Consultancy Service on “Reduce Food Waste and demonstrate the wise utilization methods to the public"

Request for innovative proposals to 

Reduce Food Waste and Demonstrate the Wise-utilization Methods to the Public

1.     Background 

Established in 2001, ISET-Nepal specializes in interdisciplinary policy research and piloting initiatives at the local level. It conducts interdisciplinary studies, pilots activities, implements programs and facilitates policy dialogues addressing social and environmental challenges. ISET generates empirical evidence to inform policies across five key themes: Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, the Changing Rural-Urban Continuum, Climate, Water, Ecosystem, Food and Livelihood Interdependence, Energy System and Management, and Public-Sector Governance. By enhancing knowledge and capacities, ISET-Nepal strives to foster a society capable of effectively managing these challenges.

ISET-Nepal has been an implementing project on Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change and Resilience Building with Dan Church Aid's (DCA) support under the Save Lives and Build Resilient Community themes approved by the Social Welfare Council. ISET Nepal plans to work on a food waste management project in Kathmandu City. Against this backdrop, ISET requests an innovative project proposal from waste management companies in Kathmandu's food waste management sector. The selected innovative project proposal will be evaluated and developed for implementation to reduce food waste and demonstrate the wise use to benefit more people. 

2.     Problem Statement and Objective

The issue of excessive food waste in Kathmandu has escalated into a pressing concern, carrying far-reaching social, environmental, and economic implications. Despite widespread resource shortages, cultural practices and traditional rituals often encourage the overuse of food during celebrations to demonstrate social status. This trend leads hotels and banquets to prepare excessive quantities of food, a significant portion of which remains uneaten and is ultimately discarded. Consequently, this has added to the volume of solid waste in Kathmandu, which is rising alarmingly and overwhelming landfill capacities and exacerbating waste management challenges. A key factor driving this rapid increase in solid waste is the inability to effectively manage it at the source—households and hotels—highlighting the urgent need for better waste reduction and management strategies.

The issue of food waste manifests in significant and multifaceted ways. The rapid generation of large volumes of organic waste has overwhelmed municipalities, making it challenging to collect and manage this waste effectively, particularly at landfill sites. The inability of municipalities to collect and process organic waste on time has placed a growing burden on hospitality sectors and households, forcing them to store and manage food waste on their own. This has led to the improper disposal of unmanaged food waste in streets and rivers, causing severe environmental degradation and public health concerns.

To address these pressing challenges, this Request for Proposal (RFP) aims to develop and implement an innovative food waste management project in collaboration with a waste management company. The project aims to establish efficient processing systems and create sustainable solutions that benefit a larger population segment while mitigating the adverse impacts of food waste. Potential private firms involved in Food Waste Management must submit innovative concepts and proposals.  The selected proposal/concept will be subsequently developed into an evaluation and award to implementation. This project development would have proceeded to obtain funding from DCA for implementation.  

3.     Submission and selection process 

• A proposal with the expected budget must be submitted to ISET Nepal by 05:00 PM on February 18, 2025. 
• Email to send proposal: procurement@isetnepal.org.np In the subject line, mention: Proposal Submission for KTM-ISET-01-2025
• Any queries related to this RFP should be emailed to info@isetnepal.org.np by 7th February 2025.
• The proposal should be written in English, and applicants can use the suggested proposal template with this RFP below.
• The selection process will include assessment against eligibility criteria, applicant experience and innovative proposal, and physical verification of the company based on the submitted documents. 
• Upon selection, the company must submit and present a detailed business plan and outputs to the ISET Nepal team and DCA before implementation.  
• The applicant shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the proposal. ISET Nepal is not bound to accept any expenses related to developing the concept and proposal during the application phase. 

4.     Eligibility criteria for the applicants 

• The applicant firms/organizations must be registered in Nepal and renewed with the relevant government authority in Nepal. 
• Should have copy of the registration and renewal certificate and PAN/VAT certificate. 
• The applicants must have at least 5 years of working experience in the proposed sector.
• The applicants should present audit reports to verify the company's transaction.
• Provide a detail of shareholders and management board members of the company. 
• Provide details of the firm's existing employees, past projects, and ongoing projects/ business in the proposed sector.
• Provide details of collaborative projects with any NGO/INGO and government entities in the past.

Application Process

Interested agencies are invited to submit their application, including a detailed CV of the personnel involved, a cover letter describing their proposed approach, and their expected budget.

Submissions should be sent to procurement@isetnepal.org.np by February 18, 2025.

Contact Information: For inquiries and submissions, please contact procurement@isetnepal.org.np  

5.     EVALUATION OF proposal 

Each proposal that meets basic eligibility criteria will be technically assessed against the following criteria

6.     PROPOSAL TEMPLATE

Narration of the Innovation/proposal 

• Prove there is a problem in food waste in Kathmandu: The content should encompass background information on the context, past and present issues related to food waste 
• Prove that your solution solves the problem: Types of solutions/approaches: How will your solution solve the problem? Who will help you adopt the innovation? Who will help you scale?
• Implementation and testing plan of your innovation
• The main consideration in financial sustainability strategy, to scale the approach/initiative
• Proposed Budget in Excel Sheet