SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

SDG 12 has become a central concern for Lebanon and its institutions, particularly against the backdrop of escalating economic challenges, food insecurity, and environmental issues. LAU, recognizing the urgency of addressing these interconnected problems, has demonstrated a robust commitment to SDG 12 through various initiatives addressing global issues such as waste management, recycling, and the overall ecological impact of consumption and production activities. From combatting food waste through awareness campaigns to addressing pharmaceutical waste and promoting sustainable purchasing, LAU is fostering a culture of responsible living and consumption, exemplifying its commitment to advancing SDG 12 and contributing to a more sustainable and equitable future, while preparing its community members to be conscientious global citizens who prioritize the well-being of the planet and future generations.

LAU Nutrition Students Win National Best Poster Competition on Food Waste Awareness

LAU Nutrition students took the lead in showcasing their dedication and innovative ideas on food waste.

A total of 11 posters and videos from nine universities were submitted to the competition, which invited students to create a concise awareness design or video on this global concern with a focus on Lebanon.

In their active participation and success, Echtay and El Hajj represent the socially responsible individuals that the Nutrition and Dietetics Program at the Department of Natural Sciences seeks to nurture by equipping them with the necessary skills and dedication to positively impact patients and the community.

As third-year nutrition students, they have cultivated a deep understanding of the complex and intricate connections between food insecurity, safety and waste throughout their time at LAU. Along with active engagements in competitions and internships related to this issue, they have gained “practical insights on the prevalence of food waste in Lebanon,” they said, adding that “against the background of an exponentially dire problem, we were motivated to shed light on this topic in hopes of lessening it.”

The award also reflects LAU’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by addressing critical societal issues in collaborative efforts within its community.

Building on the students’ theoretical understanding of food insecurity, safety and waste, as well as the complex interplay between them, Associate Professor of Food Science and Technology Hussein F. Hassan guided and supervised them throughout the project. Together, they explored the literature on food waste conducted in Lebanon and at LAU and managed to identify the effectiveness of triggering guilt to reduce food waste.

Through their research and readings, Echtay and El Hajj learned that a significant portion of food waste is generated by restaurants – Mediterranean ones in particular – due to the Lebanese culture of sharing an overfilled table as a symbol of generosity and hospitality. “This is evident of the larger underlying problem: There is an inequitable distribution of resources, leading to waste amongst those who can afford it and hunger amongst those who cannot,” they noted.

The duo managed to creatively capture the extent of food waste in the country in a poster illustrating one-third of a falafel dish, and highlight the need to address SDG12 Responsible Consumption and Production which, as Dr. Hassan explains, “specifically aims to halve global food waste by 2030.”

The poster also underscored the prevalence of hunger in Lebanon and urged viewers to “think about it,” in line with evoking a sense of guilt and responsibility in reducing food waste, he added.

“We hope that our poster will motivate change,” said Echtay and El Hajj. “The fact that food is wasted at a time of widespread poverty is indicative of a fundamental structural problem in the way resources are distributed in our country. We hope that our poster makes people aware of the inequity and motivates change to create a positive social impact.”

Following this success, LAU aims to include partnerships with hospitality services and organizations in its continuing efforts to combat food waste and promote awareness through events and educational campaigns, integrating food waste concepts into the curriculum and supporting research projects and initiatives related to food waste reduction.

Food Security Is Not an Impossibility

Lebanon-specific research and panel discussion called for meaningful interventions that can mitigate food waste generation and its repercussions.

According to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), one-third of all food produced worldwide is either wasted or lost every year, and 61 percent of this waste happens in households. In parallel, more than 800 million people suffer from hunger globally, while enough food is produced to feed two billion people.

In Lebanon, the gravity of the issue has been exacerbated by the multifaceted socioeconomic crisis and power outages, as more households struggle with food insecurity.

Well before the onset of the crisis, LAU Associate Professor of Food Science Hussein F. Hassan, LAU Associate Professor of Nutrition Lama Mattar, Professor of Food Science at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Mohamad G. Abiad, and Associate Professor of Applied Economics at AUB Ali Chalak had been actively researching and publishing at length about drivers of food waste generation and its impact on the environment, economy and food security, at both the household and hospitality levels in the country.  

