Continuing on our mission to tackle food waste

At Compass Group UK & Ireland, we’re committed to tackling food waste and in our 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report we demonstrated this by setting ourselves the target of reducing it by 10% by 2020.

One way we’re tackling this industry wide issue is through our partnership with Winnow, they use smart scales to measure waste so that our chefs can make informed decisions about how to avoid it.

Sometimes surplus product is unavoidable. As part of our commitment to tackle food waste and to help feed those in need, Compass Group UK & Ireland is seeking to redistribute food whenever possible.

Surplus food can arise for a number of reasons - from packaging damage to seasonal stock and it doesn’t always need to end up in the bin. As signatories of the Courtauld 2025 agreement, one of our aims is to double the amount of surplus food we redistribute by 2020, this means the amount of actual waste is as minimal as possible.

One example of how we are redistributing food is through our fine-dining division, Restaurant Associates. The business has teamed up with Plan Zheroes (the Zero Food Waste Heroes) to redistribute food to a local charity.

Six Restaurant Associates branches in Canary Wharf have teamed up to donate a range of assorted food items - including sandwiches, salads, yogurt pots and drinks - to Caritas Anchor House, a nearby hostel supporting homeless people in Canning Town.

Every year, Caritas Anchor House provides a home to over 250 homeless people. The charity’s driving mission is to ensure that those who walk through their doors grow in confidence and move toward leading independent, self-fulfilling lives by providing education, guidance and personal rehabilitation.