The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and the American Hotel & Lodging Association has launched a series of pilot projects aimed at reducing food waste in the hotel industry.

Each pilot project has been developed to tackle a critical step along the food waste supply chain, following recent research conducted by WWF that showed a strong need for industry-wide training and education on food waste reduction among hotel properties, and a general lack of measurement and tracking of food waste.

Projects in the pilot include measuring food waste outputs on a regular basis, improving employee training programs, creating menus designed to limit food waste and raising awareness with customers. Following the pilot, a toolkit containing key findings, best practices and suggestions of next steps to tackle food waste in the hotel industry will be published. 

Some of the world’s largest hotel brands are participating in the projects, including Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott International.

"With its substantial food service volume and broad reach with consumers, the hospitality industry is an ideal catalyst for accelerating change," said Pete Pearson, Director of Food Waste at WWF.

"Imagine every hotel breakfast buffet or conference luncheon eliminating food waste. While businesses should make food donation and landfill diversion a priority, these pilot projects will focus on food waste prevention, which is ultimately better for business and the environment."