ESS and Olio Win Let's Recycle ‘Food Waste Initiative of the Year’ at Awards for Excellence

ESS, part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, in collaboration with community sharing app Olio has won ‘Food Waste Initiative of the Year’ at the Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management. Held at the Grosvenor Hotel in London, the event celebrated accomplishments and championed achievements in the recycling, reuse and waste reduction sectors.

ESS and Olio were recognised for an impactful partnership which has seen ESS donating pre-packed products, fruit and vegetables to Olio since summer 2023, and introducing cooked food collections late last year. The good-to-eat surplus food is redistributed to local communities, supporting a reduction in food waste and helping people in need.

To date, there have been 35,543 kg or 105,031 items of edible food saved, amounting to 75,131 meals and 4,270 households fed.

The organisations have worked together to navigate various challenges, including access to secure ESS Defence and Government contracts and the remote locations of some sites, to maximise the amount of food being donated.

The Olio app enables businesses and individuals to upload the details of food and non-food items that they no longer want so they can be reallocated to people who do want them, giving the goods a second life. The app has 8.5 million users globally and 130,000 Food Waste Hero volunteers collecting unsold food from participating businesses.

Other Compass Group UK & Ireland sectors also partner with Olio to maximise the organisation’s positive impact.

Saasha Celestial-One, COO – Olio, said:

“It's fantastic to receive recognition for the incredible work happening to fight food waste across ESS sites with Olio. Our partnership has become more and more impactful as we've layered on more ways to get good, edible food to members of the local community. We're so proud to work with businesses like ESS who have such a strong commitment to operating sustainably at scale. We can't wait to see what we can achieve next!”

Matt Windridge, Head of Retail – Compass One, commented:

“We’re thrilled that our partnership with Olio has been recognised at the Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management! Ever since we started working with Olio, we’ve continually looked for ways to enhance our impact, whether by increasing the number of sites donating or by introducing cooked food collections. The success of our relationship relies on so many people at our sites and the brilliant Olio volunteers – I’d like to thank each of them for their contributions.”

Rees Bramwell, Sustainability Director – Compass One, added:

“While we do everything we can to minimise the food waste we generate from our sites, some excess is inevitable – and this is where Olio steps in. Food that would otherwise be thrown away is given a second life and provided to our communities, delivering environmental and social benefits. We’re proud to be working with such a brilliant organisation and look forward to what we can achieve together in the future.”