#WorldEnvironmentDay: Why food systems must lead the climate conversation

Ozzy Nel, Chief Operating Officer, SA Harvest

From food waste to climate action

South Africa wastes more than 10 million tonnes of food every year. This food, often still edible, is dumped in landfills where it emits methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more harmful than CO₂. At the same time, over 18 million South Africans face food insecurity daily.

This is not a crisis of scarcity, but of distribution. The environmental fallout of this imbalance includes wasted water, energy, land, and logistics – a silent climate threat that is often hidden in plain sight.

SA Harvest was founded to challenge this broken system. But we’re not a food charity. We’re a logistics disruptor, an environmental actor, and a data-driven social innovator.

Our model of systemic sustainability is simple in principle, but enormously impactful in its execution: intercept surplus food before it becomes waste, redirect it through a climate-aligned supply chain, and deliver it – free of charge – to vetted community organisations across the country. All of it tracked, measured, and optimised for environmental impact.

Reverse logistics for good

Our national fleet and cold-chain infrastructure span Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. But what makes our model unique is its environmental intelligence. We optimise existing “empty legs,” warehouse space, and underutilised resources to scale impact without scaling emissions. In fact, despite recent fleet expansions, our environmental footprint has remained stable — a testament to the power of shared logistics and smart supply chain integration.

Our partnership with Vector Logistics, for instance, has rescued 329 tonnes of food and prevented 322 tonnes of CO₂ emissions — just one example of how aligning commercial logistics with humanitarian goals delivers outsized results.

Source: Supplied

Beyond the plate: food rescue as systemic innovation

Our impact goes beyond the plate. Each kilogram of food rescued represents fewer emissions, less plastic packaging in landfills, and stronger, more resilient communities.

Our investments in state-of-the-art greenhouses and dehydration technologies help prolong shelf life and improve year-round supply in vulnerable areas. Meanwhile, our partnership with Regenize brings circular economy principles to the grassroots, empowering beneficiaries to earn income through plastic recycling.

This is what we call systemic sustainability: a logistics-driven model where food rescue is not just about feeding people, but about transforming the very systems that created scarcity and waste in the first place.

Built to scale, built to last

Since 2019, we’ve grown from a single vehicle to a national operation that has delivered over 92 million meals, rescued more than 21.4 million kilograms of food, and prevented over 52,393 tonnes of CO₂e emissions. These aren’t just numbers. They are proof that sustainable food systems aren’t a future concept — they’re already here, if we’re willing to scale them.

A call for coordinated action

True sustainability can’t happen in silos. That’s why we’re calling on logistics providers, corporates, funders, and government partners to join us. Our systems are designed to be collaborative, data-driven, and transparent, ready to integrate with broader ESG goals and national climate targets.

On this World Environment Day, let’s move beyond pledges. Let’s build systems that regenerate, empower, and deliver. Together, we can drive systemic change for a sustainable future — one rescued meal, one rerouted truck, one community at a time.