Synopsis
This is an initiative to sell leftover bread that would otherwise be disposed of in a locker-type vending machine at the“SDGs Station Yokohama Kannai”exhibition space, where the SDGs are being disseminated.
Implementation Period
Since January, 2024
Stakeholders and Partners
Zero Carbon and GREEN×EXPO Promotion Bureau and Transportation Bureau of the City of Yokohama, Yokohama SDGs Design Center, Yokohama Traffic Development Limited Company, Alpha Locker System Co. Ltd. (Locker manufacture and sale), Bakery En Michi and Kassel cafe (bread making and sale)
Background, Challenges and Objectives
The City of Yokohama, the Yokohama SDGs Design Center, and the Yokohama Traffic Development Limited Company, have signed a collaboration agreement and established the“SDGs Station Yokohama Kannai”, an awareness-raising base utilizing the space inside the Kannai Municipal Subway Station in 2022. This is the first time to set up a SDGs awareness-raising base inside a station in the city of Yokohama. This base is used for promoting behavioral change through introducing the initiatives of SDGs Future City and the City of Yokohama from various angles, not only to regular users of the Municipal Subway but also the many visitors who use Kannai Station, which is close to major touristic spots in Yokohama such as a professional baseball stadium, Chinatown and so on.
At the station, we decided to handle food loss reduction in order to target SDGs goals that are familiar to citizens while discussing the details of the project.
Many stores that offer bread, a familiar food item in our daily lives, bake more bread every day to make it look better on display, and sales are affected by weather conditions, resulting in food loss problems. In order to solve this problem while promoting the SDGs at the same time, we have started the initiative to offer station users a discount on bread and other food that would otherwise be disposed of, even though it is still within the consumption period, by using locker-type vending machines. Through this initiative, we are working to reduce food loss and CO2 emissions.
The vending machines sell an assortment of breads and sweet buns at a price ranging from 300 to 1,000 yen, around 30% off the regular price. Through this initiative, the bakeries providing the products have also been able to close one hour earlier, leading to a better work-life balance for its employees. The use of vending machines is also intended to create an opportunity for citizens and businesses to think about the SDGs and food loss reduction, as well as waste and CO2 emission reduction.
Actions and Implementation
In November 2023, we received a proposal from a locker company concerning the activities of SDGs stations, offering to install food loss reduction lockers. Subsequently, the business that would deliver bread to the lockers was selected and preparations for the project began.
In December 2023, the locker company and the Design Center signed a contract for the installation of lockers and on January 17th 2024 began selling leftover bread in the lockers.
Since July 2024, with the aim of expanding the program to all 18 wards of Yokohama City, we have publicly began recruiting locations where lockers can be installed and matching locker companies with companies facing food loss issues.
Outcomes and Impacts
It has been approximately seven months since we started this initiative, but it has become increasingly popular to the point of selling out every day. As of the end of March 2025, it is estimated that about 3.8 tons of bread had been saved from disposal. ※１
The project became a major topic of conversation as many people were in favor of reducing food loss, and the initiative was widely covered on the internet, television, and newspapers.
※１Estimate based on the emissions intensity of bread production: 3.91 tons-CO2/(production volume) ton from the“Green Value Chain Platform”for calculating greenhouse gas emissions of organizations through supply chains.