While food waste is inevitable in hospitality, it doesn’t have to be uncontrolled. With the right systems in place, it can be measured, managed, and significantly reduced.
I had the pleasure of moderating a joint webinar hosted by The PLEDGE on Food Waste and Power Knot, which brought together certification experts, solution providers, and hotel teams to discuss practical solutions for reducing food waste in hospitality.
Throughout the webinar, a clear message emerged: food waste reduction only works when standards, technology, and operations are aligned. Standards set the expectations, technology enables measurement and insight, and operations turn both into real-world action—without this alignment, even well-intentioned efforts struggle to deliver lasting impact.
One of the highlights of the webinar was a real-life case study from Anantara The Palm Dubai.
The team shared their journey of implementing The PLEDGE on Food Waste alongside the Power Knot LFC biodigester on their food waste reduction journey.
Over a 12-month period, these efforts resulted in a 17% reduction (cost savings of AED 320,000 annually) in food waste!
Key Takeaways
Change starts with people. When everyone understands the purpose and is fully on board, meaningful and sustainable results can be achieved.
Ongoing engagement is essential. Consistently following up with teams through reminders, training, and reinforcement helps embed new behaviours across all departments.
Technology must be embedded in operations. Digital tools should support day-to-day processes, not sit separately from them.
Data is critical to demonstrating progress. Measuring food waste enables hotels to track performance, plan more effectively, and make informed decisions — because you can’t manage what you don’t measure.
Ultimately, the webinar reinforced that lasting food waste reduction is not driven by a single solution, but by committed people, supported by the right processes and technology, working together to turn intention into measurable impact.
