Hospitality and foodservice businesses should add food waste prevention to the objectives of boardroom directors in a bid to reduce the vast amount of good food that goes to waste in out of home settings.
The call came from the charity Wrap ahead of the festive period, with December described as the sector’s “most wasteful month”.
In response to research showing that almost one fifth of food purchased by the sector is thrown away, Wrap called on business leaders to add food waste prevention to their operational and financial reporting and to everyone’s objectives – from those working in kitchens right through to boardrooms.
Despite well over 300 businesses having committed to Wrap’s food waste reduction roadmap, the food industry is still responsible for huge volumes of waste with the hospitality and foodservice (HaFS) sector alone throwing away 1.1 million tonnes of food every year. Wrap said 75% of this food could have been eaten, costing businesses and organisations £3.2bn.
The financial incentive to reduce food waste has become even greater following a Budget last week that heaped further cost pressures onto restaurants, pubs and other out of home businesses. Wrap research has shown that for every £1 invested in reducing food waste businesses realised a £14 return.
As well as adding food waste prevention to employees’ objectives, Wrap urged CEOs and directors to demonstrate to their teams and externally that they are committed to taking long-term measurable action to reduce their food waste by signing up to the food waste reduction roadmap.
It also highlighted actions businesses can take to reduce food waste through its Guardians of Grub prevention programme targeted specifically at the HaFS sector.
“We know how CEOs and directors in hospitality and foodservice, leading from the front, can inspire teams to reduce the shocking amount of food that’s binned. So we’re calling on more industry leaders to rise up and take a stand against food waste,” said Wrap CEO Harriet Lamb. “It is tough for teams working flat out in busy kitchens so they need the leadership, guidance and support to adopt new habits, putting in place practical measures to ensure we are feeding people not bins – and saving the business money along the way.”
