts and a good partnership ecosystem. Therefore, in that spirit, we are excited to join the
Food Rescue Warrior
movement with Bank DBS Indonesia and other partners. We hope this activity can inspire more parties to contribute to a more sustainable environment.
Meanwhile, FoodCycle Indonesia focuses on managing excess food donated by hotels, restaurants and cafes to be distributed to people in need. The programme is expected to benefit 130,000 recipients, serve 3,128,571 meals to people in need, and reduce 1,916,250 kg of food waste. Currently, 75 institutions are taking part in this movement, including well-known hotel chains, restaurants and cafes such as Kopi Kenangan, Menara Peninsula Hotel, Aston Pluit Hotel, Harris fX Sudirman Hotel and many more.
Co-founder of FoodCycle Indonesia
Herman Andryanto
expressed his appreciation for the programme. "We really appreciate Bank DBS Indonesia's efforts to pay full attention to food rescue and food waste. The
Food Rescue Warrior
programme allows us, FoodCycle Indonesia, to optimise our efforts in distributing surplus food to people in need. We also support the important agenda of encouraging companies to pay more attention to greener business operations and inspire people to live more sustainably."
Bank DBS Indonesia is committed to creating a positive impact, in line with one of its sustainability pillars, Impact Beyond Banking. This pillar focuses on how the bank can have a positive impact on the environment and the communities in which it operates. All of these efforts are in line with Bank DBS Indonesia's vision to be the "Best Bank for a Better World".
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