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Software · Direct

Understand the true cost of food loss and waste.

Direct is food loss and waste intelligence software by Empauer.

Direct maps material flows, quantifies food loss and waste by volume, value and impact, and compares reduction scenarios, aligned to the FLW Standard and ISO 14051, so you can find hotspots, prioritise action and measure improvement.

Book a DIRECT demo

Why teams adopt Direct

Waste measured in tonnes.
True cost still invisible.

Food loss and waste is usually measured in tonnes or disposal cost. That misses the full commercial and environmental value of what's actually being lost.

  • Tonnes & disposalWaste reported as weight or a landfill line item, not the commercial value actually lost.
  • Siloed sitesEach facility measures differently, with no consistent view across operations or supply chain.
  • Hidden driversWater, energy, labour and product value are rarely counted in the same analysis.
  • Weak business caseHard to prioritise interventions without credible scenario comparison.
Illustrative example
Today
StageMeasuredLens
Grading line12 tDisposal cost only
Cold store???Finance estimate
Food serviceTonnes onlyMonthly total

Same operation: partial numbers, no true cost view.

Direct
With Direct
StageVolumeTrue cost
Grading line12 t$84k lost value
Cold store3.2 t$28k recoverable
Food service1.8 t$41k scenario ready

The solution

Food loss and waste intelligence that reveals financial value, operational drivers and environmental impact together.

Direct turns fragmented waste data into a commercial number you can act on, and measure improvement over time.

  • Financial, operational and environmental value in one structured view
  • Hotspots ranked by true cost, not just volume
  • Scenario modelling to build the business case for action
  • FLW Standard and ISO 14051-aligned measurement you can defend

Capabilities

Four lenses on food loss and waste.

Turn food loss and waste data into action.

Direct gives teams the intelligence to move beyond waste reporting and focus on the causes, costs and opportunities that matter.

Hotspots: Identify where food loss and waste occurs across products, sites, processes, destinations and time periods.

Impact: Understand the financial and environmental indicators attached to avoidable loss and waste.

Action: Prioritise interventions, track progress and support the business case for operational change.

Why it matters

The scale of the problem is also the scale of the opportunity.

Food loss and waste is one of the largest hidden costs in the food system, and much of it only becomes visible once you measure it properly.

1/3
of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted.
Source: FAO, Global Food Losses and Food Waste (2011)
US$1.2T
value of food lost or wasted globally each year.
Source: BCG, Tackling the 1.6-Billion-Ton Food Loss and Waste Crisis (2018); projected US$1.5T by 2030
ISO
14051-aligned true cost modelling helps teams quantify what waste actually costs the business.

What does Empauer Direct do?

Direct is Empauer's food loss and waste intelligence platform. It was developed by Empauer with RMIT University and the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre. Direct maps where food and non-food materials flow across a supply chain, then quantifies food loss and waste by volume, value and impact. Aligned to the FLW Standard and ISO 14051 (Material Flow Cost Accounting), it counts more than disposal: the true cost includes the value of inputs, labour, energy, water, packaging, logistics and lost product. Teams use Direct to identify hotspots across products, sites, processes and destinations, compare reduction scenarios and build the business case for operational change. In a 2020 pilot, Olam Orchards Australia used Direct to map material flows and determine the true cost of materials flowing to non-product destinations, including almond hulls used as animal feed. Direct applies across fresh produce, food service and care, and industry programmes that need consistent measurement and benchmarking.

Demo

Explore DIRECT for your operation.

A DIRECT demo helps your team understand how food loss and waste intelligence could apply to your organisation, site or sector.

45 minutes

Request a DIRECT demo

Who should attend

Operations, sustainability, finance, quality, procurement, food service and executive decision-makers.

What you'll leave with

A clearer understanding of the data required, the likely value of the analysis, and the next step for your organisation.

What we'll cover

  1. 01

    Measurement approach

    Map material flows and quantify food loss and waste by volume, value and impact.

  2. 02

    True cost of waste

    Financial, operational and environmental indicators in one structured view.

  3. 03

    Hotspot analysis

    Find priority areas and compare reduction scenarios against FLW Standard and ISO 14051.

  4. 04

    Reporting & next steps

    Reporting outputs, implementation requirements and a clear path forward for your organisation.