Today is World Environment Day, one of the biggest international days for the planet. For the environmental community, the year 2022 is historically significant as it marks 50 years since the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, which some consider the first global meeting focused on the environment. "Only One Earth" was the theme that year. Fifty years on, that theme is repeated this year as well. Collective action is a must to reverse the effects of climate change and preserve the world as we know it for future generations.
Up to 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by food waste. This amount is equivalent to almost one-third of the world's carbon budget. This data highlights the urgency and scale of the problem and indicates that reducing food waste will be critical in fighting climate change.
This Environment Day, we'd like to share stories from across ISS. They are doing some fantastic work fighting food waste. The ISS team is at the forefront of change; with sustainability as a corporate priority, they are committed to reducing the impact on the environment. This commitment to running a sustainable kitchen led to their partnership with Winnow in 2019. Their goal is to cut food waste by 50% globally by 2027. A deployment of Winnow to 165 sites has seen waste levels cut by 34%, saving 1.4 million meals yearly. This prevents over 2,400 tons of carbon emissions, the equivalent of the carbon sequestered by over 2,866 acres of forest land in a year.
In honour of Environment Day, we are bringing you three stories from ISS sites around the world. The chefs at ISS are implementing innovative strategies to reduce food waste while maintaining quality and consistency.
ISS UK
Seven kitchens have taken part in a pilot of the Winnow Track system. Track is a tablet-only solution providing a simple way to track food in kiosks and small kitchen environments. Preparations are underway to reduce waste in a further 50 kitchens across the UK. So far, ISS UK has saved 20,000 meals to date.
One of the kitchens, called Leonardo Luton, has reduced its food waste by 15% in 3 months. Track is ideal for the Leonardo Luton kitchen's Grab'n'Go model since food items can be logged quickly and easily. Their culinary team takes pride in making a difference in the world by taking on the challenge of reducing food waste.
"Training and guidelines provided by Winnow helped with the smooth running in controlling our food waste on-site, highlighting where the focus needs to be in the fight against food waste. "
- Petra Bliss, Operations Specialist, ISS UK
ISS Belgium
Belgium was the first in ISS to use AI to cut food waste, having pioneered the use of Winnow Vision. The data provided by Winnow helps the site manage inventory to avoid waste. ISS Belgium is proud to have reduced their food waste by 55%, saving energy, water and even working time in the process. In Belgium, it is tradition to do mussels and fries day where large quantities of mussels are used, the data provided by Winnow helped them order accurately.
"Since the implementation of Winnow, we have been able to further reduce our food waste by about 1/3. This is not only about saving food, but it is also about saving energy, water and working time"
- Kris Cloots, CEO & Community Manager, ISS Benelux
Measuring and managing food waste was key to driving behavioural change, as it helped cement principles of food waste reduction within the kitchen team.
ISS Guckenheimer
An initial deployment of Winnow to 34 sites in 2021-22 has already seen significant reductions with food waste cut by 23%, diverting over 1 million meals from the trash to date.
"Don't see sustainability as a corporate mandate. See it as a personal mission to make a difference in the world in which
we live."
- Paul Fairhead, CEO, ISS Guckenheimer.
Top tips from the team at ISS Guckenheimer
- Make it visual if teams can see the amount of waste that is created daily, it will help change their perspective and habits.
- Involve your team in the conversation and make Winnow reports part of your daily huddles to stay on top of your food waste
- Empower your people. The system is a big coaching and learning experience. Give your team the autonomy to act on the data.
We are proud to participate in this year's Environment Day and bring you stories from inspiring chefs. We believe that chefs play an essential role in the fight against food waste, not only in their kitchens but also for consumers where their influence shapes our behaviour and food culture.
These kitchens and many others worldwide are using Winnow to create a more sustainable future. Thousands of chefs from 45 countries collaborate every day to reduce food waste, working towards a greener, cleaner and healthier global food system. These stories from ISS are examples of people making ambitious commitments toward bettering the planet. Their example shows the world that it is possible to reduce food waste at scale and have a real impact.
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