First Romanian Multi-Actor Platform’s meeting

On 20 April 2026, the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest – NUSTPB hosted the first Romanian Multi-Actor Platform’s meeting.

Twenty-three representatives from 20 public and private entities in the agri-food, energy, and waste management sectors attended, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of the Environment, Water, and Forests. 

During the meeting, they reviewed the current state of integration of the food loss and waste (FLW) issue within the country’s different policies and compared it with other countries, and they worked to identify the priority challenges and policy improvement pathways.

The organiser of the meeting, Cristian Popescu, highlighted that there is a significant potential for reducing emissions through measures dedicated to reducing food waste, also underlining the role of research and education in preventing and reducing food waste. “It was emphasised in the meeting that preventing and reducing food waste is not only an ethical, environmental or economic issue, but a strategic component or tool of climate and energy policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Effective solutions require coordination between public policies, the private sector, NGOs and consumer behaviour”, he stated.

In conclusion, following the discussions, several important directions emerged:

• the need to address food waste as an integral part of energy and climate policies;

• the importance of collaboration between the public, private and civil society sectors;

• the significant potential for reducing emissions by preventing food waste.