Finland’s food redistribution system is delivering real impact. The numbers from the 2025 Hävikkiterminaalien selvitys are substantial: 6.6 million kg of donated food distributed across 11 hubs, over 1 million food aid visits recorded, and a bio-waste diversion rate of approximately 97% of all received food.
These are credible, meaningful outcomes. But the report also reveals a data infrastructure gap that limits how well those outcomes can be measured, communicated, and built upon.
The measurement gap
Only 3 of 11 Finnish hubs systematically track demand data from their recipient organisations. Only 2 have operational software. The numbers that appear in the aggregate report are, in some cases, estimates rather than verified measurements.
Impact that can be precisely documented is more valuable than impact that can only be estimated. Funders allocating grants want verified outcomes. City councils reporting against EU food waste targets need auditable evidence. Corporate donors seeking CSRD-compliant records need timestamped, traceable data.
Three kinds of impact from a single logged event
Zipli makes explicit something that is often treated as separate: every single logged donation generates environmental, social, and governance impact simultaneously.
Environmental: food diverted from bio-waste avoids methane emissions. For Stadin Safka alone, redistributing 680,000 kg per year generates an estimated 750,000 kg CO2e in avoided emissions annually.
Social: the food reaches people in need, extending the reach of food aid networks. Over 1 million food aid visits were recorded across Finnish hubs in 2025.
Governance: the chain of custody is documented, creating the audit trail that regulators and corporate sustainability programmes require.
The platform does not create these impacts. They exist in any functioning redistribution system. What Zipli does is capture them, verify them, and make them usable.
Sources: Hävikkiterminaalien vuosi 2025 -selvitys, Laura Kumpuniemi & Vesa Lampi, Luke/Ruoka-apu.fi, 29.4.2026 · WRAP CO2 equivalence data. Read the 2025 Hävikkiterminaalit report.
