Strategic Misalignment Across SDGs in Surplus Food Redistribution: Evidence from the UK and Irish SFR Ecosystem

Surplus food redistribution (SFR) initiatives are widely promoted as "win–win" solutions that simultaneously address food insecurity and food waste, aligning Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (Zero Hunger) with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Increasingly mediated through digital platforms connecting food businesses, charities, and consumers, little is known about how organisational models shape whether such SDG synergies are realized or undermined over time. Drawing on resource dependence theory and corporate social responsibility (CSR) scholarship, this paper examines how surplus food redistribution platforms frame their sustainability objectives and how their dependence on surplus food generates strategic tensions across SDGs. Using qualitative content analysis of three prominent UK and Irish platforms (OLIO, FoodCloud, and Too Good To Go) alongside a major redistribution charity (FareShare), we analyse mission statements, impact narratives, partnership descriptions, and SDG claims. Our findings highlight three interrelated dynamics. First, platforms adopt similar "win–win" sustainability narratives while embedding markedly different theories of change. Second, initiatives most explicitly aligned with SDG 2 are structurally dependent on donor-controlled surplus, constraining their autonomy and scalability. Third, a temporal incompatibility emerges: long-term success in food waste prevention (SDGs 12 and 13) threatens the resource base on which short-term food insecurity relief depends. We argue that SFR should be understood as a transitional buffering mechanism rather than a stable solution to food insecurity, and that SDG interlinkages involve trade-offs as well as synergies. The paper contributes to debates on SDG governance, CSR strategy, and the unintended consequences of platform-mediated sustainability solutions.