7-Eleven

At a Glance

Industry

Food Services

Project Types

Engagement and Behavior Change, Food and Agriculture

Year

2024

Location

Irving, TX

Summary

The aim of the fellowship was to identify 4-6 food waste reduction opportunities and develop a strategic roadmap for 7-Eleven International (7IN), which oversees 7-Eleven's global growth strategy across 17 countries and over 50,000 stores. This aligns with 7IN's global goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2050 compared to baseline.

Goals

The fellowship also aimed to achieve the following goals: - Determine effective strategies for 7IN to reduce food waste across its diverse, franchised operations - Identify scalable best practices from existing ESG workstreams and successful food waste reduction initiatives across 7-Eleven's ecosystem - Leverage 7IN's strengths in operations and merchandising to motivate franchisees and licensees to adopt food waste reduction initiatives

Solutions

The recommended solutions are divided into long-term efforts requiring continuous care and support but providing lasting results (campfire opportunities) and immediate, attention-grabbing efforts that are one-offs and don't need ongoing management (firework opportunities). Balancing these opportunities was crucial for generating internal attention and excitement to secure budget and approval for larger initiatives. This approach gave way to a five-year roadmap consisting of five opportunity areas and 14 initiatives, outlining solutions ranging from nudging tactics to product development, upcycling, and waste diversion programs. Collectively, these solutions address the main sources of organic waste across 7-Eleven stores while prioritizing operational efficiency, creating new revenue streams, and enhancing brand perception.

Potential Impact

The roadmap holds the potential to substantially reduce organic waste across 7-Eleven in the long term. In the short term, it will aid the ESG team in securing resources for pilot projects with critical support from the operations and merchandising teams. As the first 7IN strategy to tackle food waste, the roadmap aims to initiate a conversation, raise awareness, and build a coalition to start this important work.

Related Links