Four benefits of reducing your food waste

1.It cuts costs in multiple areas
Food involves costs on both sides of the dinner table – from getting it to the customer to disposing of it after. Commercial kitchens typically waste 8-20% of the food they buy. By implementing a food waste management system, a kitchen with annual costs of £250,000 can cut up to 8% on food costs – translating to £20,000 in potential savings. A more efficient kitchen will generally use fewer resources than a wasteful one, which means you’ll also start saving money earlier in your supply chain.

Waste disposal costs have been rising gradually as landfill sites are used up. In Switzerland, disposing of avoidable food waste costs the catering industry about 1 billion Swiss francs a year. In England, the landfill tax on active waste – waste that produces emissions like methane – has been rising steadily for the past decade. In 2020 it was £94.15 per tonne, compared to £88.95 in 2018. From this perspective, systematically reducing food (and other) waste is an important cost-reduction strategy for the future.

2.Your environmental footprint will shrink
Because most wasted food ends up rotting in landfills, it is a major source of GHG emissions. The methane released in decomposition has 21 times the global warming potential than carbon dioxide, making landfills a significant contributor to climate change. In countries where it isn’t possible to safely landfill waste – because the geology is unsuitable, for example – waste is often incinerated. Burning waste to produce energy is less harmful than landfilling, but still far less sustainable than recycling. Disposing of unavoidable waste properly can save up to five times the amount of energy produced by burning waste. Reducing waste overall is even more important.

3.You’ll start making data-driven decisions
You have to measure food waste before you can reduce it. You can use the data you gain from this process to analyse your kitchen and/or business’ efficiency and performance as a whole. Tracking performance allows you to set new key performance indicators for your sustainability and financial goals. And of course, you can use the data you collect in your marketing efforts to show exactly what your business is doing to be more sustainable.

4.It helps to build a stronger brand image
People are increasingly taking sustainability into account when they make their travel plans. Research commissioned for Booking.com’s 2021 Sustainable Travel Report found that 81% of travellers want to stay in a sustainable accommodation in the upcoming year – and almost half (49%) still believe that in 2021 there aren’t enough sustainable travel options availableReducing your food waste will better position you in a market of increasingly eco-conscious consumers.