Compass marks Stop Food Waste Day on journey to Climate Net Zero

To mark the sixth annual Stop Food Waste Day, Compass Group UK & Ireland has announced it will be rolling out its new enhanced waste recording system across all UK & Ireland sites, further investing in the accurate measurement and reduction of food waste. The system is Compass’ in-house solution designed to be integrated within its bespoke recipe, menu, nutrition and allergen management programme.

Tackling food waste is an important part of the company’s Climate Net Zero by 2030 ambition, which includes a commitment to halve food waste. The roll out will enable the business to collect consistent data and further identify measures to help tackle waste. This is supported by a wider programme of educating teams on how to reduce food waste, with a focus on prevention and advanced planning.

To celebrate Stop Food Waste Day, Compass has activities planned and resources available to help clients, consumers and the wider industry to reduce the amount of food going in the bin – supporting a more sustainable future.

• Compass’ headquarters in Chertsey is hosting a food waste showcase attended by partners including FareShare, Toast Ale, Rubies in the Rubble, Waste Knot and Too Good To Go.
• In Compass’ offices in Chertsey and Parklands, a special menu is being served from food that can sometimes be surplus, such as chocolate brownies made from coffee grounds. 

• Chartwells, Compass’ education catering specialists, has created Beyond The Chartwells Kitchen food waste information materials and its team of nutritionists have delivered more than 50 education sessions on the subject this academic year. A Stop Food Waste Day programme in Liverpool will take place for hundreds of children. They have also published a FUEL podcast aimed at higher education students, focusing on food waste.
• Sports and entertainment sector, Levy UK+I, has been using and sharing food waste tips and recipes for customers in landmark venues including Twickenham Stadium and Cardiff City Stadium.
• In over 70 hospitals where Compass supports retail, it is working with Too Good to Go, which is helping distribute surplus food to consumers saving hundreds of food items per week, in addition to providing support across Compass more widely.
• Eurest, the workplace catering sector, is tackling food waste with the launch of their root to tip cooking concept “Plenty”, which consists of over 40 recipes celebrating underutilised ingredients such as; kale stem pesto, cauli leaf kimchi and broccoli stalk soup.
• ESS, the Defence, Energy and Government Services sector is further rolling out a vacuum packing process to extend the shelf life of products. This is alongside introducing more recipe innovation with surplus ingredients being used in smoothies, soups, desserts and flavoured oils.
• Restaurant Associates is celebrating with special Waste Knot menus across venues and offices. This year alone, their partnership has saved over 7 tonnes of perfectly good fruit and vegetables from going to waste.

Parent company, Compass Group, has published a free food waste cookbook, designed to inspire households to minimise the amount of food that gets thrown away while helping to take the pressure off stretched family budgets. Featuring recipes from 45 chefs across 30 countries, including several UK representatives, the cookbook includes a range of delicious starters, main courses, and desserts, each created using ingredients that commonly go to waste. Compass Group has also announced the global expansion of its industry-leading proprietary food waste management system Waste Not 2.0.

Stop Food Waste Day was launched by Compass Group USA in 2017 – it’s an annual event with the aim of raising awareness around the issue of food waste and encouraging the industry, and the wider public, to reduce the amount of food thrown away.

Robin Mills, Managing Director, Compass Group UK & Ireland, added: “We have made great progress in reducing food waste within our business over the years, through education, menu planning and use of waste management systems. The roll out of our new enhanced waste recording system across our business is game changing. It will support our teams to further reduce food waste as we seek to halve it by 2030. In a world of limited resources, tackling food waste is essential as we all work to do our bit to support our planet.” 

Ashleigh Taylor, Head of Environment, Compass Group UK & Ireland, said: “Stop Food Waste Day is an important opportunity for us to raise awareness around this problem, so it’s great to see so many of our partners and clients being supported to tackle this important issue.”

“When we waste food, we also waste the resources needed to create it and the environmental impact is huge. As the UK and Ireland’s leading food and support services provider, it is our responsibility to act now.”

According to waste management charity WRAP, UK households waste over £14 billion of food every year - the equivalent of eight meals a week - costing the average UK family more than £700 a year. This volume of food waste is not only stretching household budgets; it’s also impacting the environment, creating more than 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions; the equivalent emissions as 3.5 million cars.

Take a look at some food waste reduction tips from some of our brand partners here, who were involved on the day.