Roughly one-third of the food produced globally is either lost or wasted every year. Compass Group, the global leader in food service, today marks Stop Food Waste Day, an international day of action in the fight against food waste, in partnership with a range of 140 clients in Belgium and high-profile clients such as Google and HSBC internationally.
Launched by Compass Group USA in 2017, Stop Food Waste Day is an annual event to raise awareness of the issue of food waste and encourage the industry, from farm to fork, to reduce the amount of food thrown away.
Compass clients and country teams come together to focus on reducing food surplus. Activities in Belgium include:
- Stop Food Waste Day awareness campaign at 140 customer locations;
- Stop Food Waste tips for our consumers;
- Teaching kitchens and workshops showcasing tips and tricks to reduce the amount of food thrown away;
- Social media campaign using the hashtag #stopfoodwasteday to drive interest globally.
Dominic Blakemore, Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “Food waste is a serious problem for the world today, and as the global leader in food service, we are determined to play our part in driving change. Working with our suppliers, partners, clients and consumers across the 50 countries we operate in, we are focused on educating our teams and our customers on how they can play their part in cutting food waste, today and every day.”
Compass Group in the UK has committed to reducing its food waste by 50% by 2030.
Bart Matthijs, Managing Director Compass Group Belgium: “Belgians waste about 3.6 million tons of food every year. Definite numbers are hard to come by but we estimate that 10 to 12% of that waste is produced in horeca and food services, with horeca accounting for the bulk of it.
For Compass Group Belgium, our average food waste is between 6 and 8% and, working closely with our clients, we are determined to bring that down to 5% over the next two years.”
Compass Group Belgium actively proposes a range of initiatives to its customers, such as:
- Weighing of and reporting on food waste in individual locations
- Collaboration with Rikolto in selected locations
- Recuperation of leftovers, ex. Fruits or desserts to make smoothies and shakes, bread to make croutons, …
- Support of customer initiatives such as TrimTrax or Leanpath
More about Stop Food Waste Day
