Food service firms cut waste as sustainability demand rises

Collaboration and innovation help address food waste, climate change, and supply chain challenges.

The food service sector faces pressure to cut waste as demand for sustainable meals grows. According to Deloitte, 80% of APAC consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable food, yet the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that one-third of global food is wasted.

"From a climate change perspective, we want to reduce global warming to 1.5 degrees," said Dan Campion, APMEA Sustainability Lead at Kerry. "But in 2024, we’re already seeing increases of 1.55 degrees, leading to droughts, floods, and extreme weather events."

Climate concerns are also impacting food prices, as declining crop yields and availability put pressure on supply chains. Governments are responding with stricter regulations, increased taxation, and reductions in fossil fuel subsidies.

To meet sustainability goals, industry players are turning to co-creation—where food service operators, suppliers, and technology providers work together to find innovative solutions.

"When we talk about co-creation, whether through the moral case or business case, it’s about making progress one step at a time," said Simon Hague,South East Asia General Manager for Foodservice Chains at Kerry.

Hague pointed to food waste reduction as a major opportunity, as 50% of all food produced in Southeast Asia ends up in landfills. "We can extend shelf life through preservation systems, adding one to three extra days to a product’s life cycle and reducing landfill waste."

Co-creation also extends to ingredient efficiency. "Take cocoa, which is at a 51-year high price. We use cocoa reduction technology to maintain taste while cutting costs, but we also collaborate with groups like the Rainforest Alliance Coalition to add a sustainability benefit that makes the product more valuable to consumers."

Beyond food waste, rethinking packaging and supply chain processes plays a vital role in sustainability efforts.

"We worked with one customer to reduce plastic packaging, shifting a 1.3-kilo bag to a 10-kilo paper bag, cutting 40 metric tons of carbon from their supply chain," Hague said. "Understanding how products are used in stores allows us to design packaging that reduces waste and emissions."