2016 will be remembered as the year we solved the problem of food waste.

Ok, that might be a bit optimistic. Globally we waste one-third of our food. In the U.S. 40% of food is wasted. This represents billions of dollars of lost value. Undoubtedly we still have a long way to go — but we are making meaningful progress.

I want to back up and talk about why and how we’ve been able to get to the point where tech companies, democrats and republicans, celebrity chefs, leading universities, and multinational companies all agree on the problem and have begun to move towards solutions.

Food waste is a systems issue

Everyone is impacted, everyone plays their part, but no one person or organization is responsible. Similarly, no one entity can solve the problem alone. Stakeholders from across sectors need to be involved to catalyze solutions. That’s exactly what has happened over the past few years. Here are some of the key milestones:

• US Environmental Protection Agency creates Food Recovery Hierarchy, a framework that prioritizes approaches to reducing food waste in terms of their impact
• National Resources Defense Council publishes report on the magnitude of the problem
• Food Waste starts to get mainstream attention, activists take action, a national media campaign is launched
• Corporations, like Bon Appetit Management Company, commit to make progress against food waste
• Investors of all types get involved, from impact investors to corporates to philanthropic capital
• The Obama administration calls for 50% food waste reduction by 2030
• ReFED, a ross-sector collaboration including corporations, non-profits, government leaders, and investors, creates a roadmap to stimulate meaningful action
• Food Recovery and Food Date Labeling acts are introduced to congress, and seem to have support from the food industry and politicians on both sides

Broadening the system boundary has enabled collaborations between different types of stakeholders.

The problem is well understood. Everyone is speaking the same language. And potential solutions are finally being discussed.

This approach helped turn the problem of food waste into an opportunity. Now we are seeing entrepreneurs and investors starting to take advantage:

• Hungry Harvest and Imperfect Produce create new revenue streams
• Blu Wrap and Food Freshness Technology use technology to extend freshness
• ColdHubs and gomango extend the cold chain
• Community Plates, Copia, and Food Cowboy divert would-be food waste to consumers and food banks

I believe that food waste can become a prototype for how sustainability-oriented innovations can solve complex issues. Soil health and supply chain transparency are two issues that could benefit from similar systems-thinking approaches.

There’s still a long way to go to meet the Obama administration goal, let alone to eliminate the food waste problem. But I’m optimistic. The more we collaborate across sectors and industries, the easier it will be to find win-win opportunities to solve pressing food system issues.