This working group was the first of a series of four workshops focusing on policy options to reduce food waste (organised between June 2018 and January 2019). The event took place in Amsterdam and aimed to spotlight Voluntary Agreements as a policy instrument for more sustainable food systems. Member state representatives and policy experts discussed this subject during the working group in June, targeting two key questions:

• Why are Voluntary Agreements key instruments for food waste reduction? and

• How can they be set up at the national level?

Previous research conducted within REFRESH has identified food waste drivers as cross-cuttingby nature, and further studies highlighted the relevance of multi-stakeholder collaboration. In light of these findings, Voluntary Agreements and multi-stakeholder collaboration have been identified as key policy approaches to address the issue of food waste throughout food supply chains.

To tackle these questions, the Voluntary Agreements working group featured several main activities:

• Interactive discussion sessions with Member State representatives and policy experts;
• Experience feedback from on-the-ground research within the REFRESH pilot countries;
• A step-by-step overview on how Member States can use the REFRESH blueprint tool to successfully set up and conduct VAs on food waste reduction.

The agenda, minutes and presentations are available for download.