London, December 4, 2024 — September 2023 saw Marriott International UK, Ireland, and Nordics (UKIN) set the ambitious goal to have all 55 managed properties be certified by The PLEDGE on Food Waste
To achieve this, more than 120 Chefs, Directors of F&B, and Hotel Managers have been trained by LightBlue during a two-day workshop in Edinburgh, getting equipped with the mindset, know-how, and tools to effectively implement and reach The PLEDGE certification.
Adopting a holistic approach, the hotels first formed their Food Lovers' Committee, then implemented new best practices in accordance with the 95 criteria of The PLEDGE. These included:
· Designing and adopting a food waste reduction policy, shared with all stakeholders
· Training their employees and raising their awareness using multiple touch points (canteen, on-the-job training, etc.)
· Diligently capturing and analyzing food waste data
· Reinforcing and embedding new SOPs at critical food waste generation points, such as receiving, storage, forecasting, mise-en-place, buffet, and service
· Engaging with guests to encourage them to reduce plate waste
· Exploring existing solutions to divert the remaining food waste from landfills.
To verify the 55 hotels’ compliance toward the standard, each property went through third-party audits conducted by SGS UK and Audit Diagnostic Solutions Tourism.
Upon certification under The PLEDGE on Food Waste, Marriott International's UK, Ireland & Nordic portfolio achieved remarkable results across all 55 properties. 53 hotels earned GOLD and two earned SILVER — outcomes that reflect the depth of hotel food waste certification training delivered across 120+ chefs, F&B directors, and hotel managers. The 25% reduction in food waste per cover, 121 zero-waste dishes added to menus, and 415 tonnes of CO₂ avoided collectively represent the most significant Marriott sustainability certification achievement in the food waste space to date — and a blueprint for what enterprise-scale commitment looks like in practice.
Marco Sandri, Global Manager of The PLEDGE on Food Waste: “We’re incredibly pleased to see Marriott UKIN pave the way on the critical issue of food waste in hospitality. 12 years of expertise in food waste prevention is encapsulated in this project, combining technical capacity building, joint strategy, tailored support, and third-party certification. We believe this success will inspire more industry leaders to become PLEDGERs too."
See similar implementation results → Le Méridien Phuket
About The PLEDGE on Food Waste
The PLEDGE on Food Waste is the leading international third-party certification for restaurants, hotels, and cafeterias to reduce food waste, save on costs, and gain a competitive edge.
About LightBlueLightBlue is a UN-awarded Food Waste prevention tech and consultancy firm reconciling sustainability with business performance.
Since 2012, we have developed unique skills, technologies and methodologies to minimize food waste and boost profitability of food service operations.
We ran over 100 projects for International Hotel Groups (Marriott, Hyatt, Accor, and more), Government Agencies (Mauritius, Thailand), Development Agencies (GIZ, Michelin Guide), Business and Culinary Schools (Polytechnic Singapore, ESCP Europe, Ferrandi) and restaurant groups in 30+ countries.
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