Cutting Waste, Lowering Emissions: The Role of Date Labelling in ESG Outcomes Webinar
Cutting Waste, Lowering Emissions: The Role of Date Labelling in ESG Outcomes Webinar
Thursday 17 September 2026 - Online
12:00pm to 12:45pm AEST
Household confusion about food date labelling and storage advice is leading to food waste, thus the EFW CRC is tackling these issues.
Phase 1 of this work (details found here) secured participation from major food brands, supermarkets, government partners, regulators and households, and produced clear, evidence‑driven opportunities to refine and redesign date labelling and storage advice systems nationally.
Phase 2 will take these insights into the real‑world piloting, scale‑up, and consumer impact measurement. As such, the design, testing, roll‑out, and measurement of nationally consistent changes to date labelling and storage advice will occur, to help Australian households waste less food.
At this stage major food brands, supermarkets, peak bodies, not for profits, technology companies, and regulators are on board for Phase 2.
From an ESG perspective, analysis of industry-led date labelling and storage advice interventions shows that improving these practices could reduce food waste by up to 0.94 million tonnes by 2030. For food businesses, this represents a potential climate benefit of approximately 2.24 million tonnes of CO₂‑equivalent emissions avoided—a significant opportunity to cut waste, lower environmental impact, and support national sustainability goals.
Partners are also acknowledging the opportunity to engage directly with their customers about saving money, assisting in elongating shelf life, and increasing food literacy, adding to brand value and social licence to operate.
Sarah Collier
Director, Membership & Sustainability
Australian Food and Grocery Council
Sarah Collier is the Director of Membership and Sustainability at the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC).
Sarah brings extensive expertise in ESG strategy, sustainability, advocacy, corporate affairs, communications, and media relations, offering a strong industry lens to support the needs of our membership.
Throughout her career, Sarah has delivered high-impact sustainability and ESG programs for globally recognised brands across the quick service restaurant, banking, insurance and fund management sectors.
Passionate about creating meaningful change, Sarah works closely with AFGC members to advance sustainability outcomes across the entire food and grocery value chain.
Combining strategic insight with strong communication and advocacy skills, Sarah drives collaboration and innovation that deliver lasting positive outcomes for industry, consumers and the wider community.
Professor Simon Lockrey
RMIT University
Professor Simon Lockrey's professional design work has crossed a large range of industries for organisations such as Glowpear, Cyclone, Dyson, Whirlpool, Sabco, Schiavello, and Henkel, which has resulted in the generation of billions of dollars in income and intellectual property. Globally significant projects include the Dyson DC30/31 handheld vacuums (the first with digital motors), the DC39 cylinder cyclone vacuum cleaner (the first with full ball barrel and integrated steering), and the Glowpear self-watering planter range.
In the academy, Professor Lockrey's has managed research include life cycle assessment, co-design, design innovation, flammable cladding, automotive history, and food waste. As a result, he has generated millions of dollars of 'industry facing' research at RMIT with global and nationally significant companies including CHEP, Visy, Nestlé, Lendlease, Costa, and Breville, as well as for governments and not for profits. He has created global impact through policy changes, commercial outcomes, media coverage, and quality academic publications. He is now a key leader in the End Food Waste CRC, worth $121 million over 10 years, managing a suite of projects aimed at halving Australian food waste by 2030.
Professor Lockrey has also won many awards including Australian Design/ Good Design Awards (Dyson, Glowpear, and RMIT); and international renowned Red Dot Awards (Dyson). Such work (the Dyson DC30/31) is held on permanent display at the Design Museum, London. In 2025 he and his team won the inaugural RMIT wide Sustainability Award.
At board level, Professor Lockrey is the former Executive Director of global urban gardening brand Glowpear, the former Secretary of the International Sustainable Development Research Society, and now Vice President of the Automotive Historians Australia. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), a lead juror in the Australian Good Design Awards (Research Category), and a Good Design Australia Ambassador.
Lynne Loo
Research Associate
Curtain University
Lynne is an early-career researcher specialising in developing solutions for reducing pre-consumer food waste. Lynne has expertise in areas of supply chain analysis and mapping, mass flow analysis, total utilisation of surplus food and by-products, market research, multi-criteria decision making, and financial cost-benefit analysis. Her work is industry-driven and focused on collaborative action with SMEs in horticulture, seafood, grains, and food and beverage manufacturing.