UAE food waste: Majid Al Futtaim teams up with ne’ma

Majid Al Futtaim signs an MoU with ne’ma to support the UAE goal of halving food loss and waste by 2030, including data sharing, awareness campaigns, and scalable solutions.

Majid Al Futtaim signs ne’ma MoU to cut UAE food waste by 2030

Majid Al Futtaim has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ne’ma, the UAE’s National Food Loss and Waste Initiative. The goal is simple (and overdue): help the UAE halve food loss and waste by 2030.

The MoU focuses on measurement first, then action. Majid Al Futtaim will share operational data and sector know-how across its retail and hospitality footprint to support the UAE’s Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study, while both partners also plan awareness and food rescue work.

Majid Al Futtaim has signed an MoU with ne’ma, the UAE’s National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, aligned with the goal to halve food loss and waste by 2030.
The partnership includes sharing operational data to support the UAE Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study (a national measurement effort).
Expect joint work on awareness campaigns, food rescue, and behaviour change programmes.
Both sides say the aim is practical, scalable solutions across retail, hospitality, and food & beverage operations.

What the MoU covers (and why it matters)

This MoU is framed as a private-sector push to support the UAE’s wider food security and circular economy plans.

Private-sector collaboration: Positioning the deal as support for national sustainability and food security goals.
A “measure first” approach: Data and evidence are treated as the starting point for targeted fixes.
Nationwide scope: It’s not just internal operations — it includes public awareness and behaviour change.

The key detail here is the baseline study angle. You can’t manage what you don’t measure, and food waste is notoriously hard to track across a whole country.

Majid Al Futtaim says it will share operational data and expertise from its retail, hospitality, and F&B network to support the UAE Food Loss and Waste Baseline Study — described as the country’s first joint national measurement effort to build an evidence base for targeted interventions across the value chain.

What’s being shared: Operational data plus sector experience from across Majid Al Futtaim’s network.
What it supports: The UAE baseline study designed to map food loss and waste across the value chain.
Why it matters: A baseline is what turns “we should reduce waste” into “here’s where the waste is happening”.

If you want the official explainer pages, ne’ma has a baseline project brief on its site.

Awareness campaigns, food rescue, and behaviour change

Beyond measurement, the MoU includes a set of practical programmes aimed at shifting habits and stopping edible food from ending up in landfill.

Nationwide awareness campaigns: Joint public messaging to encourage more responsible consumption.
Food rescue efforts: Work to redirect surplus food where possible.
Behaviour change programmes: Efforts aimed at day-to-day habits and waste management practices.

In plain terms: less overbuying, better storage, smarter portioning, and systems that make it easier for businesses to cut waste without killing operations.

What Majid Al Futtaim says it’s doing inside its own operations

Majid Al Futtaim positions the partnership as part of broader environmental work across its portfolio, including waste reduction, resource efficiency, and sustainable sourcing practices.

Circularity focus: Reducing waste and building “closed-loop” approaches are mentioned as ongoing priorities.
Group-wide scope: The statement references initiatives across retail, properties, and leisure.

If you want related context on Majid Al Futtaim’s consumer footprint in the UAE, here’s a recent example tied to Mall of the Emirates and its loyalty ecosystem: SHARE VIP Suite at Mall of the Emirates.

And for more on the wider circular economy push (including food waste as a focus area), this is worth a read: Dubai Holding’s Innovate for Tomorrow impact accelerator.

Where ne’ma fits in

The release describes ne’ma as the national platform driving food loss and waste reduction across households, businesses, and the wider value chain, aligned with the UAE’s 2030 target and national sustainability direction.

If you want the official sources:

Emirates Foundation’s ne’ma page: emiratesfoundation.ae ne’ma
ne’ma’s main site: nema.ae.

FAQ

What did Majid Al Futtaim sign with ne’ma?

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the UAE target of halving food loss and waste by 2030.

What will Majid Al Futtaim contribute?

Operational data and sector expertise across its retail, hospitality, and food and beverage network to support national measurement work, plus co-designed solutions and campaigns.