Climate Solutions That Go Beyond Carbon: Reducing Food Waste

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction 

00:51 Why Food Waste Is a Top Climate Solution 

07:43 Meet the Panel 

12:05 Jasmine Crowe on Goodr’s Fight Against Hunger and Food Waste 

19:53 Natasha Dyer on the City of Atlanta’s Food Access and Recovery Work 

33:55 Suki Janssen on Composting at Scale in Athens-Clarke County 

43:32 Polly Sattler on Food Waste Reduction at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport 

52:10 Audience Q&A

Roughly a third of the food produced in the world is never eaten, and food waste generates about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this Drawdown Georgia webinar, the second in a series on climate solutions that go beyond carbon, five Georgia leaders share the work they’re doing to close that gap.

Moderated by Ciannat Howett of Emory University, this panel brings together Jasmine Crowe of Goodr, Natasha Dyer of the City of Atlanta, Suki Janssen of Athens-Clarke County, and Polly Sattler of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, each tackling food waste from a different angle, from technology and logistics to municipal policy to composting infrastructure.

Why Is Reducing Food Waste Such a High-Impact Climate Solution?

Ciannat Howett opens with the case for reducing food waste as a top-tier climate solution, ranked third by Project Drawdown, ahead of both solar and wind. She also shares how Emory University is pursuing 75% local food sourcing and partnering on an anaerobic digester designed with “equity by design” principles from the start, so the benefits of clean energy don’t come at the expense of the communities nearby.

How Is Goodr Turning Hunger Into a Logistics Problem to Solve?

Jasmine Crowe explains why Goodr treats hunger as a matter of logistics rather than scarcity, using a purpose-built technology platform to match surplus food from businesses with nonprofits in 26 markets. She also breaks down the roughly $40 billion in tax incentives businesses leave unclaimed each year by not donating surplus food.

How Is Atlanta Building a Circular Food System?

Natasha Dyer walks through the City of Atlanta’s Food Matters partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which found 125,000 tons of food heading to Atlanta’s landfill in a single year, and the creative programs that followed, including a shared-revenue model that redistributed 15,000 pounds of gleaned produce from Georgia farms in just three weeks.

What Does Composting Infrastructure Look Like in Practice?

Suki Janssen gives a behind-the-scenes look at the Classic City Compost Facility in Athens-Clarke County, one of Georgia’s first commercial composting operations, and explains why low-cost aerated static pile technology, not expensive equipment, has been key to scaling food scrap composting affordably.

How Is One of the Country’s Busiest Airports Tackling Food Waste?

Polly Sattler shares how Hartsfield-Jackson’s Sustainable Food Court Initiative and partnership with Goodr have diverted over 200,000 pounds of food and generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax benefits for concessionaires, and what’s next as the airport works toward its zero waste goals.

Whether you work in institutional food service, municipal government, or community composting, this conversation offers practical, real-world models for cutting food waste at scale.

What You’ll Learn

• Why Project Drawdown ranks reducing food waste as the third most impactful climate solution.
• How Emory University is building equity into its anaerobic digestion plans from the start.
• How Goodr uses technology and logistics to match surplus food with communities in need.
• How the City of Atlanta identified 125,000 tons of landfill-bound food waste and built programs to redirect it.
• What it takes to run an affordable, scalable composting facility, and how to manage contamination.
• How Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is reducing food waste through policy, partnerships, and education.
• Practical answers to audience questions on tax incentives, carbon calculators, and building a culture of composting.

Continue reading in our companion blog to learn more about how these Georgia leaders are tackling food waste as a climate solution.

Download the Interview Transcript

Prefer to read the conversation instead? Download the complete PDF transcript of this webinar to explore these panelists’ insights on food waste, composting, and hunger relief in Georgia.