The Great Unwaste campaign won gold in Sustainability & Responsibility at The Drum Awards for Marketing APAC, addressing Australia's food waste crisis by promoting practical tips and fostering a national movement to reduce waste, saving money and the planet.
For decades, organizations have tried to reduce household food waste in Australia. But the problem only gets bigger. Every year, 2.5 million tonnes of food are wasted, equating to 7.7 million meals being thrown away daily. The environmental and societal impact is severe, costing households $19 billion annually while 20% of Australians struggle to put food on the table.
Food waste is silently impacting Australia on a monumental scale. Across the supply chain, it costs our economy $36 billion per year and is responsible for 3% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Households are the biggest contributors, generating more waste than hospitality and supermarkets combined.
End Food Waste Australia (EFWA), funded by the Australian Government, was tasked with reducing household food waste for the first time. However, it faced three key challenges:
Our mission: Create a long-term national movement that reduces household food waste by 20% by 2030.
End Food Waste Australia’s Cooperative Research Centre led a groundbreaking study to uncover why people waste food without realizing it. Unlike past research based on self-reporting, this study used bin audits and food diaries to reveal that households waste more than double what they believe. The gap between perception and reality was staggering.
Strategically, previous campaigns failed by relying on guilt and overwhelming statistics, leaving people powerless and even shamed. For The Great Unwaste, we knew real change could only happen if food waste habits were normalized and effortless—not daunting. With over 19 million households in play, the key was shifting everyday behavior at scale.
Creatively, instead of lecturing people about food waste, we made it relatable and optimistic. Ask someone if they waste food, they’ll say not much. But ask if they’ve ever cooked too much pasta or forgotten leftovers? Suddenly, they get it.
By spotlighting everyday moments and getting people to notice how much they waste, the campaign reframed food waste as a solvable problem—turning unconscious waste into conscious action. While reducing food waste starts in an individual’s home, real change takes a national effort—a collective commitment to turn waste around.
So, we rebranded leftovers, scraps, and surplus food as ‘The Great Unwaste’—a movement rallying the nation behind a simple, powerful idea: unwasting food saves time, money, and the planet.
“Ooh, two carrots and a zucchini? I can unwaste that!”
From day one, we needed to build public support. So we invited media, food waste advocates, industry, local government, and households to join The Great Unwaste and become Great Unwasters.
The problem got us attention, but the real challenge? Showing how easy it is to waste food—and stop it.
From ABC Breakfast to TikTok, we got Australia talking and taking action—weighing waste, nailing pasta portions, even inspiring MP Tanya Plibersek, Minister of Environment and Water, to serve up leftovers for lunch.
We adopted a behavioral reach and nudge media strategy to find Aussies in contexts where decisions around food happen, informed by audience engagement data. Our message, ‘Are you wasting more than you think?’ reached mass audiences at home and beyond across BVOD, digital, and print. We nudged them to adopt seven food-saving habits through bold OOH ads near food retailers and radio ads, flighted at key shopping mission moments.
A dedicated website served as the campaign’s digital hub, providing tips, resources, and toolkits for households, industry partners, local councils, and community groups.
The Great Unwaste isn’t just a campaign; it’s a shift in national behavior with long-term environmental benefits. By reducing food waste, Australians directly cut methane emissions from landfill; one of the most potent greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. If successful, the campaign could prevent over 500,000 tonnes of waste annually, significantly lowering our carbon footprint.
Beyond carbon savings, reducing food waste conserves water, land, and energy used in food production. Every tonne of food saved equates to 1,600kg of CO₂ prevented, meaning this movement can offset emissions on the scale of removing hundreds of thousands of cars from the road each year.
Sustainability is also embedded in how we spread the message. The campaign prioritized digital-first content, reducing print waste, and leveraged earned media and partnerships over high-consumption advertising. Even our outdoor ads were placed near grocery stores to minimize unnecessary travel and consumption-related waste.
The Great Unwaste is a multi-year movement, but we’re already seeing incredible momentum. Rigorous impact monitoring is conducted three times a year. These results reflect the first “dip”—covering the launch period, September to December 2024, with less than a third of our year-one marketing investment spent.
There is a long road ahead to reach all 19 million households, but early signs are nothing short of remarkable.
An owned, earned, shared, and paid strategy resulted in 25% unaided recall, with only 30% of households reached so far. Prior to launch, only 6% could recall a food waste campaign.
Showing up contextually with relatable messaging paid off. 89% exposed to the campaign found it likeable—but more importantly, 77% said it gave them practical tips to cut food waste.
“It evoked conversation at the dinner table, sparked some interesting ideas regarding what else could be done at a household level.” Impact Monitoring, 2024
But what really matters is action.
The strongest predictor of behavior change—intended action—has skyrocketed. Intended actions across some key behaviors saw a percentage increase up to 56%. And 90% of people agreed: We all have a responsibility to end food waste in Australia.
From a PR standpoint, the campaign made waves, generating nearly 1,000 hits and 85 million impressions in the launch week, valued at $2.6 million. Coverage included ABC, Sunrise, Nine, and Ten, with news bulletins featuring our ad—for free.
Beyond earned, hundreds of industry partners and local councils have jumped on board, helping to bring this movement directly to households and communities across the country.
While The Great Unwaste is just getting started, early results prove one thing: Australians are embracing the shift—saving money, saving food, and making a real difference for the planet.