Last week, members of the ReFED team joined thousands of other like-minded professionals in New York City for Climate Week NYC. ReFED staff spoke on a number of panels and attended many other events to draw attention to the role of reducing food waste as a climate solution that “solves so many problems at once.” But as Jamil Ahmad of the UN Environment Programme emphasized at Food Tank’s “Climate Action: A Food Waste Breakthrough” session, “Every week is important…we don’t have time to wait and see what we can do, we have to do it now.” So to help you keep the momentum (and the hope) from an inspiring week alive, here are three things you can do today:

1. Catch up on what you missed…

With over 900 events happening during Climate Week, it’s likely you didn’t get to attend all of the events you wanted to, even if you were in New York. Fortunately, there are a number of recordings available from different events that happened during the week. Here are just a few, and we’ll be sure to update this list as we come across them:

• The Climate Group

• Food Tank

• Newsweek

2. Explore some of the new resources that were announced...

Climate Week is typically a venue for organizations to announce new resources, and this year was no different. From interactive tools to understand climate change solutions to new ways to frame the food waste challenge, here a few of the new resources to explore:

• The Drawdown Explorer, from Project Drawdown—Building upon thousands of hours of analysis by scientific experts from around the world, the Drawdown Explorer provides detailed information on the many technologies and practices proven or proposed to effectively reduce greenhouse warming pollution in the atmosphere. (Spoiler: Reduce food loss and waste is “Highly Recommended” and ranks as a top solution to reduce emissions.)

• Maximizing Food: A Messaging Toolkit for Motivating Business & Policy Leaders to Address Food Waste, from Champions 12.3—This toolkit introduces a new way to reframe the issue of food waste and provides a library of motivation-driven messages that can connect with business and policy priorities.

• Methane: The Emergency Brake for Climate Heating, from Climate Crisis Advisory Group (CCAG)—A new report that outlines why rapid methane abatement is the fastest and most cost-effective lever available to slow warming within our lifetimes, featuring practical, proven, and often profitable solutions across three key emitting sectors: energy, agriculture, and waste. On waste, the report notes, “The most effective way to tackle waste emissions is to prevent organic waste (especially food) in the first place, divert what remains from landfill, and only use methane capture as a final resort.”

3. Take action on food waste with ReFED...

At Food Tank’s food waste event, Caleb McClennan, President of Rare, shared that their research shows that “90% of Americans think we should reduce food waste.” The challenge is turning that awareness and motivation into action. That’s where ReFED comes in. From individuals to solution providers to food businesses, ReFED has opportunities to get involved in solving food waste:

• Individuals: At Climate Week, ReFED relaunched its Food Waste Action Network (FWAN)—a member-driven community for practitioners in the food waste space. FWAN is built on the principle that big progress is made up of many smaller goals. As part of FWAN, new members create a food waste reduction goal—large or small—with a commitment to achieve it within 12 months. Learn more and sign up.

• Capital Providers: Last week, ReFED also announced the launch of its Catalytic Grant Fund’s “Minimizing Methane Through Food Waste Solutions” open call. The fourth open call since the Fund’s inception seeks to support bold solutions that target methane emissions from food loss and waste, which is one of the most powerful levers to cut emissions of this potent greenhouse gas. Applications will open later this year, but we’re currently seeking additional funders to unlock greater impact for this open call. Interested funders can contact Angel Veza at [email protected].

• Solution Providers: Sign up for ReFED’s Solution Provider Directory, the only database dedicated to highlighting the full spectrum of food waste solutions, making it the best way to be recognized as part of the network working to reduce food waste. (And for those working on solutions targeting methane, stay tuned for when applications open for our latest Catalytic Grant Fund open call!)

• Food Businesses: Learn about the U.S. Food Waste Pact, a national voluntary agreement to help businesses accelerate progress toward their food waste reduction targets, co-led by ReFED and World Wildlife Fund. Food businesses like Walmart, Hilton, and Chick-fil-A leverage the Pact to scale their food waste reduction efforts, and more signatories are joining all the time. Learn more here.

For anyone interested in learning more about food waste, we encourage you to visit the ReFED Insights Engine, an online hub for data and solutions featuring the most comprehensive examination of food loss and waste in the United States. And sign up for ReFED’s mailing list to stay up to date on the latest food waste news to know.

Image Credit: Food Tank