Carnival Corp’s Vice President of Government Affairs for Latin America, Vicky Rey (pictured), has been appointed to the Champions 12.3 coalition.
This is a global group of leaders dedicated to advancing Target 12.3 of the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to halve food waste and reduce food loss by 2030.
With more than four decades at Carnival Corp, Rey is known for building trust-based partnerships across sectors to create shared value, opportunity and tangible benefits that align with local needs.
Her appointment to Champions 12.3 reflects her role in shaping scaleable, impact-driven solutions that are generating lasting change for communities, while supporting the company’s commitment to reduce food waste and maximise the use of safe, surplus food across its operations.
This includes spearheading the expansion of the company’s meal donation programme to new destination communities across Latin America to ensure surplus meals reach families and organisations in need.
The programme, which donates high-quality meals to a growing network of food banks, is part of the company’s ‘Less Left Over’ strategy focused on cutting food waste while maximising the use of safe, high-quality surplus food to help address food insecurity.
As part of a broader effort to minimise food waste, the strategy has helped the company slash the waste by 44% per person in 2024, compared with 2019 levels, surpassing its 2025 interim goal a year early – while continuing to offer world class food and dining experiences.
“This appointment is deeply meaningful to me,” said Rey.
“It represents the collective effort of so many partners, including governments, port teams, non profits and dedicated colleagues, who believe in the power of collaboration to develop new solutions that are tackling food loss and waste not just for our business but for communities globally.
“I’m proud to represent our region and our industry as part of this important global coalition,” she said.
Liz Goodwin, Senior Fellow and Director of Food Loss and Waste at World Resources Institute, which serves as the secretariat for Champions 12.3, welcomed Rey’s appointment:
“I am delighted that Vicky has agreed to join Champions 12.3. She’s passionate about responsibly using every ounce of natural resource, investment and labour behind the food on our plates.
“We need global leaders such as Vicky to champion the very best ideas and solutions, so that food is used to feed people – never landfills,” said Goodwin.
As Carnival Corp continues expanding its food recovery and waste reduction efforts, Rey has played a central role in aligning cross-sector partnerships around locally approved frameworks that support safe and effective surplus meal recovery and donation.
Her leadership has shaped flexible, trust-based models built on food safety, compliance and community collaboration, which are now being explored in new regions and contexts around the world.
As a member of Champions 12.3, Rey will bring these valuable insights to the coalition of executive leaders from various business, government and civil sectors, helping to develop actionable, replicable surplus meal donation frameworks in partnership with even more destinations, Carnival said.
