RELEX Solutions saves more than 24 million pounds of food waste worldwide

April 25, 2023 at 09:01 AM EDT

In 2022, retailers using RELEX Solutions for their planning helped save an estimated 24.3 million pounds of food waste across the supply chain – the equivalent of more than 35,000 tons of CO2

A new report by RELEX Solutions, provider of unified supply chain and retail planning solutions, has found that in the last year, the company’s AI-driven solutions helped RELEX food retail customers worldwide save a combined estimated over 24 million pounds of food waste – the equivalent of more than 35,000 tons of CO2 – across the supply chain thanks to more accurate forecasting and inventory optimization.

The figures in the RELEX Solutions 2023 Sustainability Report represent a more than 20% increase in food waste savings over the previous year. By enabling more efficient use of customers’ transport capacity, RELEX also reduced transport emissions across the supply chain through more accurate planning and optimized deliveries.

According to the World Wildlife Foundation, food waste is responsible for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. With roughly 33% of the world’s food supply going to waste every year, identifying and tackling the causes of food waste across the supply chain is crucial to reduce CO2 emissions and spoilage.

"Alongside efforts to reduce food waste, we’ve been developing capabilities in our software to track our customers’ CO2 emissions to help them achieve their sustainability goals,” said Svante Göthe, Head of Sustainability at RELEX Solutions. “Customers can see the CO2 impact of the goods flowing through the supply chain and measure the effect the reduced spoilage has on their carbon footprint.”

RELEX achieved retroactive carbon neutrality in 2022

As the U.S. joins other countries in working toward the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement – including a 43% emissions reduction by 2030 – companies of all sizes have a critical role to play in advancing sustainable development. RELEX has long committed to offsetting emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3 set by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Standard, including direct emissions, indirect emissions from purchased energy, and emissions that occur indirectly across the value chain.

RELEX retroactively reached carbon neutrality for 2021 in 2022 with a variety of initiatives to minimize, offset, or remove entirely company-wide emissions. For example, all RELEX offices and private cloud data centers run on renewable energy.

RELEX also took active measures to spread sustainability awareness within the organization, including organizing a sustainability challenge using the climate action platform Deedster to challenge their employees to improve long-term sustainability efforts at home and work. Around 450 participants completed more than 25,000 sustainability deeds, resulting in more than 25,000 pounds of CO2 saved during just one month.

In addition, the founders of RELEX Solutions established the RELEX Foundation for a better future in autumn 2022. The foundation is tasked with battling climate change and reducing inequality, starting with a cash injection of more than $10 million and approximately $100 million worth of RELEX stocks.

”At RELEX, we approach sustainability broadly from environmental, social, and governance perspectives,” Göthe said. “We not only focus on our corporate-level responsibility, but also believe that when individuals come together and focus on their everyday decisions, they drive positive impact. It is incredibly motivating to work in an industry where we can drive benefits for our customers, employees, and the planet.”

About RELEX Solutions

RELEX Solutions helps retailers and consumer brands drive profitable growth across all sales and distribution channels by maximizing customer satisfaction and minimizing operative costs. Our market-leading, unified supply chain and retail planning platform helps retailers and consumer goods companies align and optimize demand, merchandise, supply chain, and operations planning across the end-to-end value chain. We drive record-high product availability, increased sales, improved sustainability, and the best return on investment in inventory, space, workforce, and capacity. Leading brands like Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, Stokke, Rite Aid, Sprouts Farmers Market, AutoZone, and PetSmart trust RELEX to optimize their supply chain and retail planning. Go to relexsolutions.com for more.