Most recently, they found that an estimated 1,620 tons of food are wasted by people dining out in Beirut alone every year– “an alarming rate, as Lebanon highly depends on food imports and has limited resources for increased food production to sustain food and nutrition security.”

This staggering figure also produces the equivalent of 4,110 tons of carbon dioxide and contributes to the country’s solid waste-management crisis, as food waste from restaurants alone in Beirut amounts to 0.15 percent of Lebanon’s total organic waste, yearly.

Their research findings and proposed solutions were presented at a panel discussion jointly organized by LAU and AUB on September 29, International Awareness Day for Food Loss and Waste. Titled Combatting Food Waste for Improved Food Security in Lebanon, the event brought together Director General of the Lebanese Ministry of Economy and Trade Mohamad Abou Haidar, International Specialist-Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Consumption and Production at UNEP Regional Office for West Asia Paolo Marengo, as well as Dr. Hassan and Dr. Abiad. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Mattar.

In the hospitality sector, people tended to generate more food waste when dining out, said Dr. Abiad. “For a table of four, about half a kilogram of food is wasted per meal – the equivalent of the average food wasted at home in an entire day,” he explained.

Other factors contributed to more waste generation, according to Dr. Abiad, such as the types of cuisine and service. “At restaurants that serve mezze, where people order and share several dishes, the average food wasted is 34 kilograms per day, and that rate goes further up when it comes to open buffets,” he said.

On that score, Dr. Abou Haidar spoke about a draft law that was successfully passed in the Lebanese parliament in June 2020, which offers incentives to the hospitality sector in exchange for adopting measures that limit food waste, such as donating the surplus to food banks. The law has yet to be implemented.

Until then, combatting food waste remains an individual pursuit, starting at the level of households, which account for 61 percent of the total food wasted in Lebanon, per a UNEP report, as Dr. Hassan pointed out. In comparison, 26 percent and 13 percent of food waste are generated from the hospitality sector and supermarkets, respectively.

Apart from cultural drivers, such as generosity and topping up dishes when serving them at home, Dr. Hassan named two additional factors that have recently contributed to generating more food waste: the power and fuel crises, which have resulted in food preservation and transportation challenges.

On the household level, other variables, such as employment, education level, number of members in the household, and income directly influence the food waste volume, according to another study done by the LAU-AUB team. “Rural households in Lebanon, where food is typically shared with relatives and neighbors, wasted less food than their urban counterparts,” said Dr. Hassan, adding that the level of religiosity and guilt feelings about wasting food also seemed to be driving factors.

Ultimately, the panelists agreed that the best approach to combat food waste is by spreading awareness of its economic, environmental and social impact to influence behavioral change. In this regard, Marengo spoke about the UNEP’s Recipe for Change Campaign aimed at maximizing the visibility of the rampant global food waste problem by engaging leading chefs from the region to convey the messages to a wide audience and specifically the youth.

A nationwide competition will also be organized in 2023 in collaboration between LAU and the Ministry of Economy and Trade. It will call on university students to create and produce short awareness videos on combatting food waste.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Hassan described Lebanon’s current crisis as “a golden opportunity for us to address food waste and to change our attitudes and behaviors.” He gave practical tips such as logging food waste, meal planning, following recipes accurately, avoiding impulsive buying or shopping for food when hungry, checking for expiry and best-before dates, and sharing and donating surplus food.

Seminar on Pharmaceutical Waste Spreads Life-Saving Practices

Students were brought up to speed on the importance of pharmaceutical waste treatment and encouraged to take part in international mobility training.

As part of the Erasmus+-funded Sustainable Wastewater Treatment for Hospitals (SWaTH) project, the LAU School of Pharmacy hosted a seminar on pharmaceutical waste with the participation of its faculty and industry professionals.

LAU is among 11 organizations that are part of SWaTH, which is aimed at evaluating hospital wastewater treatment in Lebanon and sharing best practices in hospital wastewater treatment in France, Sweden, Finland and Spain with academics, researchers and students from five Lebanese universities.

Back in 2021, faculty and graduate students from the school joined a group of other Lebanese academics on a mobility training at the University of Granada Faculty of Science in Spain.

At the seminar, SWaTH Project Coordinator and Assistant Professor at the University of Balamand Makram Bachawati urged pharmacy students to apply to the mobility training opportunities available to them through the program.

The program offers an invaluable capacity-building opportunity for faculty and students alike. The seminar falls under the “knowledge-transfer aspect of the program so that more of our students are aware of this unique partnership and the doors it opens,” explained Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Roy Kanbar.

The students’ participation in the project is essential as they stand to learn about innovative wastewater management practices, thereby enhancing their academic or career prospects. “Seeing how some of the facilities in Europe treat wastewater first-hand is an unmatched experience that would not otherwise be accessible for them in Lebanon,” said Associate Professor Jad Abdallah.

LAU is leading the pharmaceutical aspect of the SWaTH project, namely designing and running a national survey that assesses wastewater management across 136 hospitals in Lebanon while the other Lebanese universities tackle the engineering side, added Dr. Abdallah. An overview of the baseline assessment results was presented by Drs. Kanbar and Bachawati. 

The seminar explored correct procedures for disposing of pharmaceutical waste – including expired or unused medication – to mitigate its threat to public health and the environment.

A presentation by Joelle Kawerk, deputy quality control manager of Benta Pharma Industries, a local pharmaceutical manufacturer, discussed the various types of pharmaceutical waste and their impact on human and ecological health. LAU alumnus Antonio El Hajj, who is also a research and development pharmacist at Benta, elaborated on the thermal, physical, chemical, and biological approaches to pharmaceutical waste treatment.

Drawing on examples from LAU’s medical centers, Clinical Instructor of Pharmacy Carl Aoun spoke about the proper handling of cytotoxic medications at hospitals.

School of Engineering Professor Mahmoud Wazne shared an alternative perspective on industrial wastewater management based on his extensive experience and research on treating industrial wastewater. In collaboration with the Litani River Authority, Dr. Wazne developed an innovative eco-friendly technology to treat wastewater. Anaerobic digestion  – a process through which bacteria break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen – he said can be effective in managing pharmaceutical waste.

Thanks to the faculty and experts, pharmacy students in attendance gained a comprehensive view of pharmaceutical waste treatment, its negative impact, and its management in hospitals.

	Dr. Wazne shared an alternative perspective on industrial wastewater management based on his extensive experience and research on treating industrial wastewater.
	The seminar explored correct procedures for disposing of pharmaceutical waste – including expired or unused medication – to mitigate its threat to public health and the environment.
	Drawing on examples from LAU’s medical centers, Dr. Carl Aoun (L) spoke about the proper handling of cytotoxic medications at hospitals, while Dr. Kanbar (R) presented the baseline assessment results.

Sustainable Purchasing

This initiative (under development) aims at reducing LAU’s environmental impact through the products and services it procures.

We envision it as a joint effort between the Procurement Office and every entity or person at LAU that makes purchases, involving a commitment to always choose those products and services that have minimal environmental impact in all stages (manufacturing, transportation, use and disposal).

Recycling and Waste Management

Recycling is everyone’s business. Helping you do it right is ours.

While many institutions in developing countries are mandated by law to participate in recycling programs, LAU is taking the lead to initiate a program promoting the “reduce, reuse, and recycle” mentality, not because it is easy or less expensive than the alternatives, but because it is the right thing to do.

A FM recycling committee was formed involving the constituency of LAU’s two campuses and came up with a complete study that was reported to the University Recycling and Waste Management Committee (RWMC). The study identified paper, cardboard, glass, cans and plastics as the main recyclable materials, noting that other recyclables may be added later on. For optimization purposes, it was decided to divide these recyclables into two streams: paper and cardboard on one side and glass, cans and plastics on the other.

The FM team researched potential recycling partners and presented the results to the RWMC, which opted for partnering with a nonprofit charity organization so as to maximize the positive impact of this initiative. The committee favoured “Association l’Écoute”, whose mission is to rehabilitate humans (mainly the deaf and blind and people with reduced mobility) through recycling materials. The profits from the recyclables is used to finance their needs for hearing kits and other medical services as well as providing them with full time employment opportunities. For further information, visit Association l’Écoute.