Aeon sets 2040 target for full food waste recycling in Japan

Aeon Co., Ltd. has established a new sustainability target to achieve a 100 percent food recycling rate by 2040. The retail giant aims to eliminate the incineration and landfill disposal of food waste across its operations.

To verify the effectiveness of this strategy, Aeon launched a regional circular model in Iwate Prefecture, which the Ministry of the Environment selected for its fiscal year 2025 supplementary model project for promoting food resource recycling.

The company previously aimed to halve its food waste generation intensity by 2025 compared to 2015 levels. By May 2026, Aeon achieved a 43 percent reduction, bringing the intensity down to 20.3 kilogrammes per one million yen. While falling short of the strict halving goal, the retailer had expanded its regional recycling programme to 13 locations, surpassing its initial target of ten. Internal reviews revealed that inedible parts, such as vegetable skins, cores, and fish bones, account for approximately 47 percent of retail food waste.

Aeon plans to increase its food recycling rate from the current 54.2 percent to 70 percent by 2030, 85 percent by 2035, and ultimately 100 percent by 2040. The Iwate Prefecture model case serves as the primary testing ground for these goals. The project collects approximately 300 tonnes of annual food waste, excluding fish scraps, from 21 Aeon group stores within the prefecture. Local businesses process this waste into compost.

Aeon Agri Create Co., Ltd. then applies this compost at its Iwate Hanamaki Farm to cultivate broccoli. Concurrently, local farmers are testing the viability of high electrical conductivity compost for the outdoor cultivation of hops and barley. The project assesses greenhouse gas reduction effects, analyses soil composition, and tracks crop quality. Moving forward, Aeon intends to commercialise the resulting crops into a private brand beer.

Aeon also plans to scale these closed loop recycling systems from the current 13 locations to 47 across Japan by 2040